Just to let you all know, this story will slowly start getting more serious. We have a little bit of fluffy comedy left before the students return and Hermione and Draco are thrust into a very serious, very dramatic world.

Also, my mid-term exams are over! But I still have essays to do. Urgh. Fun, fun, University is so much fun…..NOT!

A little note: sorry it took me so long to get this up. I've been very sick for the past few days (no, not H1N1, lol, just a really bad cold), and I've been sleeping a lot. I've also been trying to raid a bit more on WoW, since I don't do it very often (you could say that I'm afraid of disappointing my guildies 'cause I'm not that geared.)

Oh yeah…another reason why this has taken so long: I started playing Suikoden Tierkreis on my DS (got the ROM) and I have become obsessed and will not put the thing down. Seriously. I played until 2 am the other night. Not smart, especially coming off of a cold and when I should be spending my time writing my essay on the uses of garlic in antiquity (let's just say that Pliny and Theophrastus are fun to read).

So, again, I'm sorry it has taken so long. I've also come up with a fun, side-story Sexcapades couple thing for this Christmas. It will be funny, don't worry. For those of you who haven't read Sexcapades, it's a lemon-trilogy of Draco/Hermione goodness (Morning Shower, Revenge of the Muggle-Born, and Spontaneity and Excitement) I wrote a while back. I love the couple and I thought it would be fun to do a Christmas fic with them.

Just think: Draco dressed as Santa Claus. ^.^

Random disclaimer: Some Descartes-based-saying for everyone (if you can tell me what he originally says, you gets a cookie): I own nothing, therefore I am poor.

Another little disclaimer thing (I keep adding these things on, haha): minor smut at the end, but not really detailed or anything. I kind of just...put it there. May seem a little out of place with the rest, but I just didn't feel like having more silliness at the end of the chapter. So there is love-smut.

Chapter 4

Gryffindork Allies

"Why were you two snogging?"

"Are you together now?"

"Are you in love?"

"Is this why he's been sitting at the Gryffindor table?"

"Have you shagged each other?"

"Why?"

The questions swirled in her mind and any excuse she had had in the past flew far away to hide in a dark corner. She had had them ready, knew to point the blame on the mistletoe, but this little taste of overwhelming chaos removed all reason from her mind. She had never been a victim of so many questions, so many stares; she had endured the pain of Fourth year, had dealt with the rumours of the past, but none caused so many inquisitorial gazes as this simple kiss had.

She reeled on the spot as several students demanded to know how long they had been together, others asking whether or not they had shagged and if they planned on staying together.

"What about Harry and Ron? Do they know?"

Her heart clenched with pain at the words, body shaking as fear began to consume her senses. What if Harry and Ron heard about this? What if they found out? This wasn't just some little kiss; this was her kissing Draco Malfoy, their enemy for so many years, their opponent in everything from schoolwork to Quidditch. There was a big difference between a kiss with just anyone and a kiss shared with Draco Malfoy.

What was she going to do? Despair threatened to overwhelm her as she realized the severity of the situation. It was true, there were many people here who would accept their relationship; they saw and understood his changes in character since their sixth year. But there were many more, those who controlled the gossip circles, those who reigned above the others and set the law, who would not approve.

"Oy, Draco, since when have you been shagging this little Gryffindor?"

"Does Pansy know?"

"What do the other Slytherins think of it?"

He would be in trouble, too, she dimly realized, staring blearily at the mass of students. Who knew what the Slytherins would do? She knew that Blaise would be on her side, and had heard rumours of Goyle's increasing kindness and tolerance towards Muggles and Muggle-Borns, but would the other Slytherins really join him? They were a cunning lot, vicious when it came to revenge and getting what they wanted, and she knew that some of them did not want for her and Draco to be together.

'Sweet Circe, what am I supposed to do? How are we going to survive this?' she moaned internally, knowing that this chaos, this demand for answers, was just the beginning of the storm that was to come.

Draco moved beside her, his hand lifting to point into the air, while he subtly hit her shoulder with his elbow, tugging her out of her state of despairing thoughts. His voice was loud, almost rude, and definitely laced with annoyance.

"Who's the idiot that brought charmed mistletoe?"

She blinked rapidly, trying to push through the fog that had swirled in her mind, clearing her thoughts as she thought for control. She never let herself go, never let any despairing thoughts take over her mind, and she wouldn't let it happen now. He hadn't let the crowd overwhelm him; he had pushed back, almost in a threatening manner, daring them to question him and his actions. She, too, would push back. She would lean on him for support and strength just as he would lean on her.

They would fight this together; she couldn't succumb to her fears.

Raw determination filtered through her veins, pushing away the darkness and giving way to the light of power. She wouldn't let anyone, friends or not, tell her who to love or kiss, and she would definitely punish the idiot who decided it would be brilliant to sneak in charmed mistletoe.

"Well?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips, staring at the crowd with renewed determination. "Who brought the mistletoe?"

The crowd fell silent for a moment before buzzing questions arose, heads turning to stare at each other as every person attempted to find an answer to the question. Who had brought the mistletoe? It was charmed? It that why they kissed?

"I did."

Hermione's eyes widened with shock as Seamus stepped through the crowd, a bright blush making his cheeks glow.

"Why?" The couple asked in unison, not even daring to blush from the looks the crowd gave them.

"I thought it would make things a little more festive. I swear, Dean and I had no idea they were charmed," Seamus replied, humble enough to slump his shoulders and kick at the ground a little bit.

"How are they charmed?"

Several people had posed the question at once, a melody of the words rising and falling in the crowd, and Draco heaved a sigh.

"Unless two family members meet under the mistletoe, the couple who meet are obliged to kiss each other on the mouth. Family members kiss each other on the cheek. You cannot move away from the mistletoe until you have kissed, and the charm on them will be broken," he explained calmly and clearly, as though trying to explain addition and subtraction to a six-year-old.

"That's why you snogged?" Again, spoken by several people in the crowd.

"Yes, although I wouldn't consider it snogging, just a small kiss to break the spell. We couldn't move away unless we did it," Hermione replied, letting out several quiet breaths of relief as the crowd began to consider the explanation and the truthfulness behind it.

"Let's see an example."

She was going to kill that Ravenclaw third year!

Blaise suddenly pushed through the crowd, grinning broadly. "I will show them!"

Draco glared at Blaise, wanting to do nothing but rip out his friend's tongue at the thought of him kissing his Hermione. Unfortunately, lady luck was not on their side; just as Draco pushed Hermione away from the mistletoe, Blaise stepped in.

"No!"

"Wait!"

Hermione spun around; eyes wide with shock as she saw what could have been one of the worst sights ever. Draco and Blaise, standing under the mistletoe, both clearly at a loss when they found themselves stuck in the invisible barrier of the plant's charm.

Seamus grinned suddenly, and Hermione swore she heard several giggles erupt for many of the girls in the common room. Dean let out a rather loud whoop, and she heard Dennis fumbling for his camera to the right of her.

She, all the while, stared flabbergasted as Draco and Blaise finally gave up trying to penetrate the barrier and stared at each other with despair.

"I am not kissing you!" Draco snapped.

"That's quite good, because I don't want to kiss you either," Blaise retorted, leaning back on the table.

"Oy! Kiss each other!"

"Not with Creevey and his damn camera around," Draco said, gesturing to the boy.

"Not for a thousand galleons," Blaise added with a note of finality in his voice.

"I'm not worth a thousand galleons?"

"That's pocket money," Blaise said with a wave of his hand and Draco nodded in response. "Now, if someone were to offer me a million galleons…I would consider it."

"How about for your freedom?" Dean piped up, grinning mischievously.

"No way."

"Never."

"We'll just wait for Professor Flitwick."

"Do you honestly think he'll be in any mood to come and 'free' you at this hour?" Seamus pointed out, still smiling.

"He makes a good point!"

"Kiss!! Kiss!!"

Hermione had no idea why or how, but the crowd suddenly went from shocked at Hermione and Draco's kiss, to overly excited at the thought of Draco and Blaise kissing. She couldn't help but selfishly thank fate for this gift, giving her the reprieve she needed to collect herself and possibly create gossip that would definitely be deemed more important than her kiss she shared with Draco.

"We'll consider it to be part of your initiation," Dean said loudly, crossing his arms and leaning against a nearby wall.

"I don't want to consider it at all," Draco cried, face reddening with embarrassment at being caught in such a silly situation. "I want to avoid kissing him!"

"It will have ta be on the lips," Seamus reminded them, grin broadening with the thought. "Oh boy, Dennis, have yer camera ready for this one, this is going to one 'ell of a picture!"

Dennis grinned at Draco, lifting the camera, knowing fully well that the blond could not hurt him for the moment. However, he never once considered that, once the picture was taken and the kiss exchanged, Draco would be free to punish the boy as he saw fit.

Hermione sighed heavily, watching as Blaise and Draco stubbornly crossed their arms and spun away from each other, determined to do anything but the one thing that would free them.

"Look," she said, moving over to them, ignoring the jeers and cries of the rowdy students. "You have two choices: kiss and get free, or sit here and wait until the morning when Flitwick is awake and ready to perform the counter-spell."

"I refuse to kiss him!" the two men shouted in unison, pointing at each other.

Rolling her eyes, she heaved another loud sigh. "Have fun waiting for Professor Flitwick to show up; I'm not waiting."

"Fuck me," Draco growled, digging his fingers into his scalp, pacing in the little space he had.

"What do we do?" Blaise whined in an unnaturally high-pitched voice. "I don't want to snog you, but I also do not want to wait until the morning." He turned to face Hermione. "Can't you just come and intervene or something? Can't someone just come under the mistletoe and interrupt it?"

Hermione looked over for someone in the crowd who might know more on this subject than her; she didn't usually read up on charmed mistletoe. When there was no response, she shrugged. "I suppose I could try…"

Taking a step forward, she took in a deep breath, wondering whether the shield might send her flying back with enough force to slam her into a wall. Swallowing thickly, she moved to step between Draco and Blaise, and found herself slammed against a solid, yet invisible, wall.

"Bloody hell," she cursed, holding her nose that had nearly cracked on the thick shield.

Draco immediately moved forward, reaching out to touch her and make sure that she was okay, but he was repelled by the same invisible wall that prevented him from moving more than two to three feet away from Blaise. Cursing softly under his breath, he ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

"Are you okay?" The words were almost snapped and she knew that his patience was fraying at the seams. Neither of them had expected to be stuck in this particular scenario.

"I'm fine," she replied, rubbing the bridge of her nose, squeezing it softly as though it would alleviate the faint throbbing.

"Good, can you go and get Professor Flitwick?"

"No!" she cried, glaring at him. "I am not going to wake up a Professor because you two are daft enough to get stuck under a piece of enchanted mistletoe together. Either you kiss or you sit there the whole night, those are your options and they will not change until you make a decision."

Growling in frustration, he rubbed his face, spinning on the spot, unable to find a way out of this that did not involve waiting all night or embarrassing himself by kissing the bloke next to him, which is something he really did not want to do.

Blaise heaved a sigh, still leaning against the table, rubbing his temples as he tried to figure out some way out of this damning situation. The only solutions he could find, however, were the two listed by Hermione. He knew that she made a point; if they went and spoke with Professor Flitwick, there would first be several questions posed on why they were hosting such a boisterous party, and then he would inquire as to how they got a hold of the mistletoe. Not one soul in the room could feign that they were the creator of the spell, or they would know the counter-spell. Then, there would be the repercussions, which he really did not like the idea of.

"Draco," he said, rubbing his face. "We have no choice…"

Draco opened and closed his mouth several times before finding words, and his hands immediately found their way into his pockets defensively and his shoulders tensed. "I…we can't give up…there has to be something…"

Shaking his head, Blaise took the first step forward. "There's nothing we can do."

"Fucking bloody fucking hell," Draco swore, repeating the expletives several times with such fervor that it even made Seamus blush. "I really don't like this."

"Neither do I, but does it look like we have any choice in the matter?"

"I fucking hate mistletoe," the blond cursed, finally standing eye to eye with Blaise.

"So do I."

Silence filled the room, impatience thickening the air as the students instinctively leaned forward, anxious to see two of the most wanted blokes in the school snog right in front of them. Dennis gripped his camera, unable to hide the mischievous grin that had slid its way onto his way, Seamus rocking back and forth with anticipation. She heard several girls sigh loudly or giggle, unable to contain their excitement at the thought of their wildest dreams coming true.

It was rather…anti-climatic, to say the least. It was brief, a quick meeting of the lips that resulted with loud spitting sounds, clearing of the throat, and demands for water, water, and more water. All in all, it lasted for about a second and it was quite obvious that disappointment quickly filled the room.

That was until Dennis produced the photograph with a quick spell.

Girls screamed, boys laughed, and a ruckus rose up that could have rivaled the party atmosphere from just moments ago. Seamus clapped Draco on the back, causing the blond to choke on his fourth glass of water, while Dean could not stop laughing at Blaise. The twosome, the couple of the night, could not fight the blushes of embarrassment and could find no way to appear 'manly' after what they had just done.

"You taste like fish," Draco snapped, gargling loudly.

"Well," Blaise retorted, "you taste like old cheese."

"That's because I was eating cheese."

"And I taste like fish because I was eating your mother."

"That's just wrong!"

"But it felt so right."

Hermione groaned loudly, pushing her way between the two before they decided to butcher each other. "Stop it," she cried. "Nobody has to mention anyone's mum, or cheese, or fish, although I'm not sure why performing…that on a woman would cause your breath to smell like fish…but, can we just stop? It's done, you're free, and I'm certain that neither of you will stand together under the mistletoe again. Am I right?"

Draco sent one final glare to Blaise, before tossing back a nearby flute of champagne, and turned to Hermione. "Worst experience of my life."

"Same goes for me!" Blaise called.

"But it was so brilliant to watch," Seamus chuckled loudly, clutching his sides as his body shook with laughter. "And Dennis's photo…beyond brilliant!"

Water flew in all directions – along with a few bits of crackers – that had Hermione letting out several loud threats as she dodged as much of the liquid and crumbs as she could.

"Photo?"

She swore that, in that very instant, both men before her turned into raging he-beasts and were probably ready to turn into the Incredible Hulk and pummel poor little Dennis into a pulp. Blaise's eyes flashed darkly, teeth bared menacingly, while Draco's eyes turned into violent storms and his body shook with the effort not to strangle the poor boy that very instant.

Sighing heavily, she rubbed her face as much as she dared – she did not want to ruin the make-up she had painstakingly put on – and bit back several curses. "Yes," she heaved, "he took a picture, and do not act like it's the end of the bloody world. It's a bloody photograph."

"Of us!"

"Snogging!"

"It must be destroyed!"

"I will destroy both of your bloody bollocks if either of you touch that poor boy," Hermione snapped, pointing at the duo for emphasis. "Do you understand me?"

Both men stopped in the tracks, frozen solid amiss the chaos that had followed the 'kiss,' staring with disbelief at the brunette.

"You wouldn't…"

"She would, mate, she definitely would," Draco answered Blaise, wondering just how he would manage to placate his woman and throttle the Creevey boy.

"Just leave Dennis alone," she sighed, crossing her arms under her breasts. "I'll try to convince him to give me the photo and you can dispose of it, but I do not want either of you laying a finger on him, understood?"

Blaise glanced over to Draco, arching a brow in a combination of humor and shock. "So this is how the woman keeps you in line, isn't it? First she threatens you and then she compromises…blood hell, it's brilliant."

Draco glared at Blaise, specifically annoyed at the idea that Hermione controlled him. Oh no, it was not that way at all. If anyone did any controlling, he was the one in charge, not her. Draco Malfoy would never let some woman control him.

Ignoring Blaise's remark, she sent a pointed gaze to the men. "Do we have a…"

"Oy! Mates!" Seamus flew out of nowhere, having disappeared for a while to watch the distribution of the soon-to-be-infamous Draco snogging Blaise photo. "Now that ye've snogged, we only have a little initiation thing for ye. Dean and I figure that the snogging can count as more than half of ye initiation." Without warning, he grabbed both of their arms and yanked the two unsuspecting men into the middle of the throng, crying out something about beginning the second half immediately.

"Bloody hell," Hermione muttered in resignation, wishing that they had just stayed in the Heads' Tower as opposed to enduring this chaos. "This is mental."

It was quite true, she thought as she made her way through the crowd, pushing past giggle girls and bragging boys, wishing that she were anywhere else at this point in time. She wasn't sure exactly when the chaos had begun, when insanity had finally taken over the students, but a part of her knew that insanity had controlled this realm from the very beginning.

The night was far from the usual, taking one unexpected, mental turn after the other. First, she had no idea what had gotten her to suggest Draco strip for the women in the painting, nor what had compelled her to even consider 'kissing' the man better. She had thought normalcy had returned when they had kissed, perhaps even before that, when calamity and sanity seemed to be in charge of the Common Room and its occupants. But, from the moment they had separated from their kiss until now, she could easily say that something unreasonable was taking hold of every being in the area.

It had to have been the party-like atmosphere, the thrumming beats of music, the excitement levels that had flooded when the clock struck twelve and the unthinkable had occurred. It was as though the moment their lips met, the chaos and insanity of the single thought that Hermione and Draco were in a relationship had consumed every sane, intelligent mind.

Save for, she had to admit as she watched Dennis move a good distance away from Draco and Blaise, a select few. Of course, those select few were the few who knew the truth about Hermione and Draco, and perhaps they were immune to the chaotic effects.

Head beginning to hurt, she rubbed her right temple as she pushed through the edge of the crowd, finding Draco and Blaise standing at the center of a circle of students, looking like they were about to be executed.

Curiosity took over any sensible thought in her body and she watched as Seamus raised his arms for emphasis.

"Ladies and gentlemen," he cried, "I demand silence!"

Rolling her eyes at the rather flamboyant and over-the-top words he had chosen, she let out a quiet snort before turning her gaze to watch with a mixture of fascination and annoyance.

Surprisingly enough, every student in the vicinity shut their mouths and watched with bated breath. Her eyes turned heavenwards a second time and prayed that this reaction would not go to poor Seamus's ego.

"Tonight, we have a special treat for all of ye!" She swore he probably imagined himself wearing some long, billowing black and red cape. "Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini, two Slytherins, have agreed to go through the initiation process to become Gryffindor allies!"

Allies? Was the boy going mental? He sounded unbelievably silly.

There were several loud cheers, hands pumping in the air, hooting and shouting and several feet stamping loudly on the ground. She swore that they could wake the dead with that racket, and she suddenly feared that McGonagall might wake up and appear at any moment.

That would not be fun, although it would save her from the torture of enduring this chaotic mess of a party for much longer.

"With the start of a new year," Dean added, moving forward to stand beside Seamus, "we start new friendships and alliances. No longer will we let our ancestors' bias and hatred determine our friends. From this day forth, we will consider Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini as friends of Gryffindor…as soon as their initiation is complete," he added with a wink.

Groaning inwardly, she resisted the urge to turn away, hide in a corner and become engrossed in a book, but she had promised to stick through this with Draco to the very end, no matter how embarrassing or asinine things became.

"What are you going to do?" cried several Gryffindors, eyes glowing with excitement.

"Well," Seamus replied, a mischievous glow to his eyes, "we thought that they could learn the song."

"Which one?"

"Our lovely Gryffindor Lions chant. Since they came up with their own…butchered…version, we thought it would be good for them to learn and sing our song."

Hermione watched Draco and Blaise's faces, noting the way the lines faded as they realized that this 'initiation' would not be as difficult as they thought it would be. She knew better, however; she was a Gryffindor through and through, and she knew that they would not be getting off all that easily.

"How long is the song?" Blaise asked, relief evident in every line of his face.

"Not long," Dean replied. "But," he added, turning to the crowd for effect, "there is more!"

"More?" the Slytherin boys squawked.

"Not only must you learn and sing the song, but you must be dressed for the occasion! You must be dressed like fierce Gryffindor lions and wave the flags of Gryffindor!"

Dressed as lions…? Was Dean drunk? Had Seamus been taking illegal drugs? Why the hell did those two have to dress as lions?

Although…Hermione had to admit it, the image of Blaise and Draco wearing lion costumes made her fight back fits of giggles. It was even better because she imagined them with rather grumpy expressions that only made the mental image even more priceless.

"And for every time you are off key or miss a word," Seamus continued, "you must kiss and take off a piece of clothing!"

"We'll be wearing costumes, that's not clothing!" Draco snapped, unable to contain his irritation.

"Yes," Seamus replied with a wag of his finger, "but, costumes come in pieces, the head, the body, the tail, the bottom, all different pieces. There aren't many, so try to keep the mistakes to a minimum."

Blaise cleared his throat loudly, trying to find some kind of loophole or mistake the boys had made in the rules. "We do not know the song; you cannot expect us to get everything right on the first try."

"He's right," Draco added with a nod, crossing his arms firmly over his chest. "We must have a minimum of tries before you can start counting mistakes."

"Give them five tries."

The boys turned to stare at Hermione, who currently stood with her hands on hips, eyeing the group like she thought that they had all gone mental. Dean sent her a questioning gaze and she developed on her sentence. "Give them five tries to learn the song before you begin the initiation. It should give them enough practice to learn the song."

"Hermione," Draco groaned, wishing that the woman could have just made up some excuse about Heads' business and had saved him from his torment. But no, instead she went along and only helped the damn Gryffindors out. Damn her…

"Sounds fair enough to me," Dean said, receiving a nod of approval from Seamus. "Alright, Seamus, you take Blaise, I'll teach Draco." With that said, the Gryffindors yanked at their 'students' and pulled them off to a corner, beginning to teach the boys the Gryffindor theme song, the words of which Hermione did not even know.

Moving over to the couch and sitting down before the crowd managed to take over the seats, she sighed heavily and closed her eyes, wishing that the night could be over sooner rather than later. She knew that she had promised to show Draco her old dorm, she knew that she promised to stick with him through this, and she had even promised her fellow Gryffindors that would stay for the whole thing, but she couldn't help wishing that she had had some excuse to leave.

It was getting a little too silly for her.

The couch sagged beside her and she opened her eyes, turning to look at Dennis.

"Hey."

"Hey."

"You want to see the picture?" Dennis grinned.

Her lips twitched into a phantom smile and she couldn't help but lift her hand out to receive the image. "Why not?"

She examined the damning piece of evidence, listening to Draco and Blaise's off-key versions of the Gryffindor Quidditch team theme song. She had to admit, Dennis had taken the picture at the right moment. Draco's lips were just pressing against Blaise's, both of their eyes scrunched shut, arms plastered to their sides. Draco's hair was just slightly unruly while Blaise's cheeks held a brilliant glow to them that she knew was the blush of embarrassment. Any person, however, who had not been present at the time, would think that Draco and Blaise were in fact gladly snogging each other.

"I took another one," Dennis said suddenly, tearing her gaze away from the photograph. "No one knows about this one, though," he added on a whisper, switching the image in her hand with another one.

She was unable to stop herself from smiling; it was a picture of Hermione and Draco kissing under the mistletoe. She had to admit; Dennis was a wonderful photographer. The relaxed look on Draco's face, the way his skin glowed, gave him an angelic appearance, while her cheeks were flushed brightly, hair cascading down her back in a golden-brown waterfall. Their lips were meeting, pressing gently but urgently against each other, arms reaching out to pull each other closer, to press every body part together, unable to pull apart.

"You can keep it," Dennis said. "As a little memento of your first kiss with Draco in the new year."

Smiling at him, she pocketed the image, and leaned over to give the boy a hug. "You're too kind, Dennis."

"Thank you," he mumbled, cheeks flushed from the compliment.

"You really are a wonderful photographer," she added, reaching over to ruffle his hair in a sisterly fashion.

Just as he mumbled his second thank you, a loud cheer rose up and their attention was instantly switched to the center of the Common Room, where Draco and Blaise stood in matching lion outfits. The only visible parts of their bodies were their faces, surrounded by wild halos of tan fur, bodies covered in the fuzzy outfits, from their heads to their toes, where the paws were even gifted with small claws. The tails swished, probably charmed to move, tufts of fur sticking out oddly at the end of the tails.

She couldn't help it; she burst out laughing, their scowls growing deeper, eyes flashing harder at the sound of her laughter. Heaving for air, she wiped several tears from her eyes and tried her hardest not to stare at the comical sight; she would end up in more fits of laughter and did not know if she would have the will power to stop herself before she peed her pants.

She heard Dennis clicking away with his camera, taking picture after picture, knowing fully well that the boys couldn't dare go near him without provoking her wrath. Several students giggled loudly, girls burst into fits here and there, some squealing with excitement at the sight of the two men dressed as 'ferocious' lions. She swore she heard a couple girls wondering if the men roared when excited.

The entire male body shouted with laughter; nothing less was expected from every single testosterone filled man in the room. The image of the two powerful, serious, fashionable, and rich men dressed up as lions was more than enough to create several stitches in their sides.

"We present you," cried Seamus with much pomp and circumstance, "Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini, two ferocious Gryffindor lions! They will now grace us with a song."

The following silence was deafening; it was as though every body in the room refused to make a single sound lest they miss a part of the song that was currently not being sung. The men looked back and forth at each other, wondering with their eyes whether this was the signal to begin the song.

Shrugging, they began a new rendition of the song "Weasley is our King" with several alterations made to include Harry, Hermione, and something about how Slytherin could never win the House Cup.

When Blaise's voice went a little too high for one part, triumphant cries filled the room followed by girlish squeals of delight. Draco let out a loud groan and slammed his fist against Blaise's shoulder, nearly knocking over the man who was beet red and had dropped his flag – one given to each man by Dean before beginning their songs.

Their lips briefly met before the two men looked to Dean and Seamus, waiting patiently for them to determine which piece of the costume should be removed first.

"Blaise," Dean said, "take off the head."

Seamus rolled his eyes and turned to Dean. "Aren't ye being a tad too nice?" He dramatically pointed at Draco, eyes flashing with glee. "Oy! You! Take off your shirt!"

Hermione had been wondering whether the Slytherin men had been wearing anything under the costumes, and her answer was quickly followed by more girlish giggles as Draco tugged off the torso, exposing the long, lean, muscular line of his chest. She hated to admit it, the sight of him, toned abdominals, taut and broad chest, wearing those lion pants, tails, and head made her face blush with something other than mirth and embarrassment.

She remembered how he did roar when he came.

They began their song anew, losing only one other piece of clothing in the process – Blaise, his shirt, Draco, his paws – before the room as satisfied with their final rendition of the song. Many of the girls displayed some dismay that Blaise was not the wonderful singer that they thought he would have been, while a few others discussed Draco's decent, but not amazing, voice. Hermione, all the while, had her face buried into a pillow as she laughed, watching the two men do a rather embarrassing jig at the end of the song for emphasis.

The sound of someone clearing their throat had her panting for air and slowly lifting her head as she tried to get enough oxygen in her lungs. Slowly, her eyes trailed up the body of Draco – dressed in his earlier clothes – to reach his face. His mouth was set in a stern frown, eyes glowing with a myriad of emotions, and his cheeks mottled red with embarrassment. He had a tuft of lion 'fur' sticking out oddly in his hair.

Giggles bubbled out of her mouth again and she clapped a hand to it, trying to stem the flow of laughter as much as she could to save Draco further awkwardness. She heard him growl, saw his lips move as he uttered several curses as his hand lifted to run through his hair, successfully removing the 'fur.'

Just as he was about to yank her off of the couch and out of this damned room, Dean appeared out of nowhere, draping an arm loosely over Draco's shoulders while Seamus dragged Blaise over.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" cried Seamus, drawing the crowd's attention to him. "Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini have been successfully initiated into the Gryffindor Alliance! From this day forward, as we begin the New Year, they will be our friends, not enemies!"

"Hear, hear!"

"Happy New Year, mates!" Dean grinned, patting both men on the back. "You're now one of us."

"Why do I feel like I've doomed myself?" Blaise groaned out as the twosome weaved their way through the crowd.

"We've been turned into Gryffindorks," Draco mumbled, rubbing his face harder than was necessary.

"I told you not to call us that," Hermione chastised him, sending a glare his way. "We are not dorks."

Rolling his eyes, Draco leaned on the back of the couch, placing his face rather close to hers, and graced her with a sly smile. "Sorry, I forgot, you're the only Gryffindorkette, they are Gitffindors."

Hermione reached out and had his cheek in her hand before he could react, earning a loud cry from him and several chuckles from Blaise and Dennis, who were watching with avid attention. She pinched it hard enough for Draco to let out a curse of pain before letting go. "We're not gits."

Rubbing his cheek, he sent Hermione a pointed stare before crossing his arms and huffing loudly. She didn't hear his response but saw his mouth move slightly, letting her know that, while he did not entirely agree with her, he would agree for now.

"Can we go now?" Blaise sighed softly, rubbing the back of his neck as he noticed several women in the room staring at him with terrifying sexually ravenous looks.

Hermione nodded, wishing to avoid more embarrassing situations as much as possible. Moving out of her seat, she wished as Happy New Year to Dennis before leading the men out of the room, saying her New Year wishes to anyone who she passed, pausing only briefly to let Dean know that they were leaving. The man simply nodded, figuring that the poor Slytherins had had enough awkward situations to last the rest of their lives.

The silence of the hall was welcoming, as was the cool air that danced through th passages, easing their burning cheeks and slowly their rapid heartbeats. New Year's wishes were repeated when Blaise broke off to make his way to the Slytherin common room as the couple dragged themselves to the Heads' Tower, wanting nothing more than to fall on the nearest soft object and fall asleep.

The tower was blissfully quiet, the fire crackling merrily on the hearth, and, soon enough, exhaustion transformed into need. Shoes were loosely discarded, one of hers tossed lamely into the middle of the kitchen, his pants falling somewhere along the staircase as their lips met in another ferocious, needing kiss. Her shirt fell limply in the hall, followed swiftly by his as their feet dragged their bodies to the nearest bedroom. Her bra was flung into the darkness, one of his socks hanging off of the mirror over her dresser.

They collapsed onto the bed in a jumble of limbs, hands roaming to touch every little part of each other as they came together, rising up in the darkness, pulling through the comedy of the evening, the stress of the night, and every foul, grim part of life to become suffused by the effervescent glow of love and passion. Their skin glistened, their breath gasped out, and their heart thundered in unison as they moved, In the darkness, they forgot about everything but each other, felt nothing but the other's touch, and whispered nothing but soft cries of pleasure.

The wave of pleasure crashed over them, lifting them up as their cries mingled in the air, their mouths latching onto one another, as though anchoring themselves to the earth.

Panting after, exhausted, her hand limply fell from his back to fall on the sheet, his body rolling over to pull her on top of him, and his lips pressed gently against her forehead, arm hugging her body to keep her close.

Her breath was soothing against his skin, a reminder that, no matter how silly things got, no matter how bad things seemed, she would always be there with him, either laughing at him or strengthening him.

Her lips parted to let out a soft laugh, drawing him out of sleep just long enough to hear her say, "You look silly as a lion," before he drifted off, falling asleep with her in his arms.

This was officially the silliest chapter I have ever written in my life. I've always tried to stay away from them (I tend to be very, very serious and have great difficulties in making anything silly or funny). But, there we go.

I love the image of Draco and Blaise dressed as lions. I could not, for the life of me, find a picture of either Draco or Blaise in lion costumes (I wrote Draco Lion in DA and just got Draco as a lion, not dressed up as one, and yielded the same results on google, for example). If anyone has awesome art skills and feels like doing it, go ahead and please send me the pic via PM or something 'cause I really want an image of Draco dressed as a lion. 3

So yeah, like I said earlier, the smut-bit was kind of added in to tone down the silliness that began promptly after, say, the third paragraph or so, and kind of a way to show that, even through the silliness of life, even though the night made absolutely no sense, they still feel for each other and love each other (even though Hermione laughed at Draco and stopped him from destroying Dennis's beautiful photographs).

I'm sorry for not updating in a while, like I mentioned earlier, I've been sick, tired, and doing a lot of school work (I actually just finished my garlic essay, and am now on other essays. It's crunch-time University-wise where everything is due in the next two weeks). I've also been working on a fantasy steampunk novel, which, if I get it published and it sells, will help pay for school fees. Haha.

I'll be sure to let you all know how it goes.

So yeah, here it is. My chapter.

Critical criticism is much appreciated, please. Any mistakes you see, feel free to let me know, but you're not obliged to go through the entire chapter and find them (unless you really feel like it, haha.)

P.S. It may take a while for the next chapter to be posted, due to school work and exams coming up, but I'll do my best.

Thanks for reading!