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Silencio	By : AkashaTheKitty Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Hermione Views: 40943 -:- Recommendations : 4 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 10
- 11
- 12
Author�s Note 1: I love the way some of you started
poking me when Tuesday came. *giggles*

Author�s Note 2: I now have an estimate for how long I
think Silencio will be. That estimate is 15 chapters.
Nothing is set in stone until I write the final word, though. Why am I telling
you this before the chapter? I don�t know. Note 1 looked so lonely�

Thanks to Miss
Nibbles for taking time out of her busy schedule to look at my story and to
Maz for being the worst beta mankind has
ever seen ;P

**********

Hermione felt as
if she�d just leapt off a cliff and landed in a pile of feathers. She would
never get used to having sex with this boy. Just as she thought she had him
figured out, he turned around and did something that blew her away. She would
never have guessed that Draco had this kind of self-restraint in him, but what
a ride� The way he had moaned her name when he came had made her breath catch
and her heart start pounding all over again. Using each other�s first names
really was too intimate, but he seemed to like it so much. And in a way she
secretly did too.

She watched him
as he slowly opened his eyes to look at her. They were filled with wonder and a warmth that made her breath catch all over again. Then his
eyes widened in shock and the proverbial spell was broken.

It would perhaps
be an exaggeration to say that he jumped off her, but he moved very quickly,
seemingly eager to put some distance between them. Hermione wasn�t all that
surprised, but it still stung a little. He was the one who had been� been doing
whatever this was to her, not the
other way around.

It was always
him who initiated new intimacies, yet he always acted as if it had been her who
had done something, something horrible. As if he didn�t really want it. She
pushed her hurt feelings down and openly rolled her eyes.

�What?� he
asked, looking positively panicked.

�You�re freaking
out,� she said in her best matter-of-fact voice. �Get over it. Not every time
needs to be fast, hard or perverted.�

�Felt pretty
perverted to me,� he mumbled, looking calmer but still scowling and eyeing her
warily.

What had she
done to deserve this? He had wanted her to come tonight, hadn�t he?

Clenching her
teeth hard as to not show him any weakness, she sat up and began rummaging
around for her clothes. She found her panties first. They were damp and
slightly ripped. She sighed and pulled them on anyway.

�What are you
doing?� Draco had sat up to give her a confused look. Right.
Be an arse and then be confused about it.

�I�m getting
dressed,� she calmly replied. �I don�t want to stay in your line of fire, so
I�m leaving.� She clasped her bra.

He frowned a
little, processing this. �I�m not doing anything!� he protested.

She shook her
head. �No, but as soon as you recover from your surprise, you are going to
figure that this was really all my fault and attack me for it. I�m leaving.�

He started.
�W-what did I say?� he asked, looking even more pale than usual.

Hermione was
getting annoyed now. Good. Anger and annoyance was better than hurt. �What do
you mean �what did you say�? We had slow sex and now you�re acting as if� as if
I don�t know any better!� She angrily reached out and grabbed her robes.

�No, wait!� His
hand shot out to stop her before she could pull them on. �I promise I won�t
take it out on you. I don�t want to sleep alone tonight. Stay.�

She really
didn�t know what to think. He looked sincere. He looked as if he didn�t want
her to go. He looked lonely. He slowly pulled her robes from her grasp, tossed
them aside and patted the bed beside him.

Against her
better judgment she found herself laying back down. He
laid down next to her, not touching her and not
extinguishing the light, but merely watching her. It was unnerving.

Suddenly, he
spoke. �We�re no good together out of bed, are we?�

Hermione fought
the urge to roll her eyes at him again. �Well, duh!� That was saying the least.
They were only ever getting along when they were fooling around or sleeping.
She couldn�t recall them ever having had just one nice conversation. They
definitely weren�t friends.

He nodded and
pulled her closer for a kiss. He was acting so strange, but she didn�t mind the
kiss. She loved the kisses. Some days she thought that a day spent kissing him
would be a day well-spent indeed. That was utter nonsense, of course, but it
still felt nice. His lips were tracing hers, feeling them as if he hadn�t been
kissing the same lips for months now.

Actually, now
she thought about it, it was now almost five months ago that he kissed her that
night. Well, OK, he hadn�t just kissed her, but that had definitely been the
start of it. She was surprised at how long ago it was, yet at the same time
also surprised that it hadn�t been longer. It felt like a lifetime. It had been a lifetime.

His hand on her
waist pulled her a little bit closer and he buried his other hand in her hair.
He was insatiable. Hermione really didn�t know how he could keep being so
enthusiastic about going at it all the time. She was exhausted and sated and
yet she had no doubt that if he wanted to go for round two, he would persuade
her to join him and she would love every minute of it.

He didn�t make a
move to do so, however. He just� kissed her. His eyes were closed and his lips
were caressing and nibbling at hers in a way that once again had her heart
pounding with something other than desire. She moved her hand from his arm up
to his neck and he moaned slightly at the simple caress. His heart was beating
hard and fast against his chest, she was close enough to feel it.

He didn�t seem
to be randy again, though. Instead he seemed almost agitated. She could feel it
barely restrained in the way he held his body tense.

Hermione was
confused. What was wrong? She opened her mouth to ask him, but his tongue
sliding in to taste her effectively cut her off. She knew that he did it on
purpose, that he didn�t want to hear her questions� And for now she let it go.
After all, this kiss did feel really
nice. She put both arms around his neck and concentrated fully on the
sensations.

Suddenly he
broke it off, looking almost as horrified as he had before.

�Get some sleep,�
he whispered and without looking at her he extinguished the light and for the
first time ever he laid down to sleep without pulling her close to him again.

**********

Draco�s (it was
hard for her to keep even thinking that name after night became day again)
strange behavior didn�t seem to change much the next day. He didn�t look at her
as she hurriedly got dressed and he didn�t kiss her goodbye. He didn�t ask her
when she�d come back either.

Hermione was, by
now, used to him taking all initiative, so she didn�t know how to respond. In
the end she decided not to respond at all. He would come around again once his
strange mood passed. And if he didn�t� If he didn�t,
that was OK too. At least she tried telling herself that. Perhaps that was what
he had been trying to tell her.

We�re no good together out of bed, are we?

But it just
didn�t make sense after the way he had, well, almost made love to her. Perhaps
that was the reason, perhaps he hadn�t liked that.

No, she could
clearly tell what he liked in bed and as far as sex went, that definitely had
to go on at least his top three. She had never seen him that consumed by his
own climax before. Perhaps he didn�t like liking it so much with a Mudblood�

Her final
conclusion was that she probably didn�t want to know what was wrong. It had to
be something unpleasant and she preferred not to hear it. If he was going to
end this thing, she would much rather that he spared her the details and just
did it. It wasn�t as if she didn�t know it was coming sooner or later. As if
they really had anything more than lust between them. Even if they did � which they had time and again
proved that they didn�t � it would never work. Nobody could know about this.
Nobody would understand.

It was Thursday,
which meant tutoring at the library in the afternoon. That could be the reason
he hadn�t bothered securing an assignation. No, that didn�t make any sense as
he always bothered. They met in the library three times a week � Monday and
Wednesday night and Thursday afternoon, each time for a couple of hours, and
this time was the first time he�d simply let her go in the morning.

Since when did
it matter so much to her anyway? She couldn�t even meet him tonight, but it
would be nice if he�d just ask�

�You know,�
Hermione said after they had settled down with their books that afternoon. �You
don�t really need me to help you anymore. You�ve caught up nicely and if you�ll
just continue to apply yourself��

He briefly
glanced at her. �I know,� he mumbled. He didn�t elaborate.

He didn�t make
any excuses to keep it up, nor did he suggest that they stop. He just kept
reading his stupid book. For a flash Hermione had the urge to tear the book
from him and shout her frustration. Then she composed herself. This was nothing
to be this upset about, she was clearly overreacting.

�You�re really
quite clever,� she said. �I don�t know why you don�t bother more. There is life after school, you know, and good
grades might help there.�

That elicited a
small smile from him and a teasing look that made her heart beat faster. �What
do you know�� he mused. �Hermione Granger, the
notorious muggle-born know-it-all, just called me, a mere � pureblooded, of
course � mortal, clever! This should be a national holiday.�

She wasn�t a
know-it-all, was she? She hadn�t been that bad for years! No, he was just
pulling her leg. This was not entirely new, but still� There had been no malice
in the words, nor any innuendo, which was entirely new.

�As should the
day you called me a competent witch!� she countered.

He looked a
little taken aback at her words. Had he forgotten? He had probably never meant
to say it in the first place, but he had been beside himself with jealousy at
the time and had attacked her parentage.

They are Muggles;
you
are a competent witch. You�d do better to disassociate yourself.

She certainly
hadn�t forgotten. It had possibly been the greatest compliment he had ever paid
her � his recognition of her being a witch and a competent one at that � even
if it had been veiled in insults directed at her parents. He had even said it
so naturally, as if her being a witch wasn�t a fact
he�d normally dispute every chance he got.

She waited to
see if he would comment further, but he didn�t. Instead he fell silent again
and stared down at his book.

�I can�t come tonight,�
she finally said. �I�ve got my duties and then I plan on hanging out with Ron
and Harry.�

He just nodded.
He never just nodded; he always had
to make a fuss!

�And, of course,
tomorrow is out of the question.�

He looked
slightly puzzled. �Tomorrow is� Friday, isn�t it? What�s wrong with Friday?� So
he did still want her to come? Or was this only because he didn�t know why she couldn�t make it?

�It�s the 14^th,�
she said.

This didn�t seem
to ring a bell with him.

�February the 14^th?� she
ventured.

This time there
was a hint of wary recognition in his eyes.

�Anyway,� she
continued, trying hard to ignore that look. �Since it�s on a Friday this year,
there�s a Valentine�s bash at the Gryffindor common room and I already agreed
to go.�

She waited to see
if he would comment or ask her any questions about, say, whether she had agreed
to go with anyone, but he merely
nodded. This didn�t please her at all.

�So I can trust
that nobody will turn purple?� she asked.

His head whipped
up.

�Oh, come on,
Malfoy,� she said, deliberately reverting to his last name and getting some
satisfaction from the annoyance she was causing him. �You know I�m not that
dense. I knew it was you all along, or, most likely, your cronies acting on
your behalf.�

�Then why didn�t
you confront me?� he asked. So that got
his attention?

I thought it was kind of cute and it wasn�t as if he
didn�t deserve it.

No, she�d better
not say that. �You had to get your pent-up aggressions out somehow, didn�t
you?� she said instead. �And I�m sure he
could at least handle himself.�

Again he only
nodded and then paid more attention to his book than her. Hermione had to
remind herself of the times she had had bad days and had been unresponsive or
downright rejecting his advances. Still, she couldn�t keep from grinding her
teeth.

**********

Hermione tossed
her bag on her bed and left again without bothering to unpack it. She was in a
terrible mood and this time she did not have the excuse of hormones, yet she
kept telling herself that she was horribly overreacting. So what if Draco was
acting all distant? It was bound to happen sometime. He couldn�t always focus
all his energies on her. So what if it had happened after the one time they
had� Hermione blocked the thought. Last night had been no different than any
other night. They had just gone a bit beyond, was all.

She went up to
the boys� dormitories to see if Harry or Ron was around. They sometimes waited
for her on Thursdays. Besides, she just really seemed to love hanging around
boys� dormitories lately. She finally reached the top of the tower and peeked
in to find that Harry was indeed there with his back to her, seemingly
inspecting something. Ron was nowhere in sight, though. He was probably off
somewhere with Lavender.

�Hey, Harry,�
she said, striving for a casual tone. Merlin, not letting her friends know what was going on with her was really hard sometimes.
�Want to come for dinner?�

�In a second,�
he mumbled.

She went in and
around him to see what he was looking at. It was the Marauder�s Map. She wouldn�t
exactly say she had forgotten about it, but she hadn�t seen or heard about it
for months.

�What are you
looking at?� she asked.

He looked up at
her, a frown on his face. �You know what and who I am looking at.�

Hermione�s heart
skipped a beat. �I-I thought we agreed that he wasn�t��

�No, Hermione,
we didn�t agree. You decreed. I know he�s some pet project of yours, but that
doesn�t mean he isn�t still up to his old tricks.�

�Oh, for
Heaven�s sake, Harry,� she huffed. �He�s been as tame as a kitten since I had
him sign that contract. Just what do
you base this on?�

�Did you know,�
Harry asked, more or less ignoring her last statement,
�that when you leave him, he always goes to the Room of Requirement? Perhaps
you can tell me what he�s doing there?�

When I leave him� Oh, no! He can�t know!

�W-what do you
mean when I leave him?�

Harry gave her
an odd look. �After your little study dates, of course.�

Oh. Right. Of
course�

Hermione
suppressed a sigh of relief. She had never considered what would happen if
Harry one night took out his map to check if Draco was in his bed� With a pang
she realized that she couldn�t go there anymore. It had just become too
dangerous. She was just thankful that she had been going back to the Gryffindor
castle to set up the glamour for the past couple of months before meeting up
with Draco.

�Well, then?�
Harry persisted. �Do you know?�

�What? Oh. No� I
don�t. But I�m sure there�s a perfectly reasonable explanation for it.�

He made a
disbelieving sound and rolled up the map. �Yeah� Let�s go get that dinner,
shall we?�

**********

Valentine�s Day
at Hogwarts was never really anything spectacular. Not since Hermione�s second
year where Gilderoy Lockhart had made such a vulgar display,
which Hermione at the time had found quite charming. An excuse for a party was,
however, an excuse for a party and the Gryffindors
were all feeling the anticipation.

In the spirit of
the day, the common room would also be open for dates from other houses.
Somehow Hermione doubted that included Slytherins. Not that she would have
invited a certain Slytherin, but even had she wanted to and been able to� she
couldn�t because of this mentality.

The segregation
issue was really beginning to annoy her. Why didn�t anyone try to bridge the
gaps? Professor Slughorn might be a rather silly and
self-indulgent man, but at least he didn�t
enforce the house division. Instead, however, he made judgment on who would be
successful and who wouldn�t and divided people because of that� There simply
wasn�t anywhere that anyone from any house with any potential could go and nobody seemed to care! Instead the whole
system seemed to enforce this bigoted way of thinking.

Also, why was
Shaw constantly hanging around Draco instead of Zabini at mealtimes? He�d said
he wasn�t into her and Hermione believed him as far as she�d believe any guy
wasn�t into a beautiful blonde, blue-eyed girl with a chest that Hermione could
only dream of ever getting � but they sure did seem friendly. Shouldn�t Shaw be
eating lunch with her boyfriend on Valentine�s Day at least?

How typical.
Finally Pansy was out of the picture and then all of a sudden there was someone
even worse to compete with.

Hermione knew
she was being paranoid and unreasonable, but she just couldn�t seem to stop
herself. When Shaw handed Draco a card with dancing hearts on it and he
accepted with a lopsided smile, Hermione decided that she didn�t want any more
lunch anyway and left the hall.

**********

Hermione figured
she had a few options. One was, of course, to wait Draco�s odd mood out and see
what happened, but she was sick of being passive. Another option was to forget
that she was a prefect, dip into the fire whiskey at the party and see if
Gryffindor had someone who was a better kisser than McLaggen.
That one was not entirely without merit. The last option, she could think of,
was to demand answers, which would be a tricky business indeed.

She had yet to
entirely make up her mind, as she was making her way back to the common room
when school was finally out. Unwittingly, just then she came across Draco
talking to Crabbe and Goyle in the hallway of the second floor. She really
didn�t get why he felt he needed to be the leader of such a dimwitted gang.
Right now he didn�t look pleased with them either.

Seeing him made up her mind for her.
She caught his eye and almost imperceptively nodded
in the direction she was going to get him to follow her. He didn�t react so she
thought he might have missed it or was ignoring her, but nevertheless, she
stopped around the corner and waited.

A few minutes
later he turned the corner as well.

�What?� he
asked, giving her a decidedly guarded look. Good
grief, what did he think she wanted?
Cards with hearts on them? She almost laughed out loud even though she was
hardly amused. Gods forbid she might want that sort of recognition. Gods forbid
she might want even a kiss from him today.

�We�re close to
being found out,� she said, deciding that now was not the time to badger him
after all. She didn�t trust herself not to say something she might regret if
she did.

He gave her an
incomprehensive look. She sighed.

�Harry has this�
way of seeing where people are. He could notice if I go to you, so I can�t
anymore.� Like you
care. You�re already bored with
this, aren�t you?

He frowned
slightly and slowly nodded. �And is this way
is new?� He bloody well knew it wasn�t, so why did he even ask?

�No�� Hermione
didn�t know whether to glare or fidget, so with some effort she decided against
doing both. �But I didn�t really realize the risk before.�

�You mean: you
didn�t realize he was spying on me.� He sounded unnaturally calm. It was so
unlike him. Everything was so unlike him.

�He�s not spying
on you,� she insisted. �He�s just� checking that you aren�t up to anything.�

He raised an
eyebrow and she had to acknowledge that he had a point.

�It�s not like
he�s following you or anything,� she mumbled.

�Except for the
times when he is,� he pointed out.

Hermione didn�t
know how to answer that. She remembered the time they had been in a closet and
Harry and Ron had been stalking Draco. She was also well aware that Harry had
been following him a few times since without his knowledge.

�Well�� she
finally said. �It�s not exactly like you�re being forward about what you�re up
to.�

There was a tic
in his jaw. �And what exactly is it that you want me to be forward about?� he
asked.

Why did he look
at her like that? He didn�t think she meant them
did he? Good grief, he was actually afraid that she might want to take their relationship
further? She tried not to think about how this revelation made her feel. �I
mean whatever it is you�re sneaking off to do. Harry thinks it�s something
really bad.�

�And you don�t?�
he asked, sounding somewhat surprised.

She shrugged.
No, she didn�t. She didn�t really think him capable of it anymore.

�That�s your
mistake,� he said. His face was suddenly stony.

Hermione
blinked. What? �It�s a mistake to think that you wouldn�t do something nasty?�

�Nothing�s changed,�
he coldly replied. �What we�re doing doesn�t change my views or priorities. You
should know this.�

That stung. No,
it didn�t sting, it bloody hurt. Just how much did she have to take from him
today? �So you still think I�m worth less than what�s under
your shoe?� she asked much too quietly.

For a few
moments he didn�t look like he would reply. She had to look away and blink a
few times as her vision became suspiciously blurry. Why did she let him do this
to her? �No,� he finally said. It was clipped out as if it cost him great
effort. �But just because I won�t cheer at your funeral doesn�t mean that I
wouldn�t rather be rid of your precious friends for good.�

She looked at
him again. He had just acknowledged the barest minimum of regard for her, but
that didn�t assure her as much as it might have only a few minutes ago. �And
how far would you go in achieving that?� she asked.

�You don�t want
to know,� was his reply.

No, she
suspected that she really didn�t. �Well,� she said a little shakily. �I� have
to go.� She turned and fled.

**********

Hermione groaned
and desperately tried to block out the light. She felt as if she ought to be
dead. Her tongue was swollen and her throat felt dry as parchment, while her
head was throbbing in the most painful and nauseating beat. She swallowed as
her stomach lurched at the movement she had made.

�Go away,� she
rasped at the offender who had opened her drapes.

�I would love
to,� said a female voice belonging to Lavender Brown. �But Ron begged me to
give you this.� She shoved a plate of toast at Hermione who promptly leaned
over the side of her bed and vomited.

�Sod off,
Lavender,� another voice said. Ginny. �Can�t you see
she�s sick, you moron?� Right now Ginny was Hermione�s favorite person in the
world, especially because she hadn�t raised her voice.

�She just got
smashed last night, probably because she couldn�t get a date. I hardly think
that warrants any sympathy!� Lavender huffed as she left.

Hermione winced
at the grating voice and then leaned back and tried hard to remember. No, it
wasn�t because she had been dateless that she had started drinking. It had been
because she had been hurt by Draco�s words and drowning her sorrows had seemed
like such a good idea at the time.

She had thought
it to be great fun to demand a bribe in the form of a tithe in order to not
confiscate everyone�s alcohol. Little had she known how happily they would all
pay and just how much alcohol they had. She strongly suspected that she hadn�t even come close
to drinking the amount she had demanded and she was really happy that she
hadn�t, because this hangover was bad enough as it was.

She groaned and
then sighed with relief as Ginny blocked out the sunlight for her and scourgified the vomit. She was quite possibly an angel in
disguise.

�Why did you get smashed?� Ginny softly
asked. �It�s not like you at all.�

Hermione had a
few flashes of the party last night. Ron and Harry had been surprised, amused
and then concerned at her abandon. She remembered Ron suggesting that perhaps
it was time for her to go to bed, which she had replied to by demanding more
liquor. Fortunately it didn�t seem as if she had followed up on the whole
�trying to find a better Gryffindor kisser� thing. Imagine having to look
people in the eye after that.

�I don�t know,�
Hermione forced out and swallowed as the bed moved when Ginny sat down on it,
making her sick again. �It seemed like a good idea at the time?�

�I hope you got
rid of your demons,� Ginny said, �because I�d hate to see you pull more stunts
like this. The school song will never be the same to any of us again.�

Hermione winced
a little at that particular memory. The only demon she needed to get rid of was
Draco Malfoy and she didn�t want to get rid of him, not really.

It was a bitter
potion to swallow, but in spite of all his mean words, she had missed him last
night, and she missed him now as well. She would much rather have woken up in
his bed after a night of debauchery than in her own bed after a night of drink.
She had had to drink until she could barely walk just to keep from seeking him
out. He clearly didn�t want her to and she�d be damned before she humiliated
herself like that.

�I�d hate it
too,� Hermione whispered, clenching her teeth to keep
her stomach in place as Ginny shifted on the bed again. �You don�t need to
lecture me,� she said when it was safe to speak again. �Trust me, I know it was
stupid.�

�I�m not
lecturing you,� Ginny replied. �And you were hardly the only one to go a bit
overboard last night either. I�m just wondering.�

�Don�t,� Hermione
replied. �Just please don�t. I�m fine. Or I will be as soon as the room stops
spinning.�

Ginny got up.
�I�ll leave you to it, then. Try coming down for lunch. And some non-alcoholic
fluids might help you too.�

She left and
Hermione slipped into the blessed darkness again.

**********

Hermione did
make it down to lunch. She was still pale, queasy and slightly unsteady on her
feet, but the extra sleep had done her a world of good and she was starving.

When she approached
the Gryffindor table, however, they all started whooping and cheering and
banging their plates to her great mortification and headache. Would she ever
live this down? She ducked her head, trying to conceal her pink cheeks as she
tried just slipping into a seat near her friends.

She didn�t miss
the attention she was now getting from the other tables, and certainly not a
certain penetrating grey stare, so when people continued to make grinning
remarks and sing the school song in imitations of last night, she recognized
that she might as well play along for now.

Placing a bright
smile on her face, she did just that.

**********

�So what exactly
did you do last night to make your house greet you so enthusiastically?�

Hermione jumped
at the voice. She had opted to not stay in her common room to study since that
would mean getting no studying done today for her. Instead she had found a nice
quiet space on the sixth floor, a room with a comfortable couch that she was
currently lounging on with her books spread out. It looked like an unused
office of sorts and Hermione didn�t think she was breaking any rules by being
there. That Draco had found her suggested that he had possibly been looking for
her for some time, since Ginny was the only one who knew where she was at and
she wouldn�t have told him.

She didn�t know
how to feel about him looking for her after yesterday.

�I slept with
them all in the middle of the common room,� she said. �It was fun, you should
have been there.�

He laughed. He
seemed genuinely amused. Hermione�s own lips twitched a little. She couldn�t
imagine saying something like this to anyone else under any other circumstance.
He was the only one that brought out this other non-Hermionic
side of her. Whether it was a good thing in any way remained to be seen.

�Forgive me,� he
said, not looking contrite in the least. �But I can�t seem to believe that.� He
came in and closed the door with a soft click.

She shrugged.
She hadn�t really looked up from her books. She didn�t want to look at him. She
didn�t want him to say more hurtful things to her. Perhaps if she didn�t look
at him he wouldn�t. Perhaps he would just go away, but then again � she didn�t
want that either.

She hated the
way he made her so skittish around him. She hated the way she seemed to lose
her independence around him. She hated the way he made her feel about herself,
about her friends, about her life and about him. She hated the way she always
wanted to be around him.

�I�m sorry,� he
quietly said. �I know I shouldn�t have said those things yesterday.�

�Didn�t you mean
them?� she asked.

He was quiet. It
was a telling silence.

�Then there�s
not much more to say about it, is there?� she said, the tiny hope gone.

�We shouldn�t
always say what we think,� he said. �I was out of line.�

�You were
terrified that I might want to be your Valentine,� she said as calmly as she
could. �So you made sure that I didn�t.� Except she did, didn�t she? She�d be
damned if he�d ever know.

�I already said
I was sorry, what more do you want?�

What did she want? She recognized the
absurdity of wanting him to be someone that he was not. If he was someone else
then he wouldn�t be him and she
wouldn�t be attracted to him. Still, she wished that he would be just a little
bit less himself sometimes.

�I want�� What
did she want? What could she let him know that she wanted? �I don�t want this,� she finally admitted on a sigh.

�Neither do I!� he said so forcefully that she had to look up at him. He
had apparently been leaning on the door until just now where he pushed away
from it to glare at her. A lock of his hair was getting into his eye and she
wanted to brush it away.

She quickly
looked back at her book.

�I don�t want to
want you,� he continued. �But I do. What am I supposed to do about it?�

Hermione felt a
jolt go through her and her face heat up. She knew he had wanted her sexually
before, but she had been far from sure that he still did. She was glad he did �
happy even. Yet it was both gratifying to hear him say it and hurtful to know
how little he wanted it. Apparently he still did find her beneath him.

�You could stay
away,� she mumbled, afraid to look at him. �It�s not like there�s nobody else
you could� could do it with.�

�Yeah? Look how well I�m doing at
staying away so far,� he said. �You only have to look at me and I�� he broke off the sentence, uttering a thoroughly
exasperated sigh.

She finally
looked up at him again. �You�re saying that it�s all my doing? That I�m like
some Veela?� How typical of him to try and put it on
her, to find excuses for why he might be wanting to
sleep with the boring little Mudblood prude!

�You�re worse
than a Veela,� he said. �But no. It�s me. I�m weak and I can�t resist touching
you�� He looked as if he very much wanted to touch her right now, but he didn�t
make a move to do so. Nor did he say anything more. He just stared her down,
daring her for a reaction.

He didn�t even
have an idea how much he hurt her, did he? She had to fight back the pain, she
had to. He couldn�t know how much power his words had over her.

�I�m sorry that it�s so much of a hassle for you,� she said, numbly aware of the
sharpness in her voice. �If I had realized
how much of a chore it was for you to
sleep with me I can assure you that I
wouldn�t have succumbed to your advances
so easily!� She snapped the book shut and got up.

He looked truly
confused. �Chore?� he asked. �Aren�t you listening?�

�I think I heard
enough,� she said, gathering her things. The common room was looking much
better to her now.

�I think you
didn�t hear me at all,� he said, going to her. He took the books from her
hands, threw them down on the couch and grabbing her arms, he forced her to
look at him. �My family is in deep with the Dark Lord. I could get us all killed for wanting you and yet I
still do and you call it a chore?
This is a real threat, Hermione. I can�t just ignore it. It won�t just go
away.�

Hermione felt a
little dizzy and it had nothing to do with last night�s overindulgence and only
a little to do with his nearness. Of course she had been aware of some danger
in being connected to him, but she hadn�t really considered the very much
less-than-shallow risks he might be taking. If he was telling the truth, then
maybe he wasn�t just being mean to her? It was a silly hope that she
immediately tried to thwart. �It�s just sex,� she breathed. �He won�t care.�

Draco smiled
cynically. �How many lives do you want to bet on that?�

She had to look
away. She felt she might have severely misjudged him and she cursed herself for
wanting it to be the case. �What do you plan to do about it then?�

�What can I do?� he almost whispered. �I can�t
stay away, can I? But nobody can know, Hermione. Nobody.�

He had pulled
her closer and was leaning in for a kiss. There was a small voice inside her
head telling her that this was a very unwise move and that she should stop it,
but it was drowned in the clamoring of voices that desperately wanted the
caress, needed it. Her eyes drifted shut and she willingly offered her lips.

There was a loud
gasp and a clank behind them.

They both
whirled around to see a pair of big, golden, horrified, eyes in a face
curtained by ginger tresses.

Oh, no, Ginny!

The redhead
closed her mouth, shot them a look of pure loathing and turned on her heel and
left. Hermione looked down to see the drink tray that had fallen to the floor
before she ventured a glance at Draco. He looked frozen in place, his eyes cold
and distant.

He thinks Ginny might talk. He�s going to end it.

The thought was
unbearable. �I-I can fix this,� she said desperately. �Don�t� Don�t worry.� She
hurried out the door after Ginny, praying she could get her to not tell Ron or
Harry.

**********

Author�s Note 3: Valentine�s Day did fall on a Friday that year. I bet none of you care. And here I
spend my days researching� *sighs dramatically*

Author�s Note 4: I tried to make Hermione more in
touch with her feelings. Too much? Did it work? I just
sometimes feel like people want her to be stronger because she�s smart, but
being smart doesn�t make you immune to the angstiness
of teenage emotions. Or any emotions. :P

Author�s Note 5: Maz said
�Now I thought they were finally getting all romantic and then something else happens� reading your fic is like watching a soap!�
Well� yes, dear. That�s what makes me so evil!

Author�s Note 6: Totally unrelated. Mazakai (unrelated to my Maz) on ffnet wrote a sequel to Master
called Heir. It is solely the
work of Mazakai, I�m just promoting it because� Well�
It�s way cool to inspire sequels from others! :P (MOAR
SIKVELS PLZ)
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