A/N: I rewrote this chapter three times. I'm still not satisfied, but I don't want to keep you waiting any longer!

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It was either the nerves from having just confessed her deepest feelings, or the frigid stone walls of the dungeons, but Hermione was shaking. It was barely noticeable, but the narrowing of Draco's eyes told her that he did indeed notice, and he was having none of it.

"Are you cold?" he asked worriedly but did not wait for an answer. He reached over the armrest to grab his wand, then, with a flick, his green quilt came to life and floated gracefully towards them.

Draco caught it mid-air, and draped it over Hermione, slowly working the silky green duvet around her into a cocoon. With every spot tucked in, another released, but he was relentless. Shoulders, arms and thighs. Shoulders, arms and thighs. Hermione felt and catalogued every spot. His delicate touches would've passed a governess's strict supervision, but to Hermione, it was like time had stopped as she breathed in his dark, delicious, appley scent by the lungful.

She never felt like this before. His presence was so overwhelming, the butterflies in her tummy did somersaults, and her heart was close to exploding. At the same time, her brain rattled to life and after a quick clearing of its throat, screamed bloody murder at her for getting into something so big before doing thorough research and preferably years of contemplation.

"There. That should be better." Draco rose back up, admiring his work. Or her. Hermione couldn't decide, but the wicked little smile that played on his lips made her hope for the latter.

Hermione was about to thank him when she caught a glint of mischief in his eyes. She may have missed something while she was off in her own world. She raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Slytherin green fits you well," he said, sitting back on the couch. He tentatively draped an arm around her shoulders. When she didn't bolt, he caressed a couple of her curls, visibly fascinated by the bounciness.

So that's what the snake was up to. Dressing her up in his favourite colour. She glanced down at the fabric. Honestly, she thought she looked a lot like a big caterpillar, but that was probably not the right thing to say.

"Thank you," she smiled, then a thought hit her. "I wonder how you'd look like in Gryffindor red."

His smile quickly soured.

"That's something you'll never find out. So just keep dreaming."

"Oh, I will," she smirked. "Each and every night until I find a way to charm some of your clothes red." Draco noticed the playful tone, but he was too late.

Striking from below the quilt, she snatched the wand from his lap and cast a charm, but he dodged to the right at the last second, making the magic hit his couch instead, turning it into the iconic deep burgundy.

Draco nabbed his wand back, casting a quick Finite, but the colours persisted. He turned to Hermione, scowling.

"What?" She crossed her now freed arms, as the quilt had fallen to the floor in the tussle. "Are my decorating skills not to your liking? Well, better get used to it, because it will stay like that for a week."

Draco stared in horror, first at the couch, then at her. "And you wanted to hit me with that?"

"Well, no. The spell only works on fabric, so I wanted to hit your clothes," she explained with a shrug.

"I've never heard of such a spell before," he said, frowning.

"Maybe you should spend more time in the library," she advised in a teasing tone, but he was right. It wasn't a spell you could find in the books.

Hermione's summer was spent experimenting, trying to go beyond the knowledge she could attain at school. In her search, she invented some original spells and made some great strides in the subject of transfiguration as well.

The spell she just used was one of her earlier ones, that was very hard to make but haven't proven so useful before. Now, judging by Draco's gobsmacked face, it was worth every headache it caused her.

Draco was considering her words for a moment, but thankfully he let them go, teasing her right back instead. "Would you like to accompany me sometime? You could show me all of those hidden nooks and crannies where you find all of these secrets."

His implication of them, hiding in a private corner of the library made the goosebumps travel down her spine. But two can play that game.

"Why, Mr Malfoy, do you have a desire to indulge in such mysteries?" She asked innocently, but his eyes darkened almost instantly.

Draco moved closer and caressed her jawline before rounding his fingers around her chin, tilting her head backwards. "If my thirst for knowledge is an indulgence, then please, indulge me, Miss Nott."

Hermione's pulse quickened at his touch, and the flicker of his tongue as he licked his lips nearly made her lose her mind. She weekly nodded, the words escaping her. Hermione's entire world consisted of a set of brilliant, stormy-grey eyes as the wizard slowly leaned closer…

A loud crack thundered in the room, and they both jumped back, the sudden noise made Hermione lose her Lumos, so they were plunged into darkness. Her hand grabbed at the place of her wand, but only grasped air. She was about to slide from the couch to take cover, but Draco grabbed her and turned the lights on. For some stressful moments, she couldn't see anything, but she still heard him clearing his throat, before greeting the intruder.

"What brings you here, Nuit?" Draco didn't sound like his normal, composed self. He was short of breath and his voice was deeper than usual. But at least it seemed like he knew their visitor, so Hermione relaxed a bit.

"Young Master, Mr Zabini sent me," the elf said calmly. She was wearing a royal blue cloth akin to a toga, with dazzling bright yellow gems scattered across it like stars.

Her eyes were now strained on Draco, but before that, she assessed Hermione with a quick glance. She was stoic and downright majestic in her dress. Hermione was suddenly well aware that she was in her old, scruffy pyjamas, her hair probably looked like a nest, and her shoes weren't even charmed on correctly.

"How may Nuit serve the young Master and his… guest?"

There was not a speck of indecency or suggestion in her voice, yet Hermione shuddered like a scolded child. She couldn't even say that it wasn't what it looked like, because she was fully prepared to snog the daylights out of Draco just a few moments ago.

Draco, however, was unaffected by the little elf's scrutiny and recovered quickly. "Yes, could you please make us some tea? Maybe some biscuits?"

"Of course, young Master. Anything else you need of Nuit?" She looked at Hermione again. "Should I bring a change of clothes for the lady?"

Hermione reeled at the casual question. Apparently, the elf was used to bringing girls extra clothing. She looked at Draco and watched the redness creep up his cheeks.

"No, that won't be necessary. We are just doing some late-night reviewing for a test next week," he lied.

If Nuit didn't believe him, she hid it well. She bowed elegantly, then Disapparated.

Alone once again, the magical moment was gone, leaving Hermione scowling and Draco cursing under his breath, no doubt towards Zabini. They sat in awkward silence until a set of trays popped onto the desk, with some tea, scones, and jam.

"Would you like some tea?" He asked, ever so politely, as he learned from the pureblood governesses as Theo said…

Oh, Merlin and Morgana.

Hermione cast a quick Tempus, and after her magic formed into 02:34, she gasped. "Narcissa!"

Draco looked at her in confusion. "What does my mother have to do with tea?" he asked.

"She invited me, well, us, to tea." She answered frantically. It might've made sense in her mind, but the blond was giving her a blank impression. "It's today!" she added.

Draco's eyebrows shot up, and after a glance at her Tempus, understanding glowed in his eyes. He set the teapot down and started to rummage in his drawers.

"I have to go, Draco."

She had so much to do before the visit. She wanted to talk with Ginny to help her choose a dress, she had Theo's notes to go through, she had to somehow make herself presentable and get some sleep to get her brain working again, so she didn't just stare at the woman stupidly. The clock was, once again the new villain in her story.

"You could stay," Draco suggested, but it only earned him a frown.

"Yes, and then spend the rest of the week in detention. What a lovely idea." She darted towards the door, but Draco called after her. "Wait!"

She turned back, and the wizard proffered a potion for her. "It's my special brew. Like coffee, but stronger. Drink it after you wake up. You'll need to be prepared for mother."

Hermione took the vial from him with a smile. Before she could stop herself, she was up on her tiptoes, laying a small kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you. Goodnight, Draco."

Thankfully, she could hide her blush under the cloak as she made her way back to the tower.

—

Just as Draco was about to close his door, he saw his scarf shoot out from the wardrobe, and fly into the darkness of the corridors, like it was on a mission.

And after everything that happened that night, he didn't even bat an eyelid.

—

So, with another exam passed, we are back on track! I also rewrote some of the upcoming chapter summaries this week, but still have many to do. I don't know yet where we'll end up, but we're definitely past the 21 chapter total I planned. What can I say, I'm having too much fun with our snakes. :D (I hope you don't mind.)

In other news, while I have most of their outings planned already, I was thinking about including some extra scenes if my dear readers have some ideas. Leave your suggestions in the comments, and I'll see if they can be done organically, or maybe as a bonus chapter.

Also, a huge, HUGE thank you to each and every commenter, you always make my day! I'm grinning so stupidly when I receive a comment notification, my boss actually noticed.

Don't worry, if all else fails, I'll blame it on the Nargles.

Love,

LydieBerry