A/N: Here's another chapter and this one is a whopper!

It's almost twice the length of the chapters I usually write but I couldn't find any places to split it that made sense. So, I apologize for the wait but I do hope you'll think it was worth it.

Unfortunately I can't promise a chapter next week because I'm on holiday (in my country) but I'll do my best to get it ready for the week after that.

Please enjoy and stay safe out there!

HBSJ

Chapter 12

"What do you mean, everyone? There are limits to the number of people allowed on the grounds at Badminton." Astoria asked, practical as usual as they were walking back to the manor.

Daphne rolled her eyes. "I mean everyone we want to hang out with. Plus, there's no need to conceal that we're going. I think we should convince the Duchess to go."

Astoria looked adorably confused but Pansy scoffed. "That woman is more scheming than the three of us put together, she'll never fall for any of your traps."

Daphne grinned. "The boys said they needed help and we can do this. And we need the Princess Royal too. The Duchess can make that happen."

Astoria's eyed widened. "What do we need the Princess for?"

Daphne rolled her eyes and said in an exasperated tone. "The Princess Royal attracts attention and we need attention around this event. Press attention."

The dark chuckle from Pansy took both of them off guard. She had figured out Daphne's plan in seconds. "Oh Daph, you are wicked."

Draco spent the week trying to reason with everyone around him it seemed.

Somehow, Daphne had everyone convinced that an excursion to the Badminton House Trials the following Saturday was the very thing. Even Harry, Granger and Weasley were going and Draco felt as if he was about to lose his mind.

It seemed as if his freedom was being taken away and he would be forced to attend, no matter his thoughts on the whole shebang. Even his mother had joined in the preparations and now there were plans for an elaborate picnic with servants. His mother had already contacted the aging Duke of Beaufort and had an area reserved for their party.

It might have been a seasonal event but with roping in his mother, they had managed to turn it into the event to attend. It was too much. He hated drawing attention to himself and it might not have been his idea but he knew that the machinations of his mother and the ladies around him was not in his favour.

Therefore he spent the entire week trying to calm every female around him down. Without little to no success. Daphne had thrown herself into the planning with his mother with rather unusual gusto and even his father had been flatly ordered to attend.

It was a nightmare.

Weasley was beside herself and spoke of nothing else during their training sessions in the stables. It was doing his head in and there was no escape. Somehow, she had managed to turn it all around in her head to make it seem as if she was the main focus of the outing. It was grating on him to listen to her day in and day out.

He had no time alone with Hermione any more either because Blaise and Theo made it a point to come by the stables every day and they always spent hours joking with Harry and Hermione outside.

And most days even Pansy made an appearance as well. He had no idea why she came by that often as she seemed completely uninterested in the ponies and their riders. She always made a point to speak with Hermione when she came by though, which he also found very odd.

Everyone were acting noticeably peculiar. Except Harry and Hermione.

Those two were having the times of their lives outside on horseback training and racing across the polo field against each other. He even spotted them having a mallet-sword-fight, laughing all the while.

And he stood inside, listening to Weasley's ongoing prattlings. It felt like his ears were haemorrhaging. Which they probably weren't. Probably.

The week had dragged by and it was finally Friday.

He was standing by Prudence and Parsley, trying to focus on Weasley's training but he just couldn't find the appropriate enthusiasm for the long hours ahead of him.

They'd just had lunch, him, Harry, Granger and Weasley with Blaise and Theo. Blaise especially had been acting completely out of character.

Some things were the same, he was flirting shamelessly with both Granger and Weasley and even Lovegood whenever she popped by. But Blaise was chattering, which was very unlike him. And he was winking at Draco a lot, which was distinctly odd.

And he kept suggesting what Draco should wear, alternating between a retro tweed look complete with a sixpence and a casual polo get-up with riding boots and all to 'accentuate his arse', none of which were particularly inspiring to Draco.

It was chaotic. He so deeply preferred order and all he had around him was absolute irrationality.

However, there was something to be said about Weasley's ability to multitask. She was able to talk incessantly about Badminton while showing surprising ability to handle the mallet as he repeatedly hooked her mallet and it fell to the floor.

For some reason, he didn't feel like picking it up for her at any point in their training.

She was working hard all the same and she had some of the necessary agility, which could make her a good polo player with lots of training and focus but she just didn't seem to be able to focus much. At one point she even tried to convince him that they could go to Badminton in his car, just the two of them which would not be happening.

However, he didn't know how they would actually get there. They were so many going and everyone would be drinking champagne at the very least.

He pulled out his phone and texted Daph about it with one hand while hooking Weasley with the other. Weasley didn't notice his distraction because she was too distracted by the wonders of Badminton herself and three minutes later, he had his answer. They would be traveling to Badminton, an hour away, in no less than two chauffeured mini busses and his parents would go by themselves.

One to carry the young, one to carry the servants and food and then his parents would be driven in the Range Rover. Of course. They wouldn't want to be trapped with a bunch of twenty-somethings for an hour back and forth.

The three little dots on his phone were still moving, which meant that Daphne was still writing and when the text arrived, he groaned out loud. His aunt would be joining them at Badminton. The Princess Royal to the realm of the United Kingdom. His elderly, lovely and altogether much too perceptive aunt.

Bollocks.

Hermione had enjoyed her week immensely and was standing in her large walk-in closet containing the modest amount of clothes she'd brought.

She'd been spending every day with Harry and the training had been hilarious, if a little bit lacking. It was obvious to her that Draco was a superb trainer as opposed to Harry, who might be an excellent steward of the stables but his polo-skills could have been better. A lot better.

But it was fun and she enjoyed the leisurely days with Harry since she knew very well that come Monday, the hard work resumed when Draco joined her outside with Ginny.

They'd had visitors every day and it was always hilarious when Blaise and Theo came by. Even Pansy came by and that just made no sense but she was nice enough. Though Harry acted a bit weirder whenever she was around. It wasn't the big things, just the small things that she noticed.

She had initially tried to ignore it all but the general excitement in their motley group about Badminton was incredibly infectious and Hermione couldn't help but get excited about it too.

It was essentially a fancy garden party and she was considering the three appropriate dresses she'd brought as she was pulling her one pair of wedges out of the walk-in closet.

The wedges were light green, so she chose an off-white linen dress with green leaves in different shades cascading down the slightly flared knee length skirt. It had sleeves to her elbow and a court neckline. It was simple and comfortable to wear all day. In short, it was the perfect choice for the day.

Ginny however, seemed to be having rather a lot of difficulty making her choice.

An anguished cry came from Ginny's room. "'Mione!"

It was the fifth time she had called for her in half an hour and Hermione couldn't help but roll her eyes in the privacy of her own room. "Yes?"

"What do you think?" She came running in with her arms filled to the brim with dresses. "The black? Or maybe the red? Perhaps the pink is a bit much? But I do like it."

Hermione was shaking her head. "No Gin. They're too much." She ambled over to the heap of dresses that Ginny had dumped on her bed and considered the selection. They were all figure hugging evening dresses and not appropriate for a garden party.

She shifted the dresses around while Ginny was standing in front of the mirror posing with the pink floor length dress. "What about this lovely blue-silver dress? It has a beautiful back and the fabric will make you shimmer when you move in the sun." Honestly, it was the best of the bunch with a scoop-back and the fabric was pale blue with silver threads woven through.

Ginny's eyes lit up. "Ooh, that's an idea! I have the perfect shoes!" And she ran from the room, returning with a pair of insanely high-heeled strappy silver sandals. "Aren't they pretty?"

She had tossed her slippers and was admiring her sandaled feet in the mirror but Hermione was unsure of its practicality. "You do realize that we're going to be walking around on grass right?"

Ginny just waved it away. "Yes yes, but they are pretty right?"

Hermione just smiled. "Very." Because there were. They would probably just sink into the grass, which made them highly impractical for the following day.

Hermione couldn't imagine how Ginny would fare at Badminton in those heels but she couldn't do anything else about it. Ginny was famously stubborn, witnessed by the fact that she was insisting on wearing the heels and her unrequited infatuation with Draco.

Well, Hermione was just the same but her infatuation was just a bit more hidden from view. She hoped.

Ginny was positively fawning on him and he was having none of it. If she hadn't had a rather personal interest in the outcome of Ginny's attentions, she would have found it endlessly funny.

She spent the evening listening to Ginny and Luna chatter on about the men at Dartmoor while they shared a bottle of wine, or two. It was mostly Ginny chattering, but Luna's interjections of random comments and knowledge was hilarious.

"And Blaise has this manly look about him, I'm sure he's delicious in bed."

Luna pondered this statement from Ginny before replying seriously, "His aura is orange too."

Ginny stared at Luna with a somewhat alarming expression and Hermione had to clamp her lips to stop from laughing.

"Right, and his muscles are so big. He's so burly and handsome. I would go for him is Draco wasn't around."

Luna stirred the tomato soup she was making absentmindedly. "How do you go for someone?" She said thoughtfully. "Do you go right or left? Or perhaps straight ahead. Not backwards, I hope."

Hermione suppressed another laugh as Ginny looked at her as if Luna was from the moon. Which was a fantastic coincidence of thought. It almost made her laugh again but Ginny ignored her this time.

"And Draco is just so dreamy. Spending all week with him was amazing. He's like the silent brooding type and I'm into it"

It seemed as if Luna just couldn't help it. "Inside him? That sounds awkward. Or perhaps arousing? Interesting."

As Luna pondered that train of thought, Hermione bit her lip but managed to keep the snicker at bay. Ginny looked annoyed but Hermione was endlessly entertained.

Ginny shot Luna a look and continued undaunted, "It's just the way Draco looks at me, it makes me shiver all over, even my lady bits and I just can't wait for us to move past this awkward stage."

Luna, finally realizing that Ginny was rather unappreciative of her comments, muttered under her breath, "My lady bits have never been on stage. Could they even shiver, if ordered to?"

Hermione choked on the sip of wine she had been drinking and began coughing wildly while trying not to laugh. It was a losing battle and soon enough she was doubled over with laughter, with both Luna and Ginny looking at her as if she was nuts.

Well, she probably was. Two weeks at Dartmoor could do that to a person.

The day of Badminton had dawned and the whole house was a flurry of activity.

Everyone were getting dressed and, living in one of the wings of Dartmoor, all of his friends had been accommodated in the rooms around him. His door was open and every now and then, someone poked their head in.

"You look handsome today, is it for someone in particular?"

It was Daphne, she stood in the door and she looked stunning in a simple pale pink V-neck dress with a soft full-bottomed skirt ending below her knee. It was old-fashioned but she wore it with such effortless grace that is suited her to perfection.

He smiled at her. "No, I just want to be comfortable today. It's going to be a long day.

She rolled her eyes. "I know. Theo won't shut up about it. He thinks my heels are too high but I told him that platforms aren't as hard to wear for hours as pumps or stillettos. Wedges would be about the same."

Draco gave her a look and she laughed softly. "I know, I know, you don't give a shite about those things."

He feigned affront. "Excuse me Lady Daphne, I care highly about your comfort." He grinned. "But I truly don't care about the type of shoe you chose."

She shrugged with a smile, utterly unaffected. "I know, but you're always fun to banter with."

He chuckled as she gave him a quick wave and walked on to annoy someone else.

He was tying his shoes when another voice interrupted him. "Damn, you look fucking boring mate."

Draco had decided to forego every one of Blaise's eight outfit suggestions in favour of simple light brown trousers, a white button up with royal blue buttons and a navy blazer.

He rolled his eyes at Blaise, who had waltzed into his rooms as if he lived here too. "Why do you care so much about what I wear?"

"Because you're about to get mobbed by the glitterati. For some odd reason they've always preferred you to me. I've never understood why, I'm much more handsome." Blaise was smug and he was right. But Draco would never tell him that.

Blaise was a classical beauty, even going as far as working as a model a few years back. In contrast, Draco was more angular with a rather long face in his own opinion. Blaise fit the Venetian Man measurements and he just… didn't.

Draco answered with an eye roll. "Who cares? They all want Theo too."

"Yeah, but somehow you're still the most popular one of us. It's the royal stuff probably. But why would anyone want to be connected to that train wreck?" Blaise scoffed but then his expression cleared. "Your mum and aunt are exempted from that statement of course."

He just chuckled. This conversation was repeated between them about two or three times a year. "Either way, I would prefer it if you or Theo took the hordes from me. It's uncomfortable and I don't have the same kind of 'armour' that the princes have."

Blaise acknowledged it with a nod. "You're right about that but that's what we're all here for. We are your friends and we'll help you. Which reminds me, which woman should I distract from you?"

Draco arched a brow at him, stalling. It was sort of unspoken between then but should he tell Blaise about his… fascination?

"Get a fucking move-on gents, wheels up in ten minutes."

Both Draco and Blaise swirled to see Pansy in the door, examining her hair in the mirror just inside the door. Of course she looked impeccable, there wasn't a hair or lash out of place. She had discarded the usual dress for a royal blue pantsuit with golden accents and fancy wedge shoes.

She turned to them with a distinctly Pansy look, seeming amused and irritated all at once.

It provided Draco with the distraction he needed.

She turned to them from the mirror and gave them both a onceover. "You'll do I guess. Where's the duke?"

Theo appeared out of thin air behind her. "Right here darling, did you miss me?"

She scoffed disdainfully. "Not really, no." Her voice was flat. "But we're leaving in ten minutes." And with that she strolled towards the main staircase without giving them a backwards glance.

Theo turned to them. "Shite I need a shag soon, I'm starting to lust after Pansy, is that incest?"

Blaise chuckled. "You've already shagged Daphne more than once, did that feel like incest?"

Theo seemed to consider that. "No, no it didn't. Daphne's different. But I'm so fucking horny that I could shag anything that moves."

Draco chose not to respond but Blaise just couldn't seem to help himself as they walked together towards the front door. "I seriously doubt that."

The bus was arriving and Hermione and Ginny made their way down to the drive in a haze of Ginny's perfume. "Don't sit next to me, I need the seat to be open so Draco will chose it, okay?"

Hermione smiled in answer, trying to tamper the sudden pang in her chest down.

The bus was empty and Ginny took her time choosing her seat. There were seven rows of seats with two on each side of the aisle. "This one I think." She sat down on the window seat in the middle row. "Here I can take part in every conversation across the bus."

Hermione just smiled, it felt somewhat fake and took a seat two rows in front of Ginny on the opposite side. It seemed best to just indulge Ginny in her whims to keep the peace.

They waited for a few minutes for Harry to arrive. He was sauntering towards them from the treeline, dressed smartly in dark blue jeans, a light blue button up and a green linen blazer. It suited him eminently well, though he would scoff if she told him so.

He threw them both his magnificent smile and sat down in the seat in front of Hermione, sprawling across both seats. "Hello ladies. Are you ready for a jaunt in the sun?" The diver closed the door and drove towards the Manor.

Ginny rolled her eyes and didn't answer but Hermione smiled back at him. "Of course, I have a hat and everything." She peered over the backrests of the seats. "Where's your hat?"

He shrugged. "Blaise is bringing one. He says he's got one that matches this jacket but we'll see."

Hermione took a good long look at him. "You look great Harry. That sort of look really suits you."

He barked a laugh. "You say that as if you're surprised."

She winked. "I always am when it comes to you. You usually always wear simple jeans with a polo. Or with no shirt."

He opened his mouth to reply, but she was spared by his no doubt lewd comment by the opening of the door and a loud shout of, "You fuckers have no fucking clue about my level of horniness!" and then a dark muttering from Pansy of, "I need a fucking drink."

It seemed there was a debate of some sort between Draco, Blaise and Theo, which had been the cause of Theo's outburst. Well, it was mostly between Theo and Blaise, Draco was obviously trying to ignore them.

Pansy entered first and sat opposite Harry in the first row and of course she looked gorgeous. Then came Daphne, just as exquisite yet they wore entirely different styles. She sat right behind Pansy and Astoria sat next to her.

Ginny was furtively eying the men as they entered since everyone seemed to have taken seats at the front of the bus.

Blaise stopped by the seat next to Hermione. "Is this seat taken?" His voice was deep and courteous and he looked very handsome in his beige linen suit and turquoise button up. He had two hats in his hands and gave the blue and green one to Harry.

She couldn't stop the giggle that bubbled up in her throat. "No, go right ahead."

"Excellent, then I'll be guaranteed intelligent conversation the entire way."

Theo was next and he sat down beside Ginny. She was somewhat transparent in her displeasure about that outcome.

Draco was the last one to board the bus and he sat down right behind Hermione, leaving the final three rows in the bus empty. It definitely wasn't the outcome that Ginny had hoped for, since everyone had chosen to sit up front.

Harry had moved to the seat next to the aisle and was carrying on a quiet conversation with Pansy, who had an odd expression on her face. Hermione was about to try to listen in when Blaise broke her concentration.

"So, who are you doing today?"

She blinked.

"Personally, I'm considering your friend." He paused, trying to convey something to her before puffing out an impatient huff. "And you should consider my friend." He said it in a loud whisper.

Hermione stiffened. What the hell?

He continued with a twinkle in his eyes. "Theo is a duke after all."

She blinked again. Wait, what?

"I mean, he's clearly the one to choose between the three of us. I don't even have a real title and Drake still lives with his parents." He paused. "Oh fuck, I forgot about Harry." He paused again, seemingly contemplating the addition of another man in their group. "Nope, I'd still go for Theo."

She laughed. She just couldn't help it.

He continued to hilariously entertain her every step of the way to Badminton and she almost didn't notice the many times that Ginny attempted to drag Draco into her conversations with Theo.

Almost.

Torture.

That's what this day was.

All around him there were posh people milling about and every female was trying to catch his eye to get an invite into the private area that had been marked for their unnecessarily elaborate picnic.

His mother was entertaining most of the ton and the female part were eying him furtively. And his father was nowhere to be seen. He was probably off somewhere smooching with his cronies.

Granger spent most of her time with her brother Will, who was just as he remembered but they had been interrupted more than once by Weasley, who needed help untangling her impossible shoes from the grass they were standing on. Draco had entirely lost count as to how many times her heels had sunk in.

And there had been no shortage of suiters for Granger to entertain. The most serious one, the one with the best claim on her was Cormac McLaggen, Viscount Rivenhall, grandson to the Duke of Beaufort. A man who, despite his general obnoxiousness, had known Granger and Will for most of their lives.

He was a tiresome person, completely different to everyone he knew and despite the much lower rank, he carried himself as if he was a prince of the realm. He was arrogant and unpleasant and Draco had found himself wishing, more than once, to plant a good right hook in the wankers face.

A large area had been sectioned off for them, as sort of VIP area, only there were no rules as to who had access. Except for his mother's rules, which in themselves were vicious.

The press had been allowed into the private area for half an hour only and the notorious gossip columnist Rita Skeeter had ignored everyone in favour of hounding him the entire time. "Are you seeing anyone? Who is the two women accompanying you and your friends today? Are they anything in particular to you? Would you pose for a picture with them? How is your aunt, the Princess Royal?" And on it went. It was a relief when the footmen came to eject her from the area but she did manage a final threat before leaving, "Remember, I will be watching."

He could care less about the reporter and looked around to find his friends but they were scattered to the wind. Only Pansy was nearby and he made a beeline for her. She was standing in the shade of a tall oak tree, looking at the cross-country competition on the other side of the fence in front of them without actually seeing it.

He smiled at Pansy as if she was his saviour. Pansy sighed, heavily and heartily. Draco turned to his oldest friend, "How are you?"

She smiled sadly. "I could be better."

He nudged her shoulder with his. "You could be happy you know, your way."

The shake of her head was barely visible but he saw it. It was the way it had always been with them. They knew each other inside and out. "My parents would never allow it."

"You're legally an adult, you can do whatever you want Pans."

She scoffed softly. "Technically yes, but I'm used to living like this. I don't know if I could ever live like normal people. I know how to host the queen and throw a house party for several hundreds of guests but I don't have any actual skills to make it in the real world."

He smiled because she was selling herself too short. "You do, you could always be a fabulous party planner."

That made her smile and she acquiesced quietly. "I suppose."

They stood in silence, watching a very competent rider go through the obstacles and suddenly she turned sharply towards him. "Would you give it all up?"

Her question took him aback. "Honestly? I don't know."

"But I don't think you'd have to. Look at that." She nodded towards their elaborate pavilion and there stood his aunt and mother, deep in conversation with Granger and her brother Will. He scrutinized the scene and noticed that his mother was focused rather intently on the conversation, something that usually never happened in company. She was assessing Granger. It was a daunting prospect.

Pansy sighed again. "At least she hasn't been rejected yet."

"He hasn't been rejected by your parents either." Draco argued.

She scoffed derisively. "That's because I haven't given them the choice. I know what they would do."

He shrugged. "He might pass you know. He's a good man. The best really."

She gave him a look. "You don't have to tell me that. I knew that the first moment I saw him."

He'd been there and he was the only one of their group who had witnessed the magnificence of their mutual attraction unfiltered. "Well, you could move on." He suggested but he already knew her answer.

She inhaled sharply and he knew the feeling all too well. They were aristocrats in the most elevated sense, born to the highest in the land and even then, they had absolutely no control over those pesky feelings.

She interrupted his reverie. "You could too. You haven't been burned like me."

He didn't know if he wanted to but she was right, he hadn't been burned yet. But he wasn't sure that he could give her up any longer. He tried every night to focus on something other than her. To clear his mind completely and just focus on his breathing. Sometimes he went through his entire stables and still, every time he got to Bolt, he immediately thought of her. And they hadn't even kissed.

The realization jolted his entire being to life. To kiss Granger. It had just become his most fervent wish in the world. He wanted to kiss her everywhere, to run his hands along her ribs, her thighs, her arse, her inner thighs to the holiest of the…

He wrenched his mind away from those increasingly lascivious thoughts and tried desperately to tamper down his growing arousal. Fuck, he was at a goddamn garden party, he couldn't lose control in public of all places. Especially with the press watching his every move.

He tried to joke with Pansy to lighten the mood. "Are your sure that you're not over dramatizing this?"

It didn't work. She glared at him fiercely and suddenly exploded. "I thought I could handle it Draco. That it would just be for a night. One night. But I couldn't, I could never have just one night with him. I got burned and I lit that fucking torch myself. Now all I have are regrets that I ever started it, because now everyone else will always be measured up against him." She paused, heartbreakingly, with burgeoning tears in her eyes. "And they will always be found lacking."

Her voice broke on always and then she marched away from him with her back ramrod straight, towards the Badminton House and he let her go. He knew that she needed time to compose herself and that she needed it in private. That had always been Pansy. Everyone got the posh snarky bitch except for himself and their motley group of friends. At least most of the time.

She was between a rock and a hard place on that issue. On the one hand, she threw everything into pleasing her parents and on the other, she wanted more than anything to live freely.

Shite, he'd really blown that. He needed to apologize to her later.

He turned around and strode towards their pavilion in a foul mood and took his time assessing where to go when he suddenly stiffened.

Riddle.

He spotted him easily from afar, weaving through the crowd towards Granger of all people.

Draco watched as he shared a genial yet detached hello with Will before being introduced to Granger. And they were laughing.

He watched the exchange with narrowed eyes and his entire body was taut and barely under control as the man who had stolen his life's work from him, was flirting with Granger.

But why? Why was he flirting with Granger? How did he even know that she existed? Why had he specifically sought her out? Because, having watched the entire exchange, he somehow knew that he had come to Badminton to meet her. So why?

A resentful female voice interrupted his tunnel-vision on the pair. "You'd think he would pay more attention to his wife instead of some random chit, but no."

He turned and saw his mother's cousin twice removed Bellatrix Riddle neé Black standing beside him. Well, he guessed that she was his own cousin thrice removed but she was about the same age as his mother so he had never considered Bellatrix his own cousin.

She looked beautiful as always, her black curly hair framed her pale face with the perfection of a yin yang sign, topped with large eyes and naturally pink lips. She was beautiful but sad and he knew the feeling.

Bellatrix was desperately in love with her younger husband and he treated her like the dirt on his shoes. Oh, she had all of the physical comforts in the world that she could ever need but he didn't pay any attention to her. Once he had secured her hand in marriage and with it, the power of the Black family name, he had proceeded to ignore her.

They had all been duped by the young and handsome Riddle.

Some were still enamoured with his charm and Draco had never seen it coming from him of all people. Back then, he had begun to see Riddle as a friend but he had soon realized that Tom Riddle had no friends, he had only pawns to use and to dispose of as he saw fit.

He smiled at Bella beside him. "You would, but who could deny you anything?"

She shrugged. "He doesn't deny me anything except affection and love. The things I so desperately crave."

He groaned under his breath. He understood why Bella had approached him, she knew very well of his loathing of her husband, but did he have to be besieged by strong, beautiful women who were yearning for love in their life?

She interrupted his thoughts. "Who is she? You were staring at them before I came over. And before Tom approached her."

He smirked at her. "Were you watching me?"

She shrugged delicately. "I am observant. So answer the question."

He smirked at her commanding tone. It was just Bella's way. "Fine. She's my trainee."

She gave him an odd look. "Is she any good?"

He couldn't stop the small smile that came unbidden to his lips. "Yeah she is. She's really good actually."

She scoffed. "Well that's why he's all over her. Avery is leaving to move to Thailand with his girlfriend. They're looking at properties already. And your definition of 'good' means that she'll be great by the time you're finished with her."

Draco's jaws snapped together. He was recruiting.

A red haze engulfed his vision and his genteel attentiveness to Bellatrix vanished instantly. He muttered some placid words to Bella before marching up to the pavilion where Granger was talking to Riddle.

He couldn't even speak, he just nodded once to Riddle with a stony face and held his hand out to Hermione, interrupting them mid-conversation.

She looked at him as if he'd gone mad, which he probably had.

He unclenched his jaw and tried to speak in his most courteous tone possible. "Please join me, I am going to greet the Duke. I know he will want to greet you too."

She gave him a quizzical look but nodded nonetheless. "Please excuse me mr. Riddle, and I hope your venture succeeds."

Riddle, who had remained silent during the exchange said smoothly. "Certainly miss Granger, it was a true pleasure making your acquaintance."

They barely heard Riddle's words because he was dragging her up the stairs to the lavish main house, hearing and seeing nothing but escape and dragging her along with him.

He found a random room, a library as it turned out, and barely refrained from tossing her inside before slamming the door forcibly shut behind them. "What the hell are you thinking?!" He roared at her and her expression turned from confusion to electrifying anger within a split-second.

She glared at him and crossed her arms across her chest. It displayed her gorgeous assets perfectly but he snapped his attention back to face when she hissed at him, "What the fuck was that?"

"Why were you talking with Riddle? Why were you laughing with him?" His voice sounded scathing to the extreme but he couldn't seem to stop himself.

"Why would you care?" She sounded controlled yet pissed. He definitely deserved that.

"That man… you have NO idea what he is capable of!" He thundered and she stiffened impossibly further. Why didn't she listen? Why didn't she just stay away from him? And why the fuck hadn't he warned her against him?

She scoffed derisively, her entire being radiating annoyance. "So enlighten me instead of yelling at me. Why?"

He looked like a lunatic. An utter madman, pacing back and forth in front of her.

He was frazzled in a way that she had never seen or even imagined was possible. His jaw clenched and unclenched in tandem with his fists and he was glaring around the room with wild eyes.

He opened his mouth several times to say something and she was standing there waiting for him to get to the point. She considered prompting him a couple of times but she decided that, in his current agitated state, she would let him get there on his own.

Even looking like this, he was magnificent. She wasn't usually alone with him in a private space and even the mere proximity of him made her heart beat a tiny bit faster.

He stopped suddenly and just looked at her, as if defeated. And it was heart-breaking. He voice sounded tired. "He'll make you an offer. He thinks I'm creating another team."

She blinked. "I still don't understand."

He sighed and closed his eyes and he appeared crushed when he opened them again. "It's because I think you're good. Or, to correct myself, you'll be great. I don't know how he knows, but that's the reason." He sat down with his head in his hands and muttered, "This is just so fucked up."

She didn't know what to do or say to him. Was she supposed to comfort him? She sort of wanted to, but with the way he had treated her, she didn't particularly feel inclined to do so.

She swallowed and tried to focus on the matter at hand, to use her logic instead of her feelings. "Look, I don't know what happened between you and mr. Riddle-"

He cut her off mockingly. "Mr. Riddle!" He stood and marched to stand right in front of her. "He's a fucking scam-artist who relishes inflicting pain, most especially towards my family."

Her jaw set and she scowled at him. "Well, I'm sorry to hear that but that's got nothing to do with me."

He jumped up and roared at her, "It's got everything to do with you!"

She scoffed. "Risking the repetitive question, I have to ask again, why?!" She was so incredibly frustrated by this man. He was standing there, trying to tell her something and he never came to the goddamn point. "Why?!"

He was watching her every move, her every reaction and she had no idea what he was searching for.

The moments stretched and they just stood there, looking at each other, breathless and aggravated with the other.

Then he moved and suddenly he was right there and there was absolutely no space between them any longer.

His kiss was not gentle or sweet. But she didn't want that from him. His arms were around her waist, securing her to him and she clung to him with her arms around his neck.

A strange sort of calm stole over her. It was like being under water, like diving in a serene lagoon, and she had never found that sense of calm anywhere else.

Except here with him.

She was engulfed by him, consumed by him and it was everything.

In spite of the ferociousness of their mutual craving for one another, that calm seemed to emanate from both of them.

It was like magic.

They were kissing as if neither of them had a care in the world and at that moment, Hermione cared about nothing but the sensations rocketing through her. The sensations he was creating in her, and they were foreign and strange yet incredibly familiar all the same.

Her body seemed to know the language of what was happening to her even if she didn't. And her entire being was thrumming with the pure pleasure of it.

She didn't seem to have any conscious control over her limbs and she clutched on to him, just as he did to her.

They were startled apart by a loud crash just outside the library and a shout. "Who put this shite here? Get rid of it you stupid bitch!" It was Cormac, she would know that voice anywhere, and then his booted stomps echoed down the hall. They could hear someone scurrying just outside to clean up whatever had been toppled.

Hermione focused tentatively on Draco, horrified by what she had just done.

She had just snogged her polo-instructor.

She had just done what Ginny was so desperate to do. So not only had she violated the professional relationship she and Draco had managed to build, but she had also betrayed Ginny, no matter how unrequited her crush on Draco was.

She was mortified. It was horrible and she tried to ignore all of those sensations that made her every nerve-ending tingle and focused on her former anger at him and her own betrayal.

There was a strange sound in the room. She looked around quizzically but she only spotted Draco looking at her with a stricken expression.

And that's when she realized that the sound wasn't coming from the room, it came from herself. She was hyperventilating.

Draco began to move towards her but she just couldn't.

She turned her back on him and walked out into the deserted hallway and she didn't stop and didn't notice anything until she was outside, clutching Harry's hand.

He was talking amiably with the Duchess and Blaise but she was too rattled and Harry seemed to pick up on her mood immediately. He turned towards her and asked her in a low voice, "Are you okay?"

She shook her head as discreetly as she could and she knew very well that she must've looked like hell.

Harry's body changed from carefree to alert within a second. "Right, let's go." He tugged her with him, ignoring the Duchess and Blaise as they were inquiring about them.

She had to jog to keep up with his long strides. "Where are we going?"

He seemed so intense, hell bent on something, on making her understand something important. "Somewhere private. I think we need to talk."

Please let me know what you think!

HBSJ