Late Night Encounter

Diclaimer: I make nothing from this. These are JK's characters, I'm just havung fun with them.

Thanks everyone for their reviews - hope you enjoy this chapter.

By the way,

chelleybelle -thanks for the advice. I have tried spacing it out better this chapter. Let me know what you think.

Anyhoo, enjoy!

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Ron was pacing in the Gryffindor common room, his hands balled up in fists and his face contorted with anger. Harry watched as he sat on the sofa. He had tried to calm Ron down for the past hour but he just couldn't get through to him. Ginny had tried as well but she hadn't fared any better and had gone upstairs a while ago.

'Why the hell would she do this with that bloody Slytherin? Does she not care about us any more? Hermione Granger is nothing but a whore!'

Harry had listened to Ron rant on about this, but that was the final straw.

'Look, Ron,' Harry said, standing up and facing him, 'don't call her that. I know you're angry about this but you're gonna have to accept it. Hermione has been our best friend for years and you can't throw that away because she's fallen for someone we don't like.'

'Oh, wake up, Harry,' Ron spat out, 'she's changed, she doesn't give a fuck about us anymore and she's betrayed us to the enemy.'

'Ron, please, would you just listen to yourself, it's really not that bad. Ok, it's not the greatest thing in the world, but you saw them kiss at dinner. I've never seen her look so happy. I'm trying to accept this because I will not lose her. She's too important to me. You just have to decide whether keeping up this anger is worth losing Hermione, and I can't help you with that.'

Harry turned and headed upstairs, leaving Ron to think. Harry knew how Ron felt but he also loved Hermione and, despite not being happy about what she was doing, had resolved to support her and accept what she was doing with Malfoy. He just hoped Ron could do the same, hoped that he could overcome the anger and the jealousy, or it would consume him.

-*-*-*-

Ron watched Harry leave, the words he had said swimming through his mind. He couldn't believe that Harry was just going to roll over and let this happen - he thought Harry was supposed to be a hero. Well, if Harry wasn't going to do anything, then he would fix this himself. He took his wand out of his robes and headed for the door, his mind clear about what he had to do.

-*-*-*-

Hermione was in her room and Draco was in his. They had shared the shower but managed to keep their hands off each other (mostly), deciding to wait until after patrol. Hermione finished getting ready, checked she had her wand and headed out the door. Draco met her at the top of the stairs, greeting her with a kiss. They held hands as they walked down the stairs.

They left the common room and, standing in the corridor, kissed again. Draco held Hermione tight against his body as his tongue delved into her mouth, their tongues meeting as Hermione put her arms round his neck.

'Well, I guess I'll see you in an hour, love,' Draco said, pulling away from Hermione.

'Oh god, it's gonna be the longest hour of my life,' Hermione moaned, resting her head on Draco's chest.

'I know love, but we will have the whole night together.'

Draco squeezed her in his arms before letting go of her and with one last chaste kiss, headed down the corridor to start his patrol. Hermione watched him leave before turning and walking off down the opposite corridor, full of anticipation of being reunited with her love.

-*-*-*-

Harry reached the top of the stairs and stopped, hearing the portrait door open. 'Ron?' Harry shouted, running back down the stairs, even though he knew he had already left. He ran out of the common room, hoping to catch Ron in the corridor, but he was nowhere to be seen. Harry didn't want to think the worst of Ron, but after seeing how angry and jealous he was, he knew where Ron had gone.

Harry ran back into the common room and shouted on Ginny. Hearing Harry shouting, Ginny came running down the stairs, worried about what he needed.

'Ginny, I think Ron's gone after Hermione and Malfoy. Gods, its all my fault! I left him down here and he was so angry and what if he does something to hurt them?'

Harry collapsed into Ginny's arms, the one place where he always felt safe and loved. Ginny kissed him, wrapping her arms round his body, trying to calm him down.

'It's ok, Harry, we'll find him,' Ginny said, pulling back from him, trying to figure out what to do.

'What are we going to do? Do you think Ron will actually do something stupid?' Harry said, pacing the floor.

'I would hope not, but we both know how much he hates Malfoy and loves Hermione. Right, here's the plan - we know where Hermione does her patrol so if we go and find her first, she can take us to Malfoy and hopefully we can reach them before Ron does.' Ginny hoped this would work, not only so her best friend didn't get hurt, but she didn't want to lose her brother either.

'Ok, let's go. Have you got your wand just in case?' Harry asked, checking he still had his. Ginny nodded solemnly, hoping she wouldn't actually need it. Harry kissed her, trying to be strong for her, but feeling the same way. He took her hand and headed out the door.

Ginny led the way as they ran down the corridor. She knew Hermione shouldn't be that far away but, fearing what Ron might do to her or Malfoy, increased her speed, desperately hoping that the next corner they turned, they would see Hermione.


-*-*-*-


Hermione sighed as she patrolled. She would have felt so much better if Draco was with her. She smiled, thinking that if Draco had been with her, there wouldn't have been much patrolling going on. The thought of him excited her as her mind drifted off, thinking about touching his body, the feel of him moving inside her. A shiver went through her as she walked a bit quicker, the anticipation almost driving her mad.

She jumped when she heard footsteps behind her. She had been so focused on her thoughts of Draco, she hadn't been paying attention. She reached into her pocket and pulled out her wand, ready just in case. The footsteps were moving quicker and were coming nearer when Ginny and Harry appeared round the corner. They were out of breath as they ran closer to her.

'Guys, what is it? What's wrong?' Hermione asked, worried at the expressions on her friends' faces.

Ginny spoke first, 'we think Ron is going after you or Malfoy,' gasping for air as she tried to tell Hermione.

'What?! You can't be serious, Ron wouldn't do that.' Hermione answered, not believing what Ginny had told her.

'It's true,' Harry said, 'he was still really angry after seeing you two at dinner and he said some pretty nasty stuff. I don't want to believe it either but you never saw his face when he spoke about the two of you. He's bitter, his mind is twisted with jealousy. I don't know what he'll do if we don't find him.'

'We have to hurry, Hermione. If Ron hasn't found you, he's probably gone after Malfoy,' Ginny said, desperately hoping that wasn't the case.

Panic set in and Hermione started to run along the corridor. She knew where Draco should be and she just hoped she would find him. Her mind started to rationalise what was going on. Yes, Ron was angry but Draco was powerful and would protect himself. Ron was just acting stupid and would end up getting hurt. Ginny and Harry followed close behind Hermione, not wanting to waste any time.

-*-*-*-

Draco wandered along the corridor, his mind clouded with images of Hermione, touching her, kissing her, watching her writhe underneath him. His heart swelled with love at the thought of her and he was glad patrol would soon be over and she would be back in his arms again. He turned the corner, not watching where he was going, and bumped into someone. He hadn't even heard anyone and as he raised his head to scold whoever it was, he met the burning eyes of the Weasel.

'Get out of my way, weasel,' Draco spat at him, the memory of him hurting Hermione still fresh in his mind.

'Shut up Malfoy,' Ron replied, his voice dripping with venom, 'you don't get to tell me what to do.'

Draco, slightly taken aback by the tone and hatred in Ron's voice replied, 'well, actually I do seeing as I'm Head Boy and you're nothing but a weasel,' a smirk playing across his lips as he did.

'That's it, Malfoy. I have put up with your little comments for years, but now you're fucking that whore who used to be my best friend, well I am just going to have to teach you a lesson.'

Draco was nearly overcome with anger at his words - how dare he call Hermione a whore! Then he realised that the bloody weasel was jealous. He laughed at him as he said, 'you're jealous, aren't you? You're fucking jealous because you can't have Hermione cos she's mine, you pathetic weasel.'

Ron's anger grew with Malfoy's words and he couldn't contain himself any longer. He punched Malfoy and sent his head flying back. He had caught him by suprise and was shocked at how hard he had hit him. Malfoy's fist shot towards Ron, sending him flying to the ground. Draco stood over him and punched him again, taking his anger out on him, hating him for what he had called Hermione.

Draco left Ron on the floor and started to walk away when he heard Ron move. Turning to face him in case he jumped him from behind, he saw Ron take out his wand and point it at him. Draco couldn't believe what the weasel was doing, he had thought he just wanted to punch him.

'Now, come on, don't do anything you'll regret, ' Draco said, watching as Ron stood up to face him.

'Oh, I'm not going to regret this, Malfoy. Everyone will love me for this, including Hermione - they'll all be glad you're gone. But first, let's have a little fun.'

Draco, worried about what Ron meant, snaked his hand into the pocket of his robe and gripped his wand, hoping to pull it out before Ron could do anything.

'Uh-uh,' Ron said, 'we can't have that, Malfoy. Let's see, what to do?' Ron had a flash of inspiration and he smirked as he said 'Crucio.'

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