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A/N~ I always have to start with the author’s note, don’t I? Sorry, but I have to answer a few reviews that I fell compelled to do so. Also, I would like to once again thank all of those who review my story, I couldn’t do this without you!

Anon~ You don’t have to worry about me not updating the story. I will always do it, because I will get extremely disappointed in myself if I don’t. I know my readers appreciate me, and I appreciate you just as much. Thank you for your kind words and your many reviews.

Jenn~ Why are you so awesome? I live for your reviews! Thank you so much for all your tips and words of encouragement.

* * * * *

All Draco could see were the cold dark eyes of Professor Severus Snape, the head of Slytherin house and longtime close personal friend of the Malfoy family. They were like pools of oil, glistening from the dim light emitting from Draco’s wand placed on a shelf. Draco shifted his gaze down to Snape’s mouth, expecting to see it set in a thin line of disappointment and contempt. Instead, Draco noticed that the corners of his lips were trembling, as if he were trying to keep a smirk at bay.

Draco could hear Granger whimper, causing him to remember the position they were currently in. Reluctantly, Draco removed his hand from her bum, not without giving it one final reassuring squeeze, and brought her leg down from his waist until he was sure her foot was flat on the floor. Slowly, Draco turned to face Snape, glaring at him accusingly for interrupting his attempt at shagging Granger in a broom closet for the first time. As he stared at the professor, he could hear Granger mumbling “Right, no one will catch us.” while he saw her hastily buttoning up her shirt out of the corner of his eye.

After what seemed like minutes of a stare down between the pupil and the teacher, Snape folded his arms across his chest, his amused gaze shifting between Draco and Granger.

“Yes, well, when Mr. Zabini suggested I have a look at the two culprits who snuck into this broom closet together, I wasn’t counting on finding such a disturbing scene unfolding between the Head Boy and Girl.” he drawled finally.

Snape’s stare rested on Granger, and Draco couldn’t help but notice the way his black eyes swept from her head to her feet and back up to her head again appreciatively. How dare he ogle a student in that manner, especially when that student was the girl Draco had recently become quite protective of. Draco, still glowering at Snape, stepped in front of Granger and guided her behind his back, shielding her from Snape’s view. Snape glanced back at Draco, raising his eyebrow at him questioningly.

“I expected more responsibility, tact, and class as our Head Girl, Miss Granger. I dare say such tasteless behavior and debauchery such as this will be most unacceptable in the future. Inappropriate conduct of this nature is grounds for suspension. However, I am willing to be lenient this one time, as much as it would please me to punish you severely, and let you off with a warning, and shall we say, 50 points from Gryffindor.”

Draco could feel Granger nod her head in approval against his shoulder and hear her mutter “Yes Sir, thank you Sir, it won’t happen again.”

“See that is doesn’t.”

Snape gave Granger one last disapproving look shot at her head before he turned his attention back to Draco.

“Draco, I want you in my office in approximately five minutes.”

Draco slightly nodded his head and said “Yes Sir.” before Snape slammed the door, enveloping Granger and him in the darkness of the closet again, Draco’s wand still pouring out the small light.

“Bloody hell, shite, and fuck.” Draco groaned as he buttoned up his shirt. Granger had already put on her robes, her maroon and gold tie dangling from her hand, and she was now occupied with glaring irritably and Draco.

“My thoughts exactly. Damn it Malfoy! How thick are you, how thick am I to listen to you? I should have known something like this would happen. He is going to tell McGonagall, I know it. I’ll lose my Head Girl status. I’ll be expelled. Soon I’ll be a toothless old hag on the streets of Diagon Alley begging for spare sickles and shouting incoherently about my glory days at Hogwarts!”

Was she hyperventilating?

“Get a grip on yourself Granger; it is so unattractive when you panic. While I go smooth this over with Snape why don’t you just go to your room and get cleaned up. Meet me at our table in the library in an hour; I should be done by then.”

Granger took a deep breath and scowled at him one last time before she kicked a random bucket on the floor and heaved “Fine!”

She pushed open the door halfway and stuck her head through the opening. Draco was certain she was making sure the hallway was still empty, and when she was satisfied, she stepped into the corridor and closed the door.

It was only seconds later when Draco heard a tremendous bang followed by a resounding “Damn it!” Draco could only shake his head as he slipped on his robe and threaded his tie through his collar, suspecting the crash and foul-mouthed exclamation was unmistakably Granger falling flat on her face.

Draco opened the closet door, not bothering to check for loiterers, and made his way down the hall and around the corner only to see Granger lying on her stomach in the middle of the stone floor. She had undoubtedly tripped over her own two feet, as Draco seen her do before when she was extremely nervous.

Stopping next to her sprawled out body, Draco saw her look up at him anxiously as he offered her his hand. She accepted it gratefully, allowing Draco to help her off of the floor.

“You know Granger,” Draco said as he watched her dust off her robes, “you really need to work on those nerves of yours. As much as I love seeing you walk into inanimate objects and fall ungracefully on your face or arse, it looks painful, and I don’t like sympathizing with you, it just isn’t in my nature.”

“You’re an arrogant and self absorbed prick Malfoy.” She was glaring again.

“So I have been told. Now if you will excuse me, I am off to suffer the displeasure of an overgrown bat.”

Draco continued on his way to the dungeons where Snape’s office was located, and was suddenly reminded that Snape had mentioned “Mr. Zabini” in his lecture. That damn wanker ratted on Granger and him! Draco could understand that this was a low-blow tactic in competing with him for Granger, but it was just too low. Blaise was starting to play dirty, causing Draco to question his friendship with his so-called “best mate.”

On Draco’s way down the final staircase to the dungeons, Draco’s line of sight was visually assaulted by that of Potter and Weasley quietly talking in the middle of the stairs. The Boy Wonder and his trusty side kick was the last thing Draco wanted to come into contact with. They could have at least chosen to have their little gossip session anywhere else but in Draco’s way.

“Move it Potter. Can’t you and Weasley snog somewhere else?” he drawled as he stopped right in front of them.

Potter shot Draco a hateful look as he stepped aside. As Draco made his way around the two shirt lifters, he heard Weasley whisper to Potter urgently “Go ahead Harry, ask him.”

Draco of course ignored them and continued his on his way down the steps until he heard Potter call out “Malfoy.”

Turning around, Draco watched as Potter and Weasley joined him at the bottom of the stairs. Hell must be frozen over if these two pillocks sought him out.

“Have you seen Hermione?” Potter asked him.

“As a matter of fact, the last I saw her she was sneaking out of the broom closet that she and I were about to shag in, before Snape caught us of course.”

Both Potter and Weasley glared at Draco contemptuously, and Draco couldn’t help but smirk pretentiously at them, knowing that they were mistaking his honesty for taking the piss out of them.

Potter looked at Weasley next to him and said, “See, I told you he wouldn’t know. We shouldn’t be wasting our time with this slimy git anyways. Let’s go.”

Instead of listening to the boy tugging at his shirt sleeve, Weasley stepped forward, placing himself in front of Draco. His ears were red as his disgusting hair and his common freckles were standing out from his pale face. Aw, the Weasel was mad.

“If you ever talk about Hermione like that again Malfoy, I will-”

“You’ll what, curse me?” Draco interrupted. “Weasley I would be surprised if you even knew how told hold a wand by the right end. Maybe we should consult with Potter and ask him if you have any problems with ‘wand handling’.”

The innuendo was not lost on Potter, who was sneering at Draco. Of course his incensed scowl did not direct attention away from the blush that was creeping up his cheeks. When Draco shifted his lazy gaze back to Weasley, he of course was staring at Draco with a confounded look on his face. Draco wouldn’t have been surprised if drool had started escaping from the corner of the halfwit’s mouth.

“Perhaps you need some pointers Weasly. I’m sure the Mudblood would be able to teach you. I hear she is quite the natural at sucking dick.”

Draco took a step back and laughed as Weasley tried to launch himself at Draco. Potter playing the hero, as always, restrained Weasley and mumbled “He’s Head Boy Ron, we could get in trouble. He’s not worth it.”

As Weasley continued to struggle with Potter, Draco reminded himself that he was due in Snape’s office in about a minute, and as much as it entertained him, taunting Scarhead and the Weasel would have to be postponed.

“I’m bored of you two now.”

Draco started walking away, but before he turned the last corner that brought him to his destination, he turned around haughtily saying “Weasley, 20 points from Gryffindor for attempting to physically attack the Head Boy. You certainly need to work on that bad temper of yours. Potter, 30 points from Gryffindor for being a magnificent poof and a pain in my arse. Now, piss off.”

Draco walked around the corner and chuckled to himself until he reached Snape’s office door. He had to take a few claming breaths to regain his nonchalant state of mind before knocking on the heavy piece of wood. A muffled “Enter.” was his response.

Opening the door, Draco stepped through the threshold and made his way to the chair that was seated in front of Snape’s desk. On his way, his eyes perused the shelves lined with jars full of dead squirmy creatures in slimy liquid and unusual potions ingredients in carefully labeled containers. It had occurred to Draco that Snape had entirely too much time on his hands and desperately needed to get knobbed.

When Draco reached the chair, he lowered himself down gracefully and looked at the head of his house expectantly, waiting for Snape to address him patiently. At the moment, Snape was conducting a spectacular show of shuffling and stacking the pile of parchment that Draco assumed he had been grading while awaiting his arrival. Finally Snape sighed heavily, opened and stored the papers in his desk drawer. Immediately after, her intertwined his fingers, rested his hands upon the dark wooden desk, and looked at Draco despondently.

“Do I really need to ask what that lapse in judgment was all about?”

“No Sir.”

“Well, I am going to ask regardless.”

It was Draco’s turn to sigh animatedly.

“It was nothing Professor. Granger and I have come to the conclusion that we have a mutual attraction for each other and we were merely acting on it.”

“And do you make it a habit of ‘acting on it’ in the school broom closets?”

“With all do respect, Sir, I hardly think it is any of your business.”

Snape raised his eyebrows at Draco, obviously at Draco’s nerve of his reply, and cleared his throat.

“Just what were you thinking Draco?”

“At that moment? I pretty much only had one comprehensible thought, Professor; getting into Granger’s knickers as soon as possible without shagging her in the middle of the hall.”

Draco’s audacity much have been adding to Snape’s growing temper, for he obviously let his anger get the best of him when he slammed his hands on his desk and rose to a standing position. Draco, who had not been expecting this drastic change in demeanor, slightly jumped at the loud noise.

“Do not get smart with me Draco. You know damn well what I was referring to. Did you ever think of the consequences of fraternizing with Miss Granger? What if your father caught wind of this?”

“Unless it has escaped your attention, Sir, my father is still in Azkaban, and short of scolding me from hundreds of kilometers away, there is not much else he could do.”

“And if it were a student who caught you two, or another teacher, what then?”

“I must admit that I didn’t think that one through. In my future endeavors, I suppose I will have to be more careful.”

Snape sighed again and shook his head. Draco picked a piece of lint off of his robes.

“Draco, you cannot afford to be found in such a compromising position with not only the Head Girl you have claimed to despise for seven years, but a Muggle born, and Harry Potter’s best friend.”

“Why not?”

Snape looked at Draco disbelievingly.

“Aside from the fact that Potter and Weasley would most certainly murder you on sight, the question of your loyalty is still at large, and something like this would only cause more speculation. You know you must decide sooner or later.”

At the mention of his ‘questionable loyalties’, Draco felt his temper rise and stood up with out warning. He had gotten so tired of being constantly interrogated about his damn position in the fucking war that was approaching. At that moment, Draco was seriously considering just leaving the country and waiting to see who would come out victorious before he returned. That actually didn’t sound like too bad of an idea.

“I decide when I want to! This is my life we are talking about. Mine; not the Dark Lord’s, not my father’s, and not yours. What I decide to do with my life is no concern of yours!”

“But it is Draco.” Snape said, his voice rising. “I swore to your father that I would watch over you and help you make the right decision.”

Draco’s voice rose to meet Snape’s.

“And what is the right decision? You speak of loyalties; your loyalty to the Dark Lord has always been in question. Who has your loyalty, Professor, Dumbledore or the Dark Lord? If I decide not to join the Death Eaters will you condemn me or congratulate me?”

Snape had apparently become surprised at Draco’s questioning, for he cleared his throat, yet again (it was starting to become annoying), and sat back down, smoothing out his dark and billowing robes. Draco took a deep breath, and returned to his seat as well.

“I only have your best interests as my concern Draco. My loyalty, my promise to your father, far outweighs my current loyalties. Your father only wants you to be safe. He doesn’t want you to end up like him, rotting away in a tiny filthy cell on an island in the middle of the sea, slowly losing his mind. He just asks that you make him proud to be your father.”

“The only way to make him proud is to become him before he started rotting away. Even if I were to join the dark side, marry some pureblood princess, produce a Malfoy heir, and eventually become the youngest and most handsome Minister of Magic in history, nothing I ever do will cause him to be proud of me. I have tried all my life, and I have failed each and every time. I am over it; his pride means nothing to me. I am a man and it is time that I act as one. From now on, that only pride that I am interested in is the pride I have in myself.”

Draco, who had been staring at the ceiling during his declaration, brought his gaze back down to the man in front of him. Snape was looking at him with an odd expression on his face, one Draco had rarely seen before. Snape looked pleased.

“Very well. Just know that you have my pride as well.”

After Snape made this announcement, both Slytherins averted their eyes. Suddenly, Draco’s hand had becoming very interesting.

Bloody hell did Draco ever hate awkward silences. He needed to find a new subject, anything that they could talk about. As if a gift from the brain gods, Snape’s voice started echoing in Draco’s head, “Mr. Zabini, Mr. Zabini.” That damn tosser!

“If you don’t mind my asking Sir, what exactly did Blaise have to do with your discovery of Granger and me?”

Draco found it hard to disguise the disdain in his voice, and Snape must have been able to hear it too, because for the third time that day, he raised his eyebrows at Draco. It was almost as irritating as the throat clearing.

“He met me in the hallway as I was on my way to the staff room and suggested that if I have a look in that specific closet I will find a couple of students who are in need of being reprimanded. That’s all he said. I myself could not pass of the chance of course. Imagine my shock and surprise when I found out who the two students were. I was at least hoping it would be a pair of Gryffindors, Potter or Weasley perhaps.”

Needless to say, Draco was somewhat astonished at Snape’s last comment. Had he heard the rumors too? Draco didn’t think the professor paid attention to such stories. He wanted to ask Snape if he did, but Draco thought better of it.

“Right bastard Blaise is.”

“I assume he knows of your relationship with Miss Granger.”

“In a matter of speaking.”

“He seemed rather cheerful to lead the way to my finding.”

Draco snorted.

“I’m sure he was.”

Damn Slytherins and their dirty way of fighting. They never played clean, Draco included. This thought led Draco’s mouth to grow into a sneer.

“Anything I should know, Draco?”

“No, Sir, it is just a little friendly competition between best mates.”

“For Miss Granger’s affections?”

“Among other things. He has yet to come to terms with the fact that he has already lost.”

Snape let a harrumph loose.

“Why Miss Granger? You could have chosen any girl in the school.”

“Well, I suppose that whole opposites attract theory has something behind it. I am considered the Bad Boy of Slytherin and she is the Gryffindor Princess. Pureblood and Mudblood. Dark and Light. It makes perfect sense if you think about it. Hell, I bet if we were forced into sharing a common room or a joint bathroom it would have happened a whole lot sooner.”

“Yes, but that isn’t very realistic is it?”

“Not really.”

When Snape had not responded, Draco stood up once again, hoping their conversation was over.

“Are we done Professor?”

“Yes, you may leave. Please just be more careful in the future. I have no desire to see the image of you groping Miss Granger again.”

Draco nodded his head and turned to walk out of the office. Before he could open the door, Snape cleared his throat again, obviously requesting Draco’s attention. Draco spun on his heel and faced Snape, seeing him poised at the door to his private rooms, his hand on the doorknob.

“Are you,” and at the upcoming words Snape conjured up the most horrific grimace Draco had ever seen, “in love with Miss Granger?”

Draco smiled, and he saw something akin to fear cover Snape’s face.

“No Sir, absolutely not.”

Snape smiled, or what passes for a smile on him, which really looked like a less severe grimace, nodded his head, and stepped into his office. When he disappeared through the door, Draco stepped out of the office.

* * * * *

A half an hour later, after changing into his favorite dark grey trousers and white Oxford shirt, and giving Blaise a well deserved dirty look and middle finger from across the common room, Draco arrived in the library.

He could see Granger sitting at their table drumming her fingers anxiously. She was wearing a brown jumper that dipped low enough to give an enticing glimpse of the top of her breasts, a black pleated skirt, and those damn shoes that she wore everyday that made her legs look long and slender. Of course her hair was in a messy bun, stray curls escaping to frame her face, giving Draco an unobstructed view of her long neck and flushed face. She looked good enough to eat, which Draco determined he just might have to do later tonight.

When she looked up and saw Draco approaching, she stood up and waited for him to get to the table. Draco knew she was nervous as her hands looked to be strangling each other. Typical Granger.

When he approached her she looked at him expectantly and said, “Well?”

“Well what?”

“What do you mean ‘well what’? What did Snape say?”

“Nothing to worry about. He won’t tell anyone.”

Granger sighed with relief.

Draco continued, “He did mention that it was in fact Blaise who directed him to our location, hinting that Snape would find two students in an unsuitable position.”

Granger, if possible, managed to look even more apprehensive.

“Oh, well, he’s a git.” She said dismissively. “I guess it is good that we are on the subject because I have something I need to tell you.”

Draco ignored her, and instead asked “Did the two lovebirds Potter and Weasley find you?”

“What? Oh, yes.”

“They tried to ask me if I knew where you were on my way to Snape’s office.”

“Yes, they told me, but-”

“You should have seen their faces when I told them that the last time I saw you was when you were sneaking out of a broom closet we were about to shag in.” Draco interrupted.

“You told them that? Are you mental or do you just have a death wish?”

“Oh relax Granger. They didn’t believe me of course. But when I told Weasley that he could get pointers on oral sex from you, he did try to kill me, as if he would ever succeed.”

“One of these days Malfoy your mouth is going to get you in trouble, and I will be right there watching as Ron and Harry clobber you because you will probably deserve it.”

Draco smirked at the expression of disbelief on Granger’s face.

“Only in your dreams Granger.”

“We are off subject.”

“What subject were we on?”

Granger took a deep breath before saying “Malfoy, I have to-”

Draco interrupted her again, too distracted by her appearance to care about what she was saying.

“What do you say that we get the prefects to do patrol tonight and you and I get an early start on spending some time in my room doing deliciously naughty things to each other?”

Granger started fidgeting again, her hands returning to mangling one another.

“About that Malfoy, I think we should go to my room from now on.”

Scoffing, Draco stared at her doubtfully.

“And be in such close vicinity to Gryffindors, to Potter, to Weasley? I don’t think so.”

She looked at him incredulously.

“I did the same for you!”

“Why do you want to go to your room tonight?”

“Zabini caught me slipping out of your room earlier this morning.”

“Having a Hufflepuff moment, were you? Why didn’t you use the Concealment Charm?”

“I didn’t think it was necessary at two o’clock in the morning.”

“With Slytherins it is always necessary. You say Blaise caught you?”

Granger avoided looking into his eyes. Draco could tell something wasn’t right.

“Yes.”

Getting concerned, Draco grabbed one of her unsteady hands with his. She still wouldn’t meet his gaze.

“He didn’t try anything with you, did he?”

“Sort of, but I took care of it.”

Fucking Blaise! That arsehole was in for it.

“Damn it Granger, why didn’t you tell me?”

“I am telling you now, aren’t I?”

Draco could feel his anger growing.

“I am going to get that fucker!”

Draco let go of Granger’s hand and started to storm out of the library to give Blaise a piece of his mind. Well, more like his fist, but what’s the difference? It was when he felt Granger’s small hand grab his arm that halted him in his condemnation. He turned to look at her, and she looked up at him, her brown eyes big and full of panic. No, something most definitely wasn’t right. Granger had never looked at him like that before.

“Malfoy, just listen, I have to tell you something.”

“What?”

Another deep breath. Not good.

“I was going to wait to until a better time to tell you, when you wouldn’t be so pissed off. I had it planned out and everything, but when I really thought about it, it seemed sort of cruel and-”

Frustrated, Malfoy interrupted her yet again.

“Are you going to tell me sometime before our 7th year at Hogwarts is over Granger?”

“Huh, oh, right. Okay,” Another damn deep breath. She was going to pass out if she wasn’t careful, and Draco would not be the one to catch her. Okay, maybe he would, but he would definitely take the mickey out of her once she regained consciousness.

“I lied to you about Zabini.”

Draco was confused.

“He didn’t catch you this morning?”

“No, he did.”

“He did more than ‘sort of’ something to you, for which by the way I am going to make him pay severely for?”

“No.”

Draco had never been so confused. This bint was harder to figure out than Ancient Runes.

“Then what Granger, because I am running out of guesses here? Just spit it out.”

Another fucking deep breath! This time, she also took a step back away from Draco.

“I lied about mine and Blaise’s relationship.”

What was she talking about? Did she just call him “Blaise”?

“In what way, and did you just call him ‘Blaise’?”

“Yes, well, we shagged more than a couple of times.”

The anger residing in Draco’s stomach had suddenly burst and rushed through his veins.

“How many?” he asked, noticing his eyes narrowed on their own and his top and bottom set of teeth would not separate.

“It’s complicated Malfoy.”

“There is nothing complicated about it Granger. Stop avoiding my question and answer me, how many?”

“As many as we could get away with in the span of a week. As of now, Blaise and I have shagged more times than you and I have.”

All Draco could feel was white hot anger filling every centimeter of his body. His vision was clouding on the last person he ever expected to lie to him. Draco was in a murderous rage and he had a thirst for blood!




A/N~ Wow, Draco is pissed!

I wanted to let my readers know that these next upcoming three chapters are going to be a bit different. Usually I alternate between Hermione and Draco’s point of views with each chapter, but this next one is going to be from Draco’s perspective again, and the two after that from Hermione’s.

I can’t wait for you guys to read the next chapter. It is going to be dark and angsty, with some smut, violence, and humor thrown in the mix. That sure is a tall order, but I think I will be able to achieve it. Not to toot my own horn, but I think it will be my best chapter yet. I am going to try and post it on Tuesday, so keep checking to see if I have updated.

I love you, readers, and if you love me too, you will leave me loads of reviews!

Have a good weekend!

Roberta