Lust, War and... Love?

My heartfelt thanks to Margaritama for her great beta work on this chapter!

kazfeist: Thank you for reading and reviewing! I’m growing fond of the Patil/Slytherin pairings too. We will see more of them in this story.:-)

I have the Patil/Slytherin pairings in my Splitsville story, and I’m already thinking of more oneshots with these pairings.

hotbabe: Thank you! Hope you will like this chapter too. Chapter 22 is already sent to my beta. Draco will certainly start suspecting something on Hermione’s part soon.

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Draco leaned against the back of his chair. He had completed several feet of essays for Transfiguration and Charms, which gave him a pleasant feeling of accomplishment. There were still two texts to translate for Ancient Runes, and a past due assignment for DADA, but it was major progress, nevertheless.

He looked around the Slytherin Common Room. At this late hour it was almost empty, except for three Second Years engrossed in a game of Exploding Snap. Draco put on a mean face and Accio‘d their cards. When the boys jumped to their feet, he barked at them to quit fooling around and go to bed in an instant. The students didn’t dare to argue with him and scurried off to their dorm.

Draco sent the cards to the blazing fireplace, where they erupted in merry sparks. He stretched out in his chair and reached for one more donut on a plate next to his parchments.

It was good to finally have the Slytherin Common Room all to himself.

Draco surveyed his DADA assignment. Knowing he would be handing it in late, he couldn’t expect a good mark for it. Whatever. His marks hadn’t been stellar lately, anyway. In fact, they did not hit rock bottom only thanks to Granger’s generous assistance. A mushy feeling filled his heart when he thought of Hermione. Merlin’s bloody pants, she was brilliant both in bed and in studies.

His visit to Snape two days before turned out better than Draco expected. The teacher was about to leave for a meeting in Dumbledore’s office, and he wasted no time on discussing the issue with Draco. Snape dished out a curt permission right away, before bolting down the corridor.

Draco waited till the next day to write his Mum, making sure she’d hear from Snape before her son’s news arrived. As he expected, she gave him a blanket approval for whatever holiday plans he had.

Auntie Bella issued a few shrieks through the enchanted Galleons, but Draco suggested that she should go and talk to Snape. In addition, Draco pointed out that he would do a much better service for Lord Voldemort by repairing The Vanishing Cabinet than by participating in the Christmas party plans. Anyone could do the job of kidnapping the Muggle kids just fine, right?

A door formed in the stone wall. To Draco’s displeasure, several girls came into the Common Room: Pansy, Millicent, Daphne and her younger sister, Astoria. All of them, except Pansy, headed straight to the dorms. Draco braced himself for another round of fending his fiancée off.

“I’ve made up my mind,” Pansy said cryptically, as she settled in a chair next to him. “Mum agrees, wholeheartedly.”

“Agrees with what?” Draco replied, pointedly staring into his parchments.

“With my holiday plans.” Pansy plucked a donut from the plate.

She didn’t even bother to ask for permission, Draco thought with disgust. Pansy was acting as if she was entitled to whatever he had, and it irked Draco a great deal. Hermione was more considerate and asked him first, even given the fact she was on more intimate terms with him than Parkinson.

“Oh. Have fun during the holidays,” Draco said flatly. “I’m staying at Hogwarts - Mum wants me to improve my grades next term.”

“I know. She already told my Mum.” Pansy took a bite of the donut, the fine sugar powder sprinkling on the edge of one of Draco’s parchments.

“Scoot over there, okay?” Draco grumbled. “Flitwick subtracts grade points for stains on the homework.”

“Guess what? I‘ve got a little holiday surprise for you.” Pansy glanced at him flirtatiously, oblivious to his grumpy tone. She swung her straight jet-black hair over her shoulder; her neck was snowy white in comparison with her locks.

“Oh. You mean an early Christmas gift?” Draco wondered what she had in store for him. He doubted it was anything good. “That’s sweet, Pansy.”

“More than that!” she giggled. “I’m staying at Hogwarts for the break, too!”

Draco struggled not to show his shock at her words. “Are you sure Snape would permit you? Hogwarts isn’t safe anymore.”

“Mum is going to speak to him in person, tomorrow. She’s positive he’ll agree.”

Bloody Merlin, he’d take anything but this! Draco felt a sudden urge to evaporate Pansy with his wand on the spot.

“I’m going to be busy, Pansy,” he stated firmly and reached for another parchment. “I have remedial lessons, and I’m volunteering at the greenhouses, as well.”

“You’re so hard-working, Draco,” Pansy crooned. “That’s why I want to be with you - to help my darling fiancé. Want a bite, sweetie? ” She brought her half-eaten donut to his chin, making him cringe.

“Don’t you see I’m doing my homework!” he snapped, throwing his book on the table.

Pansy’s face stiffened, and a dogged determination appeared in her eyes. Her fingers clutched the donut, and she straightened up in her chair.

“We are engaged, aren’t we?” Her brittle voice bordered on hysterical. “After all, we belong together!”

Not answering, Draco furiously grabbed a quill, and started translating the Ancient Runes text. But the runic words blurred in his eyes. Why did she have to have this damned sense of entitlement?

“Is - is the other girl staying at Hogwarts too?” Pansy asked in a tone of a wounded animal. “The Mud - Mudblood Granger?”

“Shut up!” Draco yelled. “How can I know about the Mudblood’s plans, stupid girl? Go, ask her, okay?”

He pulled the Ancient Runes book closer and peered into his parchment, avoiding a look at Pansy. He heard the chair legs screeching away from the table, then her steps retreating hastily in the direction of the dorms.

Draco stared at his Runic texts and wondered if Snape would give in to Mrs. Parkinson’s pressure. His cursed Mum was plotting against him again. Merlin’s stinking beard, his parents had trapped him in that engagement, square and good.

He swallowed two more donuts, stared at his DADA textbook but his brain refused to engage in any intellectual activity. He ought to drink a dose of the Calming Draught and hit the sack, he thought.

Draco pointed his wand at the parchments in order to gather them. All of sudden, his wand flew out of his hand. The sheets rose from the table and floated towards the fireplace.

He sprang to his feet to chase his parchments, but a voice from behind halted him. Draco whipped around.

“Stay where you are or your homework will go up in flames!” Theo, who was one of the best at nonverbal spells in Hogwarts, was perched on the arm of a plush armchair. The red Veuve Gauthier box was nestled in the seat.

“I’ve got your wand, Malfoy,” a smooth voice poured from another direction. Zabini, his imposing frame nearly filling the doorway, held his and Draco’s wands in his dark-skinned hand. A condescending smile curved his full lips. “Let’s have a little talk outside, shall we?”

“I’m not going anywhere this late at night!” protested Draco. Why did everyone have to converge upon him at the same time?

Theo waved his wand, and the parchments glided closer to the fire.

“Stop it, damn!“ Draco jerked nervously. “I worked on it for five hours straight!” The parchments floated away a couple of feet from the fireplace, and he fell back in his chair. “What do you want from me?”

“Let’s go and talk outside,” Zabini repeated, his black eyes trained on Draco. “We’ve got some business to sort out, Malfoy”.

Draco gathered his books and quills, his heart heavy with foreboding. If he were about to get beaten up, it would be probably the lesser evil he could expect. His brain was working frantically, searching for a way to get his wand and parchments back, and to wiggle out of the ominous ‘talk’.

Finding no better solution, he slapped his school satchel closed, and trudged to the entrance. Zabini strolled after him, his wand pointing at Draco’s back. Nott collected the parchments and picked up the bonbons and followed the two of them.

Once settled in a gloomy dungeon classroom, Nott piled up the parchments on a desk and sat down on them, making Draco wince. But with Zabini holding on to his wand, there was little he could do.

“So, what’s this all about?” Draco asked, his head cocked and arms folded on his chest.

“It’s about your sleazy tactics,” announced Nott. “Time to teach you a lesson, Malfoy.”

“Get off my back, wanker,” growled Draco. “Do you think I don’t know what you and Padma are doing during your patrols?”

“And don’t you stoop so low to sink your fellow Slytherins for a filthy Mudblood, as you call her?” Theo sent the box circling in the air around Draco, infuriating him further. “What did you put in the bonbons? A potent love potion?”

“I put nothing in them!” Draco attempted to catch the box but it slid away, instantly. Blaise laughed harshly.

“And you’d better mind your place, Zabini!” Draco said in the most threatening tone he could muster. “My family has got some very influential connections, you know.”

“Your connections will go down the drain once everyone knows you’re after a Mudblood!” sneered Nott. “Let’s talk about damage control.”

“What damage control?” Draco hastily wondered how much Nott and Zabini knew about his affair with Granger. “And what have I done to you, Zabini?”

“I didn’t enjoy being questioned by Aurors about why I lurked about the ladies’ loo at the Three Broomsticks!” Zabini said coldly. “If you want to peep on Granger in a toilet, don’t disguise yourself as me!”

“I didn’t lurk about the ladies’ loo!” groaned Draco. “I was outside in the corridor!”

“Do you want Peeves to advertise your Peeping Tom inclinations all over the school?” Zabini said menacingly, twiddling the both wands. “He’d be very happy to do it. Especially if it involves Granger.”

“I’ll kill you!” Draco screamed.

“You know, I might not be returning to Hogwarts after the break,” Zabini drawled, giving Nott a very smug look. “Unless you help me with my homework, Malfoy.”

“How?” asked Draco, already at the end of his wits.

“Here’s the deal,” said Blaise. “You do my Potions homework for the rest of the year, and I kindly forget about the episode at the Three Broomsticks.”

“I suggest you listen to him,” Nott said in a mock paternal tone. “You’ll stand a better chance with Granger, if the matter doesn’t reach Peeves. Granger isn’t very keen on the publicity, as I know.”

“How’d you know?” sneered Draco. “Did she tell you her heart’s secrets?”

“Actually, we’ve got a working pact with Granger,” Zabini smirked.

“You - you’ve got an agreement with Granger?” Draco couldn’t believe his ears. Merlin’s bloody pants, what’s going on in this castle?

“As you can see, I’m returning this gift of yours to you, per Granger’s personal request,” leered Nott, and the box made a circle around Draco’s head, nearly hitting him on his nose. “My only wish is that you open it and eat the chocolates in our presence to prove they aren’t spiked.”

“They aren’t!” Draco lunged at the box, but it flew away. “What did Granger tell you about me?”

Nott and Zabini exchanged glances.

“It’s confidential,” Nott said darkly.

Draco studied their poker faces. Either she blabbed a good deal to them, or the blokes bluffed, he thought. Most likely the latter. Draco resolved to play the game too. After all, doing some homework for Zabini wasn’t the worst outcome.

“All right, I guess things turned out differently than I thought.” Draco was stalling the matter, trying to figure out his best strategy. “Who knew that the Katie Bell accident would happen the same day, right?”

“Accident or no accident, you had no right to act like that in my disguise!” Zabini retorted angrily.

“All right, all right,” Draco pushed ahead. “I’ll do your Potions homework, and we keep it mum. I know that you’re pawing a Gryffindor girl at night.”

“I trust you’ll do my homework properly,” hissed Zabini. “No shoving it off to Crabbe or Goyle!”

“How about my getting Granger to do some of your homework?” Draco tossed his words, waiting for the effect.

“That’s rich, Malfoy!” smirked Nott. “Doubt Granger would ever listen to you, unless you Polyjuice yourself into Potty!”

“Ha!” Draco said triumphantly. “Now, give me the chocolates. If I act normal after eating them, you’ll forget what happened, Nott. Otherwise, want me to set Thornton on Zabini some night?”

“I’m not responsible for Blaise’s antics,” Nott said flatly. “Eat the bonbons. I‘m not forgetting anything, yet.” The box landed on the floor in front of Draco, which he pried open.

Zabini shot a dirty look at Nott. “I’d agree in your place!”

“Okay, I could let it slip out that two Slytherins ganged up with Potty’s best friend.” Draco mused, as he plucked a flavourful bonbon out of the box. “The Slytherin girls will be so thrilled. Old Nott would be plain excited. Even better, two Pure-bloods are hobnobbing with Dumbledore Army members. Remember, you sink me, and I’ll sink you too, Nott.”

Draco eyed the boys. Zabini’s dark-skinned face was overcome with thought, and Nott stared at the opened red box.

The rich fragrance of the finest chocolate and truffle filling spread in the dark room, completely expelling the stale and mushy odour. Draco plucked another gleaming dark brown nugget and popped it in his mouth. Nott and Zabini followed his movement with their eyes. Draco ate one more bonbon, savouring its titillating taste, sweet, tangy and sensuous.

“Well?” Draco asked; his gaze trained on Zabini and Nott.

“All right, we accept,” nodded Nott. “Have the box, and we count on each other’s silence.”

“The homework thing is still in force,” interjected Zabini.

“No argument,” affirmed Draco, and remembered his earlier talk to Pansy. He’d better be on good terms with the boys in case he needed their help, Draco thought. “Don’t you think Pansy is nuts lately?”

“Your fiancée?” Nott smirked. “Well, if you’re chasing Granger. . .”

“Seems everyone in Hogwarts thinks I’m after the Mudblood!” grumbled Draco, collecting his parchments.

“Only those who pay attention,” Zabini said smugly, handing the wand back to Draco. “And Parkinson pays a lot of attention!”

“Too bad for her!” grunted Draco.

“My advice? Try to distract her with something,” said Nott.

“Like what?” asked Draco. “Doubt anything would help. She’s obsessed.”

“Set Goyle or Crabbe with flowers in hand upon her,” snickered Zabini, heading out of the dungeon.

They sneaked back to the dorms, and soon everyone was fast asleep in their bed except Draco. He lay awake, thoughts rambling in his mind.

He wondered if Granger could have any ideas what to do about Pansy, and resolved to talk to her during their regular Saturday date. A girl could figure out another girl much better. Then his mind drifted to The Vanishing Cabinet and Zabini’s cursed homework. Thank Merlin, Nott did not impose anything on him, but he still had to be careful with Theo.

Draco grunted and turned under his duvet, conjuring a long line of sheep in his mind.

After counting up to two hundred eighty-nine sheep, he gave up and reached for the bottle of the Calming Draught. Not bothering to conjure a tablespoon and measure the dose, he took two big gulps from the bottle. In a few minutes, he drifted into a dreamless slumber.

********

On Saturday night Hermione walked down the dimly lit stairs and stood by the window in the Entrance Hall. Thornton had not come up from the dungeons to meet her for their patrol yet. Hermione stared out the dark window. The snow glistened under the outdoor lights. The hall was chilly and Hermione was glad she had put on a thick mohair wool sweater under her robes.

Steps resonated under the vaulted ceilings, and Hermione turned around. The dark figure in the middle of the hall clearly wasn’t Thornton.

“Hey, Gryffindor Slut,” Hermione heard Parkinson’s shrill voice. “Waiting for him, sneaking around to see him! Aren’t Potty and Weasel enough for you?”

“For you information, I’m waiting for the Slytherin Prefect to do our patrol, not for your wretched fiancé!” retorted Hermione, her wand at the ready. Although Parkinson did not attack her any more, she had been acting like a creepy stalker, lately.

Pansy came closer and Hermione could see her hateful, pale face, framed by jet-black hair. Her eyes gleamed with madness in the dim light, and Hermione wondered if Parkinson was in her right mind.

“I know all your little tricks, Mudblood,” she cackled. “Helping Sprout in the greenhouses during the break so the teachers would love you, and fucking other’s fiancés along the way - clever!”

“You know what?” Hermione raised her voice. “If Malfoy avoids you like plague, it isn’t my fault. If I were in your shoes, I’d have ditched him a long time ago!”

Pansy’s face convulsed with pain and her wand hand jerked up, but the sight of Hermione’s wand pointing at her chest stopped her.

“Parkinson, the lights are already out,” Hermione stated. She was not going to let Pansy provoke her to a fight. “It’s bedtime.”

The same minute Thornton said loudly, as she came up to the girls, “Go to the dorms before Snape catches you, again.”

“Shut up, you midget!” Pansy shrieked at Cassie, but stepped away from Hermione. “Of course, you love the Gryffindor bitch boss!”

Angered, the petite Thornton hissed, “Enough! I‘m reporting you to Snape!”

Parkinson glanced at Hermione’s wand, still pointed at her, and hastily walked away towards the stairs.

“Go home, Mudblood, if you don’t want to spend Christmas at St. Mungo’s!” Parkinson shrieked as she entered the stairway.

Her heart thumping from the insult, Hermione barely restrained herself from firing a hex at Pansy.

“She’s an absolute lunatic about her fiancé cheating on her,” Cassie talked, as they strolled down the long hallways. “The other day Vaisey snogged Growley - she’s in my year - in a dungeon, and Parkinson stormed in! Ha-ha-ha!”

“Well, Vaisey is blond too, but he’s much shorter than Malfoy,” said Hermione, peeking into an empty classroom.

“Parkinson’s such a psycho now,” nodded Thornton. “Rumours are that Snape threatened to kick her out of Hogwarts if her marks didn’t improve.”

“So her marks are failing?” Hermione thought that being trapped in an engagement to a bloke who cared so little for his fiancée from the start was hardly a picnic.

“Don’t say!” exclaimed Cassie. “Parkinson wanders around the castle instead of doing homework. She’s totally off her rocker.”

“Maybe she needs to see a doctor?” mused Granger.

“Oh, if someone could just beat some sense into her!” sneered Thornton. “The Malfoy fiancée - as if anyone cares about the Malfoys now that the father is in Azkaban!”

They returned to the Entrance Hall upon finishing their patrol. Hermione looked around. The place seemed to be empty, except for the Bloody Baron hovering high under the ceiling.

“Hope Parkinson’s in the dorm,” said Thornton. “I’d hate to bump into her in the Common Room when she’s so toxic.”

“She can’t forgive you and Nott the fact that she and Malfoy aren’t Prefects anymore,” affirmed Hermione.

“Right. She’s vile to Nott too,” agreed Cassie. “I guess she hates all the Prefects. If you stay for the holidays and Parkinson‘s around, you’d better watch your food. Wasserstein said that there would be so few students staying that they‘d be all eating at the same table.”

The girls waved a good-night to each other, and Hermione hurried up the stairs to the seventh floor.

When Hermione entered the Room of Requirement, Draco was already sprawled on the bed, idly leafing through The Magical Joys of Kama Sutra.

The Room was pleasantly warm after the chilly corridors. It was certainly the cosiest place in the whole castle. Hermione took in Draco’s lanky nude frame, and heat pooled in her lower parts. If only the two of them could hole up in this room for the holidays, she thought.

Anyway, it was good to be back on amicable terms. She understood Dumbledore’s point about keeping Draco away from his Pure-blood circles. Technically, Malfoy was a Death Eater, but now Hermione wondered if he truly had his heart in it. If only he could open up and confess to her. . .

She recalled Parkinson’s insults and a strong urge to Banish his fiancée from Hogwarts forever rose in her heart. Pansy was a part of the Death Eaters’ world, and Hermione hated her pulling Draco back into those circles again.

“You look moody,” Hermione stated, as she pulled her orange mohair sweater over her head.

“Pansy’s staying at school for the holidays,” Draco said glumly. “I hoped Snape wouldn’t let her but he did.”

“Oh.” Hermione sat down on the bed and took her tights off. “She’s just threatened to send me to St. Mungo’s if I don’t go home. Thornton thinks she’s going to poison me.”

“She threatened you?” Draco rose on his elbow. “I’ll hex the guts out of her!”

“I think she’s already going mental,” Hermione said tiredly. “I mean, she doesn’t look right to me. Wandering, stalking, being nasty to everyone.”

“We’ve got to figure out something to make her want to go home,” declared Draco and rubbed his ready cock. “Let’s give it a break for now.”

“Right.“ Hermione sent her clothes to a chair, cast the contraceptive charms, and sidled up to Draco.

His blond hair fell on his forehead as he studied the pages in the book. With her fingers, she brushed his hair off to the side, and he answered with a light smile, which made her heart flutter.

“Want to try something more interesting?” Draco asked, his grey eyes lingering on her body. “How about The Lotus position?”

“My legs aren’t made of rubber!” protested Hermione, looking at a picture, which depicted a witch lying on her back with her legs raised and entwined in the classic yoga position.

“The Pair of Tongs?” Draco turned a page over. The candlelight cast a golden glow on Hermione’s naked shoulders, and he admired her smooth skin.

“The one where I had to stand on my arms? Not this again!” Hermione huffed, but not too angrily. “I haven’t got Quidditch arms, like you.” She reclined on the pillows on the large bed, her toes grazing Draco’s thigh.

“We could use a hovering charm like last time,” Draco persisted and caught her toes in his hand. She tried to wiggle out of his grasp, but he squeezed her toes harder, his expression lightening up noticeably.

“Last time the charm worked until you lost your concentration.” Hermione stretched on the pillows, letting him hold on to her foot. “Merlin, it hurt when I crashed on the floor!”

“You fell on the bed, not on the floor!” argued Draco. “It was a soft landing, Hermione!”

“And then I rolled off the bed!” Hermione reached for the book. “No way. I’m not doing The Tongs!”

“All right, how about The Splitting of a Bamboo? Easy and lazy,” Draco said as he released her toes, and she rubbed them against his balls, making his cock twitch. If Hogwarts ever held a contest for the sexiest girl, he thought, Hermione would certainly win it. By a wide margin.

“Okay.” Hermione slid off the pillows and Draco sat on his heels between her knees. She propped her right leg on his shoulder, and he peppered her ankle with small kisses. She giggled a little as his lips travelled to her heel.

“You’re ticklish,” he remarked and traced his finger on the sole of her foot.

She jerked her foot with laughter, but he held her ankle firm. “Stop that, you rascal!”

Not relenting, Draco stroked the inside of her thigh with his fingertips. She squirmed, and her breasts shook bewitchingly. He planted another kiss on her ankle, while edging deeper between her legs. Hermione was now wide open to him, and he knew she was eager for him. How he adored her at moments like this, it even made his heart ache.

Hermione slowly rubbed her folds and clit with her fingers. Having Draco breathlessly watch her do it aroused her so much. She had long abandoned any inhibition about fondling herself in his presence. In fact, she savoured the effect it had on him, and it made her feel like a queen.

His stone-hard member poking at her pussy, and her fingers now stroking its tip gently, he reveled in the sight of her body. As he edged between her delicate folds, she arched her splendid torso and threw her arms behind her head, and her nipples, luscious and taut, stared at him.

Draco remembered a certain picture that had long fascinated him in The Magical Joys of Kama Sutra. Hermione was now in exactly the same position, and he felt a sudden urge to make it complete. The incantation floated up in his mind, and he immediately reached for his wand.

Hermione suddenly realized that a pair of soft fur cuffs bound her wrists together. Then, her arms were stretched above her head, as something pulled at the cuffs and restrained her hands. What was that???

Draco held Hermione’s thighs firmly, as a rope bound her hands to the headboard. The view of her body laid out before him, her hips squirming in his hands and her breasts jiggling, drove his arousal to new heights.

He entered her, and her torso slackened a little, a mute question in her eyes.

“Do you like playing?” he whispered, suddenly out of his breath. If she wasn’t cursing him, she probably liked it . . .

A hot wave coursed through Hermione’s body, as his member moved in and out of her. Her position with her hands tied was not very comfortable, but the sensation of being bound and left to his mercy drove her libido insane. He put his hand on her breast, and she could clearly see his Dark Mark. She moaned as his fingers twisted her nipple.

Hermione was about to voice her protest at not being able to use her hands, but the immensely erotic sensation of surrendering completely to him overwhelmed her. She closed her eyes and sailed the waves of her pleasure as he kissed, caressed and fucked her.

As he pumped hard into her, she pushed her hips onto him, her arms straining against her binds. His hands were now abusing her breasts, and she only wanted more and more of it. Suddenly, he bent his head low and trailed kisses on her abdomen, his palms gripping her sides. Then, his fingers pinched her clit, and she cried from the sweet pain.

Draco watched his cock go in and out of her pussy, and driving her insane like this thrilled him, endlessly. Her body arched and swayed, her lips uttered small sounds, and soon she trembled around him as he pounded her harder and harder, his thumb rubbing her clit, mercilessly.

Then his eyesight blurred, his head jerked back, he shook violently as he spilled himself inside her hot pussy, and fell on top of her. Languid and relaxed, he breathed in the scent of her skin and kissed her lips tenderly. Her tongue slid into his mouth gently, and it was such bliss to have her, sweet and warm, in his hands.

“Draco,“ Hermione whispered. “My hands?”

“Oh.” Draco reached for the book to look up the releasing incantation.

The cuffs and rope disappeared. Hermione hugged him, savouring the feel of his hard body against hers. Her arms were sore at the shoulders, and for a second Hermione wondered why she could actually enjoy what Draco did to her.
.
He looked into her flushed face, not sure if she was okay with the cuffs, but hesitated to ask about it.

Apparently, she read something in his eyes because she blushed and whispered into his ear, “You know - you- you turn me on so much.”

Draco kissed her lips again, not wanting to release her.

They lay in each other’s embrace, for a while. Then, she shifted under him, and he rolled off her.

“We must figure out a way to make Parkinson want to go home for Christmas.” Hermione sat up and propped herself on the pillows. “Otherwise, we’ll have a disaster of a holiday.”

“Let’s have someone else hit on her to make her forget about me,” Draco remembered Zabini‘s suggestion. “A love potion from WWW? We could feed it to Pansy too.”

“Everyone would spot the love potion effect right away,” Hermione said skeptically. “Unless you want to get hexed by the bloke in the end. Besides, Pansy’s obsessed with you. Once the effect is cured, she’d be back to stalking us.”

Draco pondered for a few minutes. “We need something that would make her leave us alone, of her own volition.”

“Maybe if you snogged another girl, and then another one,” Hermione mused. “She’d forget about me, and there’s no way she could stalk several girls at the same time.”

“How can I snog others?” Draco yawned. “The damned potion won’t let me, you know.”

“I could drink the Polyjuice potion,” explained Hermione. “Oh, no, we’d have to make sure the other girls - I mean, the real ones, - would be all right with it!”

“And we could announce our situation to the whole school in the Great Hall, as well,” sneered Draco. ”No, I’d rather keep it confidential.”

Hermione mused for a minute. “What if we ask Nott and Padma for help?”

“Nott and Padma?” Draco glanced at her. So the blokes didn’t lie about their agreement with Granger, he thought. “Are you sure they’d cooperate?”

“Well, I’ve got a pact with the fellow Prefects. I don’t notice certain things, and they don’t notice my wandering at night.”

“You mean, if Nott drags Padma off to an empty classroom for a shag, you turn a blind eye to it?”

“They don’t really shag,” said Hermione. “All they do is to snog and grope.”

In spite of his drowsiness, Draco propped on his elbow and stared at Hermione incredulously. Merlin, this Gryffindor Prefect had more to her than he thought.

“Did you tell Nott that it was me who sent you the bonbons?”

“No, he figured it out on his own. In fact, he harassed me about it, and I had to threaten him with reporting his nighttime adventures!”

“I see.” Sleepily, Draco wondered if this surprise pact between the Prefects was something that could really help. “And what’s your plan?”

“Well, I could Polyjuice myself into Padma with her permission,” Hermione explained. “Oh, you’re already falling asleep, Draco.”

“Right, let’s deal with it tomorrow, darling.” He spooned her, as she pulled the covers over them.

The candlelights went out, but Hermione lay with her eyes open, listening to Draco’s snoring.

She couldn’t decide how to react properly to his surprise act of tying her hands. Admittedly, it was a dubious thing to do, but it inflamed her desire for him so much. She remembered that picture with a witch with bound arms in the book. There were other pictures too, which made her dream of dirty things, sometimes.

Hermione knew Draco had no ill will when cuffing her wrists. After they finished, his eyes were so full of apprehension. When she told him it was all right, he instantly relaxed.

Oh no, the more time they spent together, the more she was falling for him.

Hermione reminded herself that she must not get too carried away with Malfoy. She did not want to think what could happen after drinking the antidote in March. Would Draco lose all interest in her and snub her, like Ron?

It pained her so much to see Ron with Lavender, although from a logical viewpoint it was really stupid of her to have such emotions about him. She ought to move on and let Ron go!

Merlin, why did her life have to be so difficult?