*Quietly sidles up* *Hands over update* *Apologises sincerely for the long wait* *Disappears into the mist*

HEY! I'm back with a fresh new update! To Blazing Green, I am very sorry for not sending you a sneak-peak but I only saw your review when I logged on to post this! So instead, I shall dedicate this chapter to you Blazing Green! Thank you so much for your kind review;) So, I own nothing and on with the story! Review and you get a sneak-peak… yay!

P.S. This is a filler-type chapter, next chapter is gonna be awesome!

Hermione took one final look at herself in the mirror and smiled in satisfaction. It wasn't at her violet dress, or beautifully curled hair; it was at the prospect of fooling Lucius into hiring her. She was sure that he would make his offer tonight, what with Professor Snape coming to dinner. Draco had already warned her that Snape was a rather cold man who preferred sarcasm to friendly conversation, but Hermione reckoned she could deal with him.

A sharp knock on the door echoed around the room and Hermione took one last look at herself before opening the door. To her surprise, it was Blaise and not Draco standing in the doorway.

"Blaise," said Hermione, "where's Draco?"

Blaise grinned at her, "You look nice Hermione. Lucius has Draco hostage in the drawing room along with Snape the sour grape so I'm here to escort you to dinner instead."

Grinning at his description of Snape, Hermione linked arms with Blaise and they started walking down the hallway to the dining hall.

"So, are you glad or sad to be leaving later on this evening?" asked Hermione, looking up at him.

Blaise considered it for a moment, "Kind of both, really. Whilst I do love spending time with the two of you, I think the amount of sappy lovey-dovey dribble is affecting my brain."

Hermione thwacked on the arm, "We are so not that bad! Besides, you were exactly the same with Ginny."

Blaise smirked, "All that effort getting you two together and now I want to throw up whenever you interact."

Rolling her eyes, Hermione stoutly ignored him until her phoned beeped inside her clutch.

"Hope you're not going to have that on during dinner; Narcissa will kill you!" Blaise joked.

Still ignoring him, Hermione opened up the text from Ginny and frowned at the content; The black bat has been born anew from the ashes many times.

It was clearly code for something, Hermione knew that 'born anew from the ashes many times' meant that someone was part of the order of the phoenix, but she didn't know any black bats.

Deciding to think on it more later, Hermione switched her phone to silent and slipped it back inside her clutch.

They walked in amicable silence until they reached the entrance hall where Narcissa stood waiting for them. She gave them a somewhat detached smile, "Hello Blaise, I trust you are well? And Hermione, you look lovely dear."

Hermione inclined her head in thanks and then followed Narcissa into the dining room. She instantly spotted Lucius sitting arrogantly at the head of the table, with Draco to his right and an imposing man with black hair and a dark aura to his left.

So that's what Ginny meant by black bat, this guy must be the spy that told Dumbledore about the opportunity to infiltrate the Manor in the first place.

Narcissa hurriedly pushed Blaise and Hermione forward in a frantic manner that was so unlike the cool, composed woman she usually was. It put Hermione on edge; she didn't know what the feeling in the pit of her stomach was, but it was something akin to fear.

"Blaise, dear, if you sit next to Mr. Snape and Hermione, you sit next to Draco," said Narcissa, shoving them in the direction of their seats. Once they had both sat down at their seats Narcissa nodded agitatedly and made to leave the room.

"Aren't you dining with us Mrs Malfoy?" Hermione asked in confusion. Narcissa opened her mouth to speak but Lucius beat her to it.

"I'm afraid we shall be discussing things of a rather delicate nature, things my wife does not wish to hear about," he said, fixing Narcissa with a cool glare. Hermione was able to read between the lines enough to know that Narcissa had no choice whether or not she stayed. Hermione suddenly recognised the feeling inside her as pure and utter dread.

Narcissa scurried out of the room, shutting the door behind her with a resounding bang. One the echoes had faded Lucius turned his cool gaze onto Hermione.

"Miss Rivers, this is Severus Snape, a... researcher if you will."

Hermione nodded towards Severus, "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir."

Snape sneered, "No it's not, it never is. I am sure Lucius has already warned you about my particular brand of friendliness."

"Meaning," Lucius interrupted, "he isn't friendly at all."

Blaise sniggered, but covered it up with a cough when Snape turned to glare ferociously at him. Draco shook his head, "He'll warm up to you eventually Hermione, don't worry."

"If I could please stop being referred to as if I'm not here then we might be able to stop wasting time and get to the point. Why am I really here, Lucius?"

Lucius smirked, "Hermione, you told me that if the opportunity presented itself then you would willingly break the law to pursue a drug that could amplify human strength. Do you still hold true to that?"

Hermione carefully schooled her features into a confused expression, "Well, yes, but what has that got to do with anything?"

Still smirking, Lucius clapped his hands and five maids rushed in with platters that they carefully placed in front of the people sitting around the table. Hermione looked down to see an exotic fish soup in front of her.

"I think the topic is rather heavy, considering we haven't even started eating yet. Your questions shall be answered in time."

Damn Lucius and his haughty calculations!

Hermione knew exactly what he was doing; making her curious and eager to know more. It would make her more susceptible to whatever it was that he had to say. Little did he know that she already knew exactly what he was going to say.

Throughout the first course the conversation was light-hearted and didn't stray beyond football and the paintings that hung in the dining room. Lucius said they were gothic surrealism; Hermione thought they were creepy.

It was only when they were half way through their second course, roasted shoulder of lamb, did Lucius finally set down his cutlery to look at Hermione. He set his unwavering gaze on her and smirked when she set down her own cutlery and gulped down some water in nervousness.

"I have a job offer for you, Miss Granger."

She nearly choked on her water; it was unlike him to be so forthright. Clearing her throat weakly she met his gaze, "I thought I was already in your employment."

He grinned like a shark, "That you are, and you are doing a marvellous job of it as well. Draco, comment êtes-vous couramment dans la langue française?" (How fluent are you in the French language?)

Draco smirked, "Je suis père presque couramment ; je juste besoin d'un peu plus de pratique," he said arrogantly. (I am nearly fluent father; I just need a bit more practice.)

Lucius clapped his hands together slowly, "I congratulate you, Miss Rivers, it is not even Christmas and already my son knows a new language.

Hermione blushed, "Well, Draco is a very receptive student. I still have to teach him German and Russian though."

"Ah, but here's the thing Miss Rivers, French was the main language I wanted my son to learn given the family's French origins. The other two are merely bonuses. Now that he has learnt French, the language lessons can be less frequent. The extra time it grants you can be spent in this new job proposition, if you choose to take the opportunity."

Hermione looked around at the people sitting at the table. Lucius looked haughty as usual and Snape looked grim, but what worried her most were the reactions of Blaise and Draco. They had both straightened in their seats and had their fists clenched at their sides. Their jaws were set and their expressions steely.

"Father, I think we would all like to know exactly what this job offer is," Draco said in a clipped tone.

Lucius grinned mysteriously, "Snape, why don't you regale us with what it is you do?"

Snape sighed dramatically, scowling at being addressed. "As you know, I am a researcher. Also a developer, if you look at it from a rather cynical point of view."

"And what is it you develop?" asked Hermione.

"Impudent girl," he muttered, "I develop and research a drug that enhances human capabilities and makes them faster, stronger and more deadly, as well as destroying the sympathetic part of their brain. We had our first success not too long ago. Whilst the drug does work, an unfortunate side effect of destroying sympathy is that it targets and amplifies a more feral side of the brain. It turns sane men into glorified beasts."

Hermione carefully schooled her features into a look of shock, "Wow, and you say you've tested this drug on humans? Isn't that illegal?"

Lucius coughed, "Now, now, Hermione, didn't you say you were willing to break the law for the chance to research such a drug?"

Hermione chewed her lip, "Yes, I did say that."

"And you also said that you were willing to go against human moral."

Hermione sighed, "I also said that. I am guessing this job opportunity will be to help the Professor here develop the drug?"

Lucius ginned, "Snape?"

He got a fowl look in return but nevertheless Snape spoke, "As I said, the test subjects are glorified animals. We need to find a way to make sure they keep their human intelligence whilst destroying their sympathy. Your intelligence has been highly praised," here he sniffed self-righteously, "for a mere chit. We could do with another scientist as one of the first was found guilty of sabotaging the experiments on purpose."

Hermione nodded, Horace Slughorn was another mystery. He didn't work for the Order of the Phoenix otherwise Dumbledore would know about it. Unfortunately, if the records were true, Slughorn was dead and with him went some of the answers Hermione was looking for.

"May I ask why you are developing these… people?" she asked timidly, not really expecting an answer.

As predicted, Lucius' eyes hardened, "I'm afraid that particular piece of information is classified until further notice. Just know that it is for a good cause."

Hermione nodded, "I understand, what will happen if I refuse the job?"

Lucius sneered, "I will give you a drug that will make you forget all that you have heard and then I shall give you a sleeping draft and when you stumble downstairs tomorrow morning I shall explain that you had a bit too much to drink."

Hermione's eyes widened, "Could I have a couple of days to think about it please?"

"Impossible," said Snape, "we are doing a trial run of the successful subjects tomorrow and we'd need you to help record the results."

Her brow scrunched up, "A trial run? How will you do a trial run?"

Snape looked to Lucius, as if asking permission to tell her. At a slight nod of his head he turned to face her, "We have released three people, enemies of the organisation, into a small village called Hillsbury. We shall take a couple of the most successful test subjects and set them loose in the village to hunt down and kill these people."

Hermione gasped, "Kill? What happens if normal people get targeted and killed as well?"

Snape's face was stony, "Collateral damage. We need to see how effective our creations are."

Gulping, Hermione stood up on shaky legs, "Could you please give me a moment?"

Lucius tutted, "We need an answer here and now, Hermione."

Draco stood so abruptly that the table shook, "Let me talk to her for a minute, Father," he said with barely concealed anger. He then grabbed her hand and all but dragged her out of the dining room. Once they were well out of hearing range, he pushed her against a wall and pinned her there with his own body.

"Draco," she said calmly, "get off me or I will make you get off me."

However he ignored her, bending down to rest his forehead against hers with a pained expression on his face.

"Don't do this," he said in a heartbroken voice, "please, don't. You don't understand Hermione, these people kill and murder and torture. You're too good, too pure, to be a part of that."

Hermione barely contained a burst of outraged laughter. Her, good and pure? How little Draco knew. She was a spy, a con-woman, sent by his enemies to help bring his father's empire crashing down. She was supposed to hate him with every fibre of her being. She was supposed to show him no emotion. And here she was, falling in bloody love with him.

That was why she couldn't tell him of her broken origins, of her brutal upbringing, of her manipulations. Of how she was anything but good and pure. She cared about him too damn much.

"Draco, it's my decision," she said softly.

"Hermione, please," he all but begged, "you're supposed to be my escape from all of it. I'm a part of it; hell knows I don't want to be! But I am, and you're supposed to be the good in my life, the redemption. A way to forget everything I've been forced to do. I tried to stay away from you in the beginning; I was so worried my darkness would infect your light and leave you broken like me. But I was too damn selfish. I still am and I won't let you be tarnished by the evil of what this job will bring."

Hermione's heart cracked a little at his words.

Oh Draco, I'm already broken. I was broken before I was ten years old. My father… my father.

"It's alright Draco, trust me. I'll still be the same person after this. I promise you that," she said firmly.

I've survived much worse.

Draco crashed his lips against hers with so much passion and desperation that would have fallen if it weren't for the wall and his arms sneaking around her middle.

They stayed like that for a while; simply seeking comfort in each other's embrace. Eventually, Draco pulled away. "I'll let you sort yourself out," he said softly, before disappearing down the corridor.

Hermione blew out a gush of air and slumped against the wall. Talk about an intense evening! She had been expecting the job offer, but not that they were going to risk the lives of innocent people just to try them out. They were all truly evil.

Not all of them, Draco and Blaise aren't.

She mentally told her inner dialogue to shut up, concluding that she was at last going insane. Of course Draco and Blaise weren't evil; it was just Lucius and his kind.

What defines evil? Lucius may appear to be evil on the surface but who knows what's lurking beneath?

She growled and pushed herself off of the wall, pacing the hallway angrily. The first thing she needed to do was make sure there were Order members at the town where they were planning the attack. She dropped a quick text to Ron on her untraceable cell.

Attack tomorrow at Hillsbury, several super-soldiers, don't know what time. Have Order members protect innocents, make sure they blend in.

Having sent the text she mentally prepared herself and walked with purpose back to the dining room. When she entered, all eyes were on her.

She took a deep breath, "I'm in."

Lucius grinned.

The rest of the meal passed in a fairly normal manner, considering what had just taken place. Again, conversation didn't stray far from civilised topics such as issues in the news. When Dinner was over, Lucius invited everybody to the library for brandy. Hermione politely declined, saying that the course of the evening had rather taken its toll on her energy levels.

Having said good-bye to Blaise, she was just walking up the big staircase when she heard somebody behind her. Turning around, she was surprised to see Draco hurrying up the stairs behind her.

He smiled sheepishly at her, "I'm sorry for my behaviour earlier. Allow me to make up for it?" He held out his arm and Hermione couldn't help the small giggle that erupted from her lips. Taking his arm, she allowed him to lead the way.

Hermione sighed in contentment as she let Draco lead her through the various halls and staircases until they finally emerged onto a huge balcony. Silver moonlight danced down and cast magical shadows over the elaborate stone fence covered with a creeping rose plant. Hermione looked up to see thousands of twinkling stars expanding over the deep, rich darkness of the sky.

Draco gently took her hand and looked her in the eye, his own irises the same beautiful shade of silvery grey as the mystical moonlight.

"You look beautiful tonight Hermione," he said softly as he lowered his lips to her own in a gentle, loving kiss. "Let me take you out on a date. A real date, with a romantic dinner and a cheesy film at the cinema."

As Hermione looked up into his eyes, so full of boyish hope, her heart simultaneously swelled and broke with the knowledge that she loved him but would invariably leave him. It was completely selfish of her, but she couldn't stop flinging her arms around him and agreeing with a joyous "Yes!"

"If I could interrupt this moment of blatant inappropriateness, I wish to speak to Miss Rivers alone concerning her new job," came a deep, sardonic voice behind her.

She had to supress a giggle when Draco rolled his eyes and mouthed 'greasy old bat' to her, before he kissed her goodnight and left her alone with Snape.

"Miss Rivers," he said, pinching the bridge of his nose, "I don't know what on earth you are doing here but you are not just playing with fire; you're holding an active volcano filled with dynamite whilst balanced precariously on a tight-rope over a hundred-foot chasm!"

Hermione's eyebrows shot up, "Wow, I don't think I've ever heard someone say so much in one breath. I'm impressed."

Snape growled, "I don't want you to be impressed, I want you to get the hell out of here before you ruin everything and get yourself killed!"

She gritted her teeth together in anger; why did everybody doubt her so much? "Listen, I don't know why everyone has this impression that I'm this helpless, vulnerable little schoolgirl that everyone can just boss around; I'm not! I can do this!"

"You went shopping and nearly got raped."

Hermione gasped in outrage, "Firstly, there were four of them and one of me and I still got out, even with a near concussion! Secondly, you have no right to bring that up!"

Snape sneered, "I have every right. I have been here for years, Miss Rivers, and I have seen what these people do. It is not I sight I can expect an eighteen year old girl to be able to deal with. You are better of back at the Headquarters with the rest of your friends finding out all the information you can to help those of us with experience."

She was so close to slapping him, "I have made more discoveries here in a matter of days than anyone else in a matter of years! I am of way more use to the Order when I'm here and able to discover more."

He massaged his temples, "It may not seem like it, but I'm doing this for your own good. Being the stubborn girl you are; I know you are unlikely to back down so I shall warn you. If you continue on the path you have chosen then there will be a big surprise in future. And trust me, Miss Rivers; it isn't a basket of kittens. I warrant that you will have your heart ripped out at least twice."

A blank expression came over Hermione's face, "I assure you, I don't have a heart to be ripped out."

Snape smirked, "We'll see," is all he said.

Hermione huffed and barged past him, running up to her room. She sat don angrily at her desk and started yanking out her hair-pins, sending her curled locks tumbling down. It was official: the good mood Draco had installed in her had been completely destroyed by the meddlesome bat Snape. And he was supposed to be on her side!

A knock at the door halted her angry actions and she strode over and wrenched the door open. Her mood softened slightly when she saw Draco standing on the other side.

"Draco, what is it?" she asked.

He smiled charmingly, "I just wanted to make sure you were okay, after everything that happened tonight and Snape cornering you. He can be a little harsh at times."

"A little? He practically bit my head off!" She sighed and slumped against the door, "Truth be told, I'm absolutely exhausted. All I want to do is sleep and yet I'm worrying about the trial run tomorrow and whether or not I actually need to be there and whether I can cope with it."

Draco chuckled, "I think you're over-thinking things. You won't have to actually witness the deed itself, just be nearby ready to monitor the success. Snape isn't stupid enough to put one of his scientists in risk of death on her very first day!"

Hermione forced a smile, but truth be told she was too tired to even let out a small chuckle. Going up on tip-toes, she gave him a small peck on the mouth and looked straight into his beautiful eyes, "Thank you, Draco, I don't think I would have been able to cope without you."

He rolled his eyes, "Please, I think I did more harm than good what with my practically assaulting you in the corridor earlier. Good night, Hermione, I hope you sleep well."

"You too," she said before shutting the door. She sighed and leant against it, smiling when she remembered the planned date with Draco. They hadn't figured out when it was going to happen, but Hermione was content with it just being there as a beacon of light in her future.

Stumbling over to her chest of drawers, she yanked out some pyjamas and after carefully removing her dress she chucked them on and plodded towards her bed. Belly-jumping onto it, she snuggled down in the soft pillows and was asleep in seconds; her night plagued with dreams of her past and future melding together to create a monster too big for her to handle. She didn't know how she could beat it without her soul blackening a little more.

Ooh, things are getting tense for Hermione! I really want to get across the idea that she's gradually becoming darker and we'll see plenty of opportunity for her to go slightly crazy in the next chapter! Hope you enjoyed the Dramione fluffiness, I felt I was missing out on a bit of that! Please review and you get a sneak-peak of quite possibly my favourite chapter yet!

GoldieXx