Hey guys! I've decided to do slightly shorter chapters, about 4,000 words compared to my previous 7,000 words per chapter. This means I'll be able to update faster. If any of you disagree with this, please let me know. Also, anybody who leaves a review I shall PM with a sneak-peak of the next chapter;). Thanks to all who reviewed last chapter, they finally kissed, yippee!

Malibu Baybreeze: You grab the fireworks, I'll crack open some bubbly!

Cherryberry8: Ginny cracks me up on a regular basis! Keeping her under control is getting increasingly difficult…;)

Guest (Dramione101): You and me both!

I hope you enjoy this chapter, for the next few ones I think I'll focus more on spy-stuff.

For the second time that evening, Hermione froze in the arms of a man who was unexpectedly kissing her. She didn't know what else to do.

Draco's kiss was full of bottled emotion. First, anger, as he crushed his lips to hers and held her there, fiercely moulding her lips to his own as he claimed what he felt was his, showing her his pent-up rage and frustration. Bright lights exploded behind Hermione's eyelids as she gave in to the raw spark of passion that he had ignited inside her.

Then, it changed from a spark of anger into an inferno of desire. He forced her mouth apart with his tongue and nipped her lips with his teeth. Coaxing her tongue into movement he told her just how much he yearned for her through his animalistic, primeval want; laying down the law of his domination. Hermione felt herself melting into him under the heat of his possession, baring her feelings for him to see all of her hidden insecurities and desires.

He latched onto her emotions and the kiss faded into warm embers of tender passion. Slow movements of his mouth against hers as he lifted her chin slightly with a loving touch to allow for a better angle. Hermione found her own hands resting against his chest and her body pressing closer to his. He filled her with warmth and affection with every movement of his lips.

Hermione had never been kissed before, she didn't count Blaise, and she wondered if every kiss was as beautiful as the one she was experiencing now. The waves of emotion rolling from Draco burned her as their flaming passion embraced her soul. She had never felt more desirable, happier or more complete as she did then. She never wanted the feeling to end.

But then, it ended. Draco pulled away suddenly and looked at her in amazement. She could see his every thought flitting across his beautiful eyes, the colour of fiery silver. She gazed into his mind and showed him exactly what she was feeling through her own eyes.

Suddenly, the twin pools of liquid silver steeled into icy sheets of steel. Draco gave her one hard look before whipping around and striding out of the room.

Everything around Hermione returned to her; the noise, lights and the tension crackling in the air around her.

She looked around dazedly to see the varied expressions of all her friends, from shock to smugness to disbelief. All the emotions whizzed around her head, making her increasingly dizzy.

First, Draco had kissed her with passion and desire and then he left without a backwards glance and all the emotions of the people surrounding her were blending together, twisting and distorting to make something huge and horrendous that was pummelling her fragile mind. It was closing in on her, blocking her airways and hindering her senses.

She started coughing and wheezing, desperately trying to take in air whilst she could. She couldn't see anything anymore; she could only feel the blackness consuming her.

A sudden, sharp sting snapped her out of it, and her hand flew to her cheek in astonishment. She realised that Ginny had slapped her.

"Sorry Hermione, you were going into shock." Ginny apologised, not looking very apologetic at all.

Stumbling slightly, Hermione shook her head, "No, no it's fine. I would have done the same thing. Ugh, it's this place with the stupid loud music and bright lights; it's messing with my head. Wha- what happened?"

Lavender snorted, "You mean you really don't remember being snogged to death by a tall blond hottie? Jesus Hermione, I wouldn't forget that in a hurry!"

Hermione grimaced, the memory of Draco's steely glare returning with full force into her mind. For a second there, she had thought that he truly cared about her. It seems she was wrong.

"I'm going to bed." She muttered, pushing through the small crowd of people that had gathered around them. Tears gathered in her eyes and threatened to spill over, and she wiped angrily at them.

"Hermione, wait!" Ginny called behind her, only making Hermione speed up further. She finally reached the double door entrance to the ballroom and she pushed them wide open, storming up the stairs.

Her tears were falling now, tumbling down her cheeks as she ran to her room slamming the door behind her.

She leant against it and crumpled to the ground, covering her face with her hands to try and staunch the heavy flow of tears. She cried for Draco's rejection, her own stupidity and for letting herself care. She knew she had gotten far too deep with Draco and it would now be all the harder to betray him. It was inevitable though; she would end up betraying them all in order to do her job and take down an evil empire.

It just made her cry all the harder. Her emotions were going crazy and she had no idea why.

Come on, Hermione, get a grip! You have a job to do and you are not going to be able to do it with mascara streaks down your face!

With a deep breath, she rose to her feet and went to the bathroom, kicking off her heels in the process. After cleaning her face and massaging her sore feet, she felt infinitely better. Making her way over to the bed, she collapsed onto it with a heavy sigh.

"Hermione! I know you are in there, don't make me break down the door!" the angry voice of Ginny came.

Sighing yet again, Hermione went and opened the door, barely hiding a roan when she saw all of her friends, minus Blaise, gathered outside her door.

"If you start singing carols, I'm going to have to shoot you!" she attempted humour, standing back to let them all in.

Ginny immediately enveloped her in a hug, "Hermione, are you all right?"

"Yes! Don't be silly, of course I am. Where's Blaise?"

"He went to bed, though I think he actually went to talk to Draco. Are you sure you're all right?"

Hermione nodded, "Yes, I am."

"Hermione, what's going on?" Harry asked, looking in concern at his friend.

She sighed deeply and rubbed he hands over her face, "I don't understand it or want to talk about it. Let's discuss something else. Actually, whilst you're all here, let's talk the mission." Hermione stated, switching into spy mode. It would put a clamp on her emotions for a while, at least. She actively ignored the sympathetic looks she was getting from some of her friends.

"It can't just be called 'the mission', it needs a cool nickname!" said Ron, ever oblivious to other people's feelings. Hermione was about to argue but Lavender got there first.

"That's such a good idea! How about, Mission Impossible?"

"That's so predictable. I think Mission Awesome." said Harry.

"No, Mission Gingerbread!" said Ron.

"More like Mission Carrot-top." said Lavender

"Oi, Ron might be a ginger but my hair is red. Mission Peacock would be cool." said Ginny.

"Why?"

"Because," Ginny explained with a huff, "Lucius is as showy-off as a peacock, Hermione's dress has a peacock design and you don't see the real beauty of a peacock if it hides its feathers."

"How is that relevant?" asked Harry.

Hermione noticed Ginny giving her a strange look, which was gone in a flash. "You'll see. So, are we agreed?"

They all nodded and turned back to face Hermione. "Okay, Mission Peacock it is. We don't have much time and I need your help. Ron and Seamus, my computer is over there, I need you to see if there is any way you could hack into Lucius' database. Ginny and Lavender, tomorrow night I'm going on a hunt around the manor and the gardens and I need a suitable outfit and equipment, could you sort that out? Harry, there's a briefcase buried in the cushions over there, in it there is medicine and various serums. The passcode to the lock is 3864. Could you organise which ones I'll need tomorrow and label them. Luna, I need to talk to you about Lucius."

They all got to work quickly and efficiently on their various tasks, and Hermione motioned for Luna to sit in one of the armchairs whilst she chose to pace in front of her.

"Okay, Luna, I need your help on psychoanalysis. You are the best at it I know. If you were Lucius Malfoy and you wanted to hide the entrance to a secret underground laboratory, where would you hide it?"

Luna considered this for a moment, "I would put in more than one entrance, but no more than three. I reckon there is a tunnel leading away from the manor to a deportation area so all the stuff he's making down there can be deported easily. I also think that the main entrance for the scientists would be somewhere in the house that people don't normally use. Check the ground levels. Lucius will, however, want easy access to it nearby to his study, so I'd also check around that area. It is most likely to be hidden very well, though, so you'll have to look quite hard. Beware of booby-traps as well, Lucius strikes me as someone who would use underhand techniques like that."

"Underhand is his middle name." Hermione muttered, "Thanks, Luna. Also, where would he hide the keys to his draws and cabinets?"

"I imagine they would be on his person at all times. He might have a spare set hidden somewhere though. Not in his office, that would be too obvious for him. Is there somewhere he spends a lot of time outside his office?"

Hermione thought back to a conversation with Draco, "Yes, Draco mentioned something about a personal lounge. He could easily hide it there."

"Perfect. Again, be aware of cameras and stuff. Don't use bugs, his technology is too advanced and he would pick up on it. Use more old-fashioned methods." Luna said in her slightly dreamy way.

"Hermione, what weapons to you want to use?"

Hermione frowned, "I don't really want to hurt or kill anybody, it raises too much suspicion."

Ginny rolled her eyes dramatically, "A situation might arise! What weapons?"

"I guess my throwing knives would be best. No guns."

Ginny nodded and went back to preparing her outfit on the bed.

"Hermione," called Seamus, "we haven't been able ter hack into it completely, but we've managed ter find out yesterday's password."

Hermione scampered over to the computer and looked over Ron's shoulder. There she read D4F5G7B7, yesterday's passcode.

"But that's completely random!" she cried, "When exactly does it reset, did you find that out?"

"Sometime between seven o'clock and eleven o'clock in the morning." Ron replied, "We also discovered he doesn't reset it himself, it's done by the computer itself. There's no way we'd be able to hack it without the current password to get into the database."

Hermione groaned in annoyance and massaged her head, "Then how come you got yesterday's password but not today's?"

"Well," replied Seamus, "the current passcode is being safeguarded by layers and layers of protection that we don't have the equipment ter hack. Yesterday's, however, is not being guarded and with this USB stick we can pick up the traces of it that are left behind."

Hermione nodded her head, "And this will work on every password from the previous day?"

"Should do," said Ron, "just stick it in your computer and run the scan on Lucius' files."

"Thanks, guys." Hermione said, making her way over to Harry.

"Okay, so I've got you basic first aid along with a harmless sleeping draught. I don't think you'll need much else for surveillance. The sleeping draught is attached to a belt and you just have to pull it out of its plastic grip." Harry said, gesturing to the small pile where the sleeping draught capsules were indeed attached to a belt by what looked suspiciously like black lego figure hands.

"Yes, that will do just fine. Oh, could you also add some 'notice-me-not' powder; I don't want to leave any evidence behind."

"Sure thing." Harry said, taking out a leather arm strap, similar to an ammo belt, and popping ten small capsules filled with a brownish liquid into the plastic grips.

Gathering the small pile into her arms, Hermione smiled thankfully at Harry and went over to where Ginny and Lavender where preparing her outfit.

The outfit itself was simple enough; black leggings, black sports-bra, black combat boots and a black zip-up sweater, it was the array of leather straps, bands and belts that made it look very sophisticated.

Carefully placing her pile down on the bed next to a pile of knife holsters, Hermione said, "Is there a pouch or something that I can put the medicine in?"

Without looking up from where she was adjusting belts, Lavender handed her a pouch with a zipped top and two straps on the back of it. "Put the medicine in that thigh patch. The 'notice-me-not' belt can go around your upper left arm and the sleeping draught belt will probably go directly on your waist."

Hermione did as she was told and the second she had finished Ginny swiped it from underneath her and placed it carefully with a group of other strappy-pouches.

"Okay," aid Hermione, looking around the room at everybody, "thank you so much for your help everyone. Now, as much as it pains me to say this, you should probably go. I don't want Lucius yelling at me for having boys upstairs." She smirked.

Seamus raised an eyebrow, "Why doesn't he want boys upstairs?"

Hermione shrugged, "Beats me. I have no idea how the brain of that man works."

"Well, in that case, goodbye Hermione." Harry said, giving her a hug.

One by one her friends all hugged her goodbye and left, apart from Ginny who was leaving in a day or two.

As Hermione collapsed back onto her bed, she finally let the days' activities crash over her and she fell asleep in an exhausted pile of emotion.

"Hermione, dear, can I talk to you please?" Narcissa asked the next morning, having bumped into Hermione on the way to breakfast.

"Yes, of course. Do you need anything?"

Narcissa gave her a strange look and motioned for Hermione to follow her. She led her outside into the gardens where the sun was shining brightly down over the various plants. It was a strangely nice day for the beginning of winter.

"Now," said Narcissa, "whilst I am not completely aware of the events of last night, I was hoping you would explain them to me."

At Hermione's panicked look, Narcissa laughed, "Don't worry dear, you're not in trouble. At least not with me, I would avoid my husband for the day though."

Hermione scowled, "Why is Lucius upset?" she asked sullenly.

"Because, my dear, he doesn't like the idea that a young girl who was hired to teach his son French verbs would be able to get his son's head in such a tizzy. Lucius thought he raised Draco above all that, but no teenage boy can argue with his hormones. Don't worry about Lucius, he'll get over it."

"Wait, did you say Draco's head was in a tizzy? Over me?" Hermione squeaked, earning her a curious glance from Narcissa.

"Yes, I visited him this morning and the boy's emotions were all over the place. The only thing I could get out of him and Blaise was that it had something to do with you. So tell me, what happened? And why does Blaise have a black eye?"

Hermione sighed, "Blaise kissed me completely out of the blue in a very angry sort of way and then got promptly punched in the face by Draco. Apparently Blaise kissed me to make Draco jealous and it worked, because the next thing I knew Draco was kissing me like he really meant it. But then he just gave me a really rejecting look and stormed off, and I have no idea why. I think it's because he regrets ever kissing me."

Narcissa burst out laughing again, and Hermione gave her an annoyed look, "I'm serious! He looked at me like I was an ugly cow afterwards!"

This just made Narcissa laugh all the harder. Through tears of mirth, she managed to say, "Oh, my dear! You really do have no experience with men! Draco never rejected you or regretted kissing you; if he did he would have stayed. The fact that he left means that he fancies you and was very annoyed with himself for letting it show. It has nothing whatsoever to do with you, my dear. He is simply an awkward teenage boy who has no idea how to control his own feelings. Lucius was just the same when we first met."

Hermione gave a delighted giggle, "Lucius was awkward! I find that very difficult to believe!"

"I know! But he was; it took three meetings before he exchanged more than a gruff 'hello' with me. At first I thought it was because he didn't like me, but I soon discovered it was completely the opposite. When it comes to men, my dear, nearly ninety percent of the time if they at rudely towards you it's because they actually quite like you. The other ten percent is they are just rude people. So it's one hundred percent to do with them or their feelings, not you."

Hermione nodded and smiled, suddenly feeling a lot better after hearing Narcissa say that. "Thank you, that certainly clears things up a bit."

Narcissa grinned, "Just know, any relationship between yourself and Draco I would fully support. You are a lovely, intelligent young lady full of life and I think that's exactly what my son needs.

Hermione nodded, "What about Lucius?"

"As much as I love him, Lucius is rather classist and tends to only mix with members of the highest social circles. Just let me get him used to the idea of you and Draco, maybe you could help me knock some sense into him and get rid of that ghastly Parkinson girl."

Hermione stopped, shocked, "Wait, you don't actually like Pansy?"

Narcissa shook her head as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "Of course I don't. She's loud, annoying, vain and dresses deplorably. What is there to like?"

Hermione nodded, that basically summed Pansy up in a nutshell.

"Mrs Malfoy, I hate to be so rude, but why is Lucius so insistent that no boys should accompany me upstairs, or even visit?"

Narcissa sighed, "Lucius is a complicated man. He was taught from a very early age that men are here to control and look after women."

"But that's archaic!" Hermione cried, interrupting her.

Narcissa chuckled ruefully, "Yes it is, but it's what's been hardwired into his brain. I've just discovered some very subtle ways of being equally in charge without him even knowing it. Anyway, because of this he feels slightly threatened whenever a man comes over, worried that this man would question his authority."

"Surely though, that's no reason to ban all men from coming in the house, the men I would invite over are barely even men at all! They're still boys!" Hermione argued.

A flash of something Hermione didn't quite recognise flitted across Narcissa's eyes. "It doesn't matter, Hermione. Just follow his rules."

Hermione chewed her bottom lip, something didn't quite match up. Sure, Lucius could be territorial, but he wouldn't be quite so aggressive about it. After all, he let Blaise come and visit; there were plenty of male staff. He had a son who was nearly a man, for crying out loud!

Narcissa clearly wasn't going to give her any more information, so she stored what she already knew away in her 'suspicious' bank along with the date December 25th and the number 8. She could analyse it further when she had more time and information.

"I think it's a lovely day to eat breakfast outside, don't you?" Narcissa asked a bit too cheerily for their previous conversation. "Let's go back and sort it out.

They walked back to the manor, conversing politely about trivial matters such as the weather and the state of Narcissa's rose bushes.

Having returned to the imposing building, Narcissa promptly ordered breakfast to be organised in the 'flower patio'. Hermione later discovered that this was, in fact, a circular patio surrounded by various bushes and plants that she imagined would look lovely in spring or summer.

They were eating croissants and French toast and debating the best places to visit when in Italy, when Hermione heard the clacking of a walking cane along with barking. Lucius entered the patio along with Perseus and Hercules, a grim look on his face.

"Good morning, Miss Rivers." He said in a clipped voice. "I trust you had fun at the pat last night?"

"Yes, sir. It was most enjoyable."

Lucius nodded primly, "Good. I just came to inform you that today's lessons are cancelled. Draco and Blaise have gone into town for the day; they shan't be back till late. Now if you'll excuse me, Athena is having some trouble birthing and the vet isn't picking up his phone. Good day."

"Who's Athena?" asked Hermione, her curious nature pushing through.

Lucius sighed, "She is my favourite female dog currently giving birth to Perseus' young, but is having issues."

"We had some dogs back at my school, and the owner, our PE teacher, taught us all about them and let us get involved with taking care of them. I once helped a dog through a difficult birth. I could help out, if you require assistance." Hermione said; the urge to help winning out over the urge to run and hide from Lucius.

A muscle tensed in his jaw, but nonetheless he nodded and swiftly turned to walk away. Hermione leapt up, and after bidding Narcissa goodbye she hurried after Lucius.

He led her to the stables, and gestured to one which contained the birthing dog.

"Okay," said Hermione, "firstly I need some gloves. If you would be so kind as to remove Hercules and Perseus from the area, if Athena sees them she might freak out slightly and that won't help things at all."

Lucius nodded and shooed the two dogs off, and then handed her a pair of gloves.

Slowly, Hermione entered the stable with Lucius just behind her and approached Athena carefully. Kneeling down beside the large wolf-like bitch, she let Athena sniff her hand before putting on the gloves. "How long has she been in labour?"

"About ten hours." said Lucius, kneeling by the head of his prized female and stroking her head tenderly. Hermione was surprised; she hadn't expected that Lucius would be so involved with these aspects of owning and breeding dogs.

Assessing he dog's situation, Hermione immediately realised what the problem was. The puppy was sideways, meaning it couldn't quite get out of the uterus. She hadn't actually ever helped a dog give birth, but she had read multiple books on the topic and she hoped that would be enough.

"Hold her steady, this will hurt slightly but is necessary."

Lucius complied and held Athena down whilst Hermione gently rotated the puppy until it could come out naturally. Spreading a blanket on the floor, Hermione helped birth five beautiful puppies.

"Thank you." said Lucius suddenly as they were walking out of the stable.

Hermione looked at him in surprise, "No problem! I mean, glad I could be of service." She said hurriedly.

Lucius chuckled, "Regardless of my behaviour at times, Hermione, I do actually quite like you. You are intelligent, kind and you know how to hold your own in an argument. You have many admirable qualities."

"Thank you, sir." Hermione said, too bewildered to say much else.

"Please, call me Lucius. Have a lovely day, Hermione." he said as he turned to walk off. He paused once more to call over his shoulder, "Oh, by the way. Draco 'quite likes' you too."

Hermione stood speechless watching his retreating figure; these wealthy people were so confusing!

You bet they are!;)

There you have it folks! Please review and I shall PM you a sneak peak of next chapter. Also tell me what you think of shorter chapters, more frequent updates. By the way, I have never birthed a dog and all of that information I got off the internet. Please don't use it whilst birthing your own dog, get a professional if you are worried. Anyway, see you soon!;)

GoldieXx