Hi, I hope everyone is enjoying the story so far…I'm enjoying writing this story. There's going to be some more sappy moments and action. I hope it doesn't put any of you guys off this story. So please stay tuned.

Disclaimer: Don't own Harry Potter or its affiliates…but I did create Nicolai Talbot…XD

A couple hours later, Draco was waiting in the lobby for Hermione, and he was starting to get impatient. Why did women insist on taking so long to get dressed and all the other things women did, when they were only going to wear it for a few hours. Muttering under his breath, he didn't realize someone was coming down the stairs behind him.

"Draco…" a hesitant voice called out.

Turning he saw Hermione, a very different Hermione…he'd never seen her look so drop-dead gorgeous or sexy either. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out, he was speechless.

"Um…Draco?" Hermione asked, fidgeting a bit at his stare, "Is there something wrong? Is the dress really that horrible…I told her it wasn't my style but she…"

"The dress is perfect," Draco replied, cutting her off, before continuing, his voice husky, "You look amazing, beautiful, and very sexy…"

Hermione blushed, fidgeting some more, "Thank you…"

Moving closer, he leaned down and whispered in her ear, "I love it when you blush…you have no idea what it does to me."

Shivering, Hermione found herself swaying towards him, but at the last moment, Draco pulled away, leaving her feeling bereft and more than a bit confused. "We should go," she said, trying to sound nonchalant as she walked out the front door.

"Yes, probably…" Draco said as he followed her, and waved down a taxi. Trying to control himself, and keep from landing a fist in the face of the jerk who was currently shouting very inappropriate things at Hermione. Holding the door he gestured to Hermione, allowing her to slide in before he sat down and told the driver where to go.

As they entered the casino, Hermione looked around in amazement. Craning her neck she tired to take in all of the slot machines and various gambling tables. Draco laughed at her, "You know…if you stretch your neck anymore it's going to stay that way."

Hermione looked at Draco sheepishly, "I've never been to a casino before, and it's so loud and colorful…"

"I've come to Vegas on business before, so I'm used to casinos. Business people love to come here for a unimportant meetings…you know, killing two birds with one stone…" Draco said, holding her elbow and guiding her towards a table, "You get used to it…"

Hermione smiled tentatively as they sat at the table where there were four other people at the table besides Draco and herself. Leaning over, she asked, "So what game is this?"

Draco whispered back, "This is poker," and proceeded to explain the rules of the game to her.

"I'm impressed, you know about Muggle things after all," Hermione said, smirking.

Draco smirked back, "Well you know, have to keep people guessing…it's no fun otherwise."

"Oh shut up," Hermione said, "They're starting I think."

Hermione was right the dealer was dealing two cards to each player, with Draco and Hermione counting as one. The players started to raise, until three of them folded, claiming it was starting to get too rich for them, and sat watching the two others.

Draco eyed his challenger, he looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn't place him. Glancing at his cards, he replied smoothly, pushing chips towards the center, "Raise…"

"Raise," the other man replied almost instantly, also pushing chips to the center of the table.

It went back and forth for awhile, giving Hermione a chance to study the person across the table. He looked to be in his 40's and had black hair that curled slightly, causing a few curls to spill onto his forehead. He was muscular, but not overly so, his skin was a golden color, suggesting time spent in the sun or perhaps a Greek or Spanish heritage. But it was his eyes that were the most interesting, she thought. His eyes were a deep piercing gold, they were dangerous eyes…powerful eyes. They were a bit upsetting, but it didn't detract from his good looks in any way.

"Raise," Hermione heard the man say, effectively pulling her out of her musings.

"This is getting too much for me," Draco replied, setting his cards on the table face down.

Hermione leaned over, and whispered at him, "I think he's bluffing, you shouldn't give up."

"Granger, I just bet over five thousand dollars, I think its time to call it quits…" Draco said, starting to get up.

"We're still in," Hermione told the dealer.

Draco plopped back into his chair and hissed, "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Just wait and see…"

Across the table the other man had decided he wasn't going to raise and the cards were laid out. Hermione watched carefully, fascinated, but really had no idea what was going on. It was then that she noticed the other man wave his hand ever so slightly. She wasn't sure exactly what he had done, but it had almost looked like wandless, non-verbal magic. As the two players laid their cards down face up, Hermione heard the dealer announce, "And the winner is Mr. Talbot, congratulations."

Before she could think about what she was going to say, she blurted out, "But that's not fair, he cheated!"

"Excuse me, miss…" the dealer asked, looking at her.

"I saw him, he changed the cards, he cheated," Hermione insisted, getting a little loud.

At her outburst Mr. Talbot just cocked an eyebrow at her, while Draco tried to calm her down, "Hermione, dear, you're making a scene and I'm sure that Mr. Talbot did not cheat."

"But I saw him," Hermione hissed quietly to Draco, "He used some kind of magic…"

Turning to the table, he made apologies, "I'm sorry about this, she's not in her right mind tonight. She's had a bit too much to drink and it really does not agree with her, makes her a bit paranoid. So if you'll excuse us…"

He steered her away from the table and to outside the casino, before turning to face her, "Will you shut up already!"

"Why, that guy cheated and you just let him get away with it! "

"I am aware that he cheated, but if you know anything, you would have kept your mouth shut. For being one of the Golden Trio, you really have no ability to sense danger when you see it…shit," Draco replied, turning away and raking his hands through his hair.

"What was so dangerous about him?" Hermione asked puzzled.

"That, my dear, was Nicolai Talbot, an ex-underling of Voldemort's, a very, very dangerous one, in some ways more dangerous than Voldemort himself was," Draco said.

"Oh my…" Hermione uttered, the blood draining from her face.

"Exactly, you don't want to mess with him…" Draco said, sighing, "Which is why we are going to go to a nightclub, pretend we don't know anything about Talbot and then when we're going to go back to the hotel, all the while pretending we can't keep our hands off each other. Hopefully, if he has any of his goons following us or watching us, he'll be satisfied that we aren't a threat and leave us alone."

"What if he doesn't?" Hermione asked, her voice wavering.

"We'll cross that bridge when we get to it…" Draco replied, dragging her over to a cab, "The Flipside nightclub, please, and feel free to take the longest way there."

The driver looked in the rearview mirror at them, "Wanting to see a bit of sight seeing?"

"Exactly…" Draco lied, since he really just wanted to confuse any possible thugs that might be following. Settling back, he tried to act nonchalant and cover up the fear that was coursing through him. There was no point in scaring Hermione more than she already was, or in letting her know that they were already being followed. Glancing over at her, he saw her face was pale and she was slightly shaking. Reaching over, he put his arm around and pulled her to his side. Whispering, he said, "It's going to be ok, I'm not going to let anything happen to you. It's my fault we're in this mess, I should have recognized him before we ever started playing."

"But D-Draco, I shouldn't have accused him of cheating," she said, her lip quivering, "I should have realized he was more dangerous than he let on."

Pushing her head down onto his shoulder, he said, "Shush, its no use for either of us to blame ourselves, it's in the past. We just need to focus on getting out of this mess."

Shuddering, she relaxed slightly against his shoulder and they passed the rest of the car ride in silence.

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