Alright! Hope you'll like the little HG/DM part. oh and please review. it would be reeeeeeeeeeeallly great. Thanks guys! :** Btw, I don't own any of this. haha. -_-"

Chapter 3

The next morning, everyone was buzzing in excitement. All of Hogwarts were already awake at 7am, hoping to catch a glimpse of the rumored sister of the Slytherin Prince.

And there she was, eating her breakfast calmly beside Professor Snape. They were conversing lightly, stopping every once in a while to smile or make faces. Yes, you heard it right.

Severus Snape was smiling.

The sight was like nothing the students had ever witnessed. They could not, in their right mind, believe Snape was in a mood other than gloomy.

The teachers were also in shock, except of course the Headmaster, who was eating his moon pies happily. Their colleague was happy. In the past few weeks since term started, they seem to notice the man being sad rather than indifferent. His mood seems contagious at that time so they avoided him as much as possible but seeing him now, his aura was drawing everyone near.

Severus Snape was glowing.

"Are you sure she's not some kind of creature? A veela maybe?" asked Dean Thomas at no one in particular at his group of friends in their Gryffindor table.

"A veela maybe." Muttered Neville, who was staring at the two with wonder.

"If Snape is happy, does that mean he's much more fun when teaching?" asked Lavender Brown.

"I don't know but I sure hell hope so." Muttered Parvati.

"She isn't a Veela." Ron Weasley told his friends, who looked at him oddly. "She's a spy. She cannot be trusted." He growled bitterly.

Everyone rolled their eyes at him.

"Oh bug off, Ron." Grumbled an annoyed Ginny Weasley. "Even if she isn't our cousin, you couldn't even have a chance with her."

The group sniggered while the older Weasley reddened. He glared at his sister who just ate her pancakes innocently.

Hermione Granger watched her embarrassed best friend carefully. She knew Ron has got a crush on Bella the moment they saw her in the hallway but does he really want to go out with her? She is a Malfoy right? Hermione looked at the girl again in the Head Table. Her hair glistened when the sun touched it and her skin looked soft and uncalloused. Right?

Having lost her appetite, she excused herself at her friends silently and they waved at her as she walked out of the Great Hall.

"Hermione!"

"Yeah?" Hermione turned at the sound of her name. Cormac Mclaggen, a seventh year who tried out as a Keeper, came bounding towards her. He smiled pompously when she stopped.

"Let me take you out this weekend." He said arrogantly. Hermione fought the urge to roll her eyes.

"I can't. I've got things to do. And there's a Quidditch match this weekend." Hermione smiled politely.

"How 'bout at the after party then." He winked at her. Bloody winked at her and just walked away. Hermione eyed him with a disgusted look on her face and continued walking away. Boys.

Still muttering to herself, Hermione bumped into someone. Arms automatically wound around her and she grabbed the person's forearms for support. She felt the ripped muscles under the thin uniform and got a feeling that got her hot and bothered. Feeling embarrassed, she bowed her head and muttered a 'Sorry'.

"Gee, Granger. If you act like that all the time, we wouldn't have any problem at all." Her eyes flashed when she heard the familiar drawl. She could almost feel his smirk before she could see it.

Hermione looked up and glared at the blonde. "If I knew that was you, I wouldn't even have said it."

"Too bad." He feigned disappointment, letting go of the bookworm instantly making her stumble backwards. Hermione squealed in surprise but got her balance.

"You prat! Why couldn't you just let go of me gently like any normal person would!?"

"And risk getting your germs all over me?" Draco said. "No thanks."

"Like my germs would like to be all over you."

"Trust me. They would." Draco smirked. Hermione gave him a disgusted expression and side stepped Draco to leave.

"Get over yourself, Malfoy."

"Like you could." He taunted, turning around to face the girl. Hermione turned around so fast she thought she was going to get a whiplash.

"Excuse me?" She seethed.

"Oh don't play dumb, Granger." Draco stepped closer to her, only a few inches separating him from her. "Every girl desires to be with me. So I understand if your little muddy heart holds a space for me."

"I don't do such thing!"

"Don't lie. You know you want me, Mudblood." He smirked arrogantly.

"Don't you think you should get new material for your insults, Malfoy?" Hermione crossed her arms, looking smug. "Because seriously, I've heard it all and I'm seriously getting bored with your Mudblood jokes."

"Why you little-"

"Save it. It's not like I haven't heard it." Hermione smirked, feeling triumphant at riling her old nemesis. She felt good at the sight of his angry face, it makes all her pent up stress and anger towards Ron go away. She should consider making Malfoy her stress ball if that's possible. A good punching bag was also preferable.

Overcome by his anger, Draco unconsciously stepped closer to Hermione, so close that their chests were almost touching.

"You better watch that mouth of yours." His eyes gleamed with some deep emotion that Hermione's initial reaction was to run away, but her stubborn Gryffindor courage stopped her.

Draco smirked at her glaring eyes, then slowly his eyes traveled down to her lips. Hermione felt her stomach drop to the floor and her heart thudding away. His eyes on her made her blush crept on her face. She bowed her head, instantly cutting off Draco's view of her warm brown eyes and cleared her throat and that got him snap out of his intense gaze.

"Granger."

"Malfoy."

They shuffled away from each other awkwardly and once there's a considerable amount of space between them, they regarded one another with a nod and walked away, their spines straighter than ever and their minds full of forbidden thoughts.

'Bloody Granger and her filthy disgusting... beautiful warm lovely-' Draco Malfoy stopped his train of thought. 'What the Bloody hell is wrong with you?!' He chastised himself as he walked towards the Great Hall.

'That's bloody Mudblood Granger you're talking about!' he growled to himself mentally. 'There is nothing beautiful or lovely about her!'

While he was busy bashing his dashing imaginary self in the head, he did not notice the crowd near the entrance until he heard his sister's name being called by several voices.

What the hell?

Those were the first three words that Draco Malfoy thought when he saw a group of low lives surrounding his sister. They were smiling at her being all charming and flirty. She was smiling politely but he could see that pained expression on her face, like she would rather be swimming with the giant squid than be with these boys. Draco felt his temper rise and his fists clenching as he walked with purpose towards the unsuspecting group. Bella, looking around for help, caught sight of her brother and was relieved when he was already on his way to her aid.

"Hey faggots." Draco greeted tensely. The group stopped their admiration and casted angry glances away from his sister. When they saw who said it, they looked at the blonde boy with a worried expression.

"I'll count to three and if you're still here I'll bloody blast your heads off." He said menacingly, twirling his wand with his right hand.

"I better run if I were you." Bella muttered darkly behind the group.

Before Draco could start counting, the group was gone, leaving nothing but dust. Draco walked to his sister and smirked.

"Is that The Draco Malfoy everyone kept whispering about?" Bella asked amusedly.

"Just a glimpse, yeah." Draco shrugged earning a laugh from his sister.

"How cute."

"Cute?" Draco frowned, his voice getting high a tad bit. "I am anything but cute! I'm...I'm the bloody Slytherin Prince!"

"Of course. How could I forget?" Bella said sarcastically.

"You better not! I'll be the one protecting you within these halls so don't call me cute."

"In my eyes, you're always my cute little baby brother."

"Then I suggest you remove your eyes. You'll probably still live without them."

"Are you sassing your big sister?"

Draco looked at her incredulously. "Don't play that big sister card! You're always doing that."

"In all actually, my dearest brother, I am your big sister." Bella pinched her brother's cheek and then dragged him towards the Defense Against the Dark Arts class room.

While the two were bickering, they didn't know that Harry and Ron were listening in.

"This is ridiculous mate. They don't seem like Death Eaters to me. They're like Ginny and me, only blonder." Ron complained as they briskly walked the path towards DADA, shadowing the Blonde duo.

"I don't think so. There's a reason Bella Malfoy is here. And we're going to find out." Said harry with conviction. His bestfriend looked at him like all rational thoughts ran out of his head but ignored his look.

"I asked Dumbledore last night about her. He didn't say much but he said she has a purpose to fulfill." Said Harry.

"What purpose?" Ron looked at him with a confused expression.

"I don't know but I bet all my galleons that it's a task from He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named."

Ron looked at his friend with doubt. 'Not this again' he thought. Every time Harry voices his thoughts about Malfoy being a death eater, all Ron could do was shut his mouth and silently plea to the gods that his friend would stop his accusations. He hates Malfoy but he wasn't really a fool to take Malfoy as someone who had the guts to become a Death Eater. Not even in another lifetime.

But now, accusing Bella Malfoy of being a Death eater is just border line mad. He might not know her for that long but he clearly could see she's not Death Eater material.

"Look Mate, how 'bout we talk about that later? We're bloody late." Ron reminded his friend instead of acknowledging Harry's previous statement. "Snape's gona' skin us if we don't hurry."

With a grimance, the two ran as fast as their human feet could towards their DADA classroom. When they got there, Snape was already introducing Isabella to the class.

"-my assistant for the duration of this school year and I expect utmost respect will be given to her as she is very much a professor than the rest of the teaching staff." Snape's eyes narrowed when the two trudged their way to their seats. "If also there is a need, she is very much capable of deducting points from students who're too cool or lazy to attend this subject on time."

Despite Snape's threat, Bella smiled warmly at the class. Girls were eyeing her with utmost envy and slight admiration while boys gawked and lusted over her. But of course, the girl in topic was not conscious to the effect she had on the young witches and wizards.

"Now." Snape hissed. "After practicing for weeks on Nonverbal spells, today we will be having a practical exam."

The class groaned in unison while their professor gleamed.

"I'm not ready. I-I'll probably fail… Oh merlin. I'll fail." Muttered Neville just a few seats away from Harry.

"This is stupid." Complained Ron beside Lavender Brown, who despite the class's gloomy atmosphere was beaming and looking at Ron dreamily.

"He wants us to fail, that's bloody what." Hissed Seamus beside Harry. "Slimy git."

"Why don't you guys just stop complaining and start practicing?" Hermione said exasperatedly. "Snape just gave us 10 minutes to practice."

With that said, the class practiced as best as they could. Fortunately for Harry and Hermione, they got their non verbal spells ready and going from spending time together practicing. Ron, however was struggling but he managed to conjure a proper shield charm after a few minutes of focus. Unfortunately for Neville, he was still at lost. His face was almost the color of puce from preventing himself to utter the spell.

"Galloping gargoyles!" Bella stopped the boy's efforts and stepped beside him. "If you keep doing that, the spell might come out of your backside, if you know what I mean."

Neville's cheek turned a tinged of pink when a few nearby Slytherins sniggered at her statement. Bella smiled at him and nodded at him to try again. When nothing happened, Bella got hold of his dominant hand.

"You need to relax. Take a deep breath and clear your mind." Neville did what he was told and let out a shaky breath despite his thudding heart.

"Alright, now. Tell your wand what to do." The boy looked at the girl confusedly.

"Pardon? Did you just say 'tell'?" He asked. Bella smiled patiently.

"Yes. When you cast a spell verbally, the tone of your voice commands your wand. But in nonverbal, you must coax your wand. You should do it more by instinct. You don't have to think, you just do. And by that, your wand listens to you. Connects with you." Bella explained as the boy looked at her dazedly.

"Brilliant." He muttered, staring at her.

"Again."

"huh?"

"The spell. Try it again." Bella motioned at his wand and that snapped him out of his hypnotized state and casted a spell without even bothering to look at his wand. When Bella beamed and clapped him on the back, did Neville turned his head to his wand, expecting nothing but air but his was in for a surprise.

"Blimey!" Ron exclaimed, his eyes as wide as saucers. In front of Neville was not the Protego charm they were all expecting but a Patronus. Neville's patronus to be exact.

"See. I knew you could do it." Bella beamed. She patted Neville on the back and moved to help another student from across the room. The nearby Gryffindors stared at her back.

"I… What just happen'?" let out Hermione.

"She's bloody awesome that's what!" Neville smiled.

As the group of Gryffindors marvel at Bella's unexpected help, Draco Malfoy was watching them with disgust. It's not really a shock why his sister was doing the Gryffindors favors. If he knew her well, and he did, she's doing it to give a good impression at them lot. Never forget, every Malfoy has a motive.

"Fancying Longbottom now, eh?" Draco said, approaching his sister.

"Who?"

"Longbottom." He jutted his head at Neville's direction. "Seriously Bella, I'd much prefer the vampire."

Bella gave him a pained expression but she covered it with poker expression before anyone in the room noticed it. Unfortunately for her, Draco saw it. He raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side.

"What?" Bella asked.

"What?"

"You're looking at me funny." Bella frowned.

"Am i?" He crossed his arms against his chest and shrugged.

"Shouldn't you be practicing or something?" Bella asked, irritated at her brother's prodding looks.

"I don't need practice." Draco answered arrogantly.

"Git."

"You know you love me." Her irritable brother smirked.

"Unfortunately."

Draco pinched his sister at the side, earning a yell. "Hey!" She slapped Draco on the arm lightly as she nudged him away playfully. While the two were talking, Harry and Ron were watching them.

"D'you reckon they're talking about their plans?" Harry asked Ron. The red head looked at him and rolled his eyes.

"Yes, Harry. They're plotting their evil plans at this very moment inside a classroom half full of Dumbledore's Army." Ron answered sarcastically. "Seriously mate. Get a grip."

"I swear those two're up to something. I just know it." Harry hissed at his friend. Ron looked at him doubtly and left, thinking of just practicing a few more spells instead of arguing with his bestfriend.

"Hey, you." Hermione said once she saw Ron left Harry's side. "What was that all about?"

"Ron's just in a foul mood." Answered Harry casually.

"Yeah, I figured." Mummbled Hermione. "He's been treating me coldly lately. I don't even know what I did wrong." Harry looked at his friend apologetically.

"You know Ron. It's just nerves. The match is tomorrow and it's making him a nervous wreck." Harry nudged her comfortably and smiled. Hermione smiled back gratefully and patted his hand.

A few minutes of practicing desperately to perfect their spells that Snape entered the room. The students stopped at what they're doing and gathered.

"You'll be in pairs and Isabella and I will grade you accordingly. Now, find your partners and give space to the first five pairs." The students followed obediently and grabbed their partners during their practices. Ron grabbed Harry quickly, giving Hermione no choice but to be paired with Dean Thomas. Harry gave his friend an apologetic look.

When the students got their partners, Bella randomly picked five pairs. She pointed to Neville, who was partnered with Seamus Finnigian, to Harry, to Hermione, to Pansy Parkinson who was partnered with Daphne Greengrass, and lastly to Draco who dragged Blaise Zabini from flirting with Parvati Patil.

"Line up and face your partners." Bella instructed and the students did so. "First to disarm his or her opponent will receive a deserving grade. Now," Bella looked at the students' anxious expression.

"On a count of three… One… Two… Three!"

The students fired their spells left and right and Bella and Snape observed silently. The first to disarm her opponent was Hermione, naturally. She beamed when Bella motioned for her to go and picked another pair from the sides.

"That Granger is quite exceptional, don't you agree Uncle?" Asked Bella to her gloomy godfather.

"Yes, quite." He answered, his tone clipped. His attention was elsewhere even though he agreed at whatever Bella was saying. Bella looked at him confusedly then trailed his line of sight; it landed on Draco, who was fending off Blaise Zabini's attacks with casual ease.

"He's better now, hasn't he?" Observed Bella, dismissing Harry and Ron when Harry disarmed his friend.

"They've been… teaching him some tricks."

Bella snorted. "You make it sound like he is a pet or some sort."

Snape regarded his favorite goddaughter for a second then said carefully "It is for his own good… Protects him, makes him rely on himself than others." Bella nodded understandingly. The man has a point, she wouldn't want her brother to be defenseless when a battle breaks. He had been way too dependent on their parents during their younger years and knowing now that Draco's all grown up made her heart swell with pride.

With an ease like no other, Draco disarm his opponent like he was getting tired of fooling around. With a sound of approval from Snape, the two Slytherins were dismissed. Draco casted his uncle a look that wasn't go unnoticed by his sister.

The class went on with their practicals; some failing, others exceptionally skilled. When class ended, Bella helped her Godfather cleaning up the desks and the chairs. They both have a free period after that so they decided to have tea in Snape's office.

"Uncle, Can I ask you a question?" Bella looked at her uncle nervously. She put down her cup of tea to the side table, worried that she might spill its contents to herself.

"You're already asking one, child." Snape answered coolly to which the young witch rolled her eyes.

"It's about Dumbledore's request…"

Snape gave her a blank expression and nodded at her to continue. He was never really shocked at where their conversation was going; he thought this was bound to happen sooner or later.

"What will happen? To my family, I mean." The expression and tone the witch wore made Severus Snape's dull heart cry. He, of all people, knows how important family was to Bella.

"I presume they'll be under the protection of the Order. Your mother and brother, I mean. But your father…" Bella looked devastated than ever, feeling helpless.

"Would they give him mercy?" She asked, her throat closing from the emotions.

"I hope." The wizard answered, not wanting to promise her anything.

"I'm sorry. I'm just frustrated, that's all." The witch said. "This isn't part of my plan. I wasn't supposed to be here. If it weren't for Dumbledore, Draco and I might be in some far away continent by now."

The man cracked a small smile, knowing his goddaughter wasn't joking at all. "It is alright, this wasn't part of my plan and yet I'm still here. Bound by promise."

The two let out a defeated sigh, they might have had a million plans laid out in their heads but at the very end all they could do was trust Dumbledore. The man, after all, wasn't feared by the Dark lord for nothing.