A/N: What can I say, RL's a bitch.

November,

The Slytherin common room.

Theo steeled himself as he made his way into the common room. This was it. He had been researching for a couple of days and now it was time to make his move. He was going to set things alright with LaRoche. He needed to become her friend again if he wanted her to trust him.

He made his way into one of the corners, where Sophie was pouring over her studies. As he neared her, he noticed her making notes on a newer transfiguration chapter. It hadn't been taught yet, but her detailed notes seemed impressive. He cleared his throat loudly. She jumped and turned towards him. "Theo," she murmured.

"Um-can I join you?" he asked uncertainly. Sophie raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah sure," she replied after a moment. She closed up her textbooks and rolled up her parchments hastily. Placing her quill in the inkpot, she turned towards him and stared as he settled himself on a chair beside her.

Theo sighed. "Look, I wanted to- to apologize. I've been acting like an arse for weeks and ignoring you– I treated you so suspiciously and called you nosy, just for asking questions about things you didn't know, and - what I'm trying to say is that if you'll for–forgive -"

"Oh Theo," she whispered, taking his hand in hers. He noticed that they were soft and warm. "It's okay." She smiled warmly at him.

Theo nodded. This was going much easier than he'd thought. As he looked at her, he couldn't help but return her smile. It was infectious; he could see why Draco had gotten his emotions entangled with her. He smirked at her and she chuckled. "So what are you working on?" he casually asked her nudging at her pile of books.

"Transfiguration. I like to read ahead of school. It keeps me prepared for any surprises. I'm on chapter twelve already." She smugly replied.

His eyebrow shot up in approval. "Not bad. I keep barely keep up with the schoolwork for Transfiguration but Ancient Runes– now that's something I like."

"Runes, huh? I'm on chapter seven– The Ancient Civilization and the Forgotten Language of the Wizarding Aztecs."

Theo's evilly smirked. "Chapter eleven– Runes of Atlantis. Finished it just yesterday." Sophie's jaw dropped.

"No way. You can't possibly be so further ahead." She argued. Theo winked cockily at her.

He looked down at the table, his eyes settling on her books. Transfiguration, Advanced Astronomy and – was that? He strained his eyes at the small parchment sneaking out from under one of her charts. The writing was barely legible, but he'd recognize that page anywhere. It was from a book he'd once spent hours going over at the library at Nott Manor.

A Guide to Dark Arts– Beginner's guide to dark spells, curses and counter-curses.

Interesting.

Theo turned his attention back to her. She was still scowling at his last sentence. He grinned mischievously. "Perhaps you'd like to make a wager on it. Let's see who scores more on the next test. Loser treats the other at Honeydukes."

She looked at him, assessing his offer and nodded. "Deal."

Theo grinned. He loved a challenge. It seemed like his job was already half done.

Hermione stiffened. Her spine was tingling slightly. She glanced at Theo who was going over her Herbology notes. While she had been glad that she had finally mended things with him, she felt uneasy. She wasn't sure if it was the right thing to do. Something just felt… off.

She continued with her homework, hoping for a distraction. She could feel Theo staring at her in regular intervals of the hour. What was he up to? Did he suspect her? Cursing in her mind, she decided to be more careful.

After what seemed like hours, Tracey arrived and ended the awkwardness. Hermione could have kissed her at that moment. She had never been so glad to see a Slytherin until then.

"Hey–," she stumbled after seeing Theo sitting beside her. "Theo! Fancy seeing you here."

"Yeah, I realised I missed you ladies much more than I thought." He replied with a smirk.

"You liar," Tracey stuck her tongue out at him and sat down beside Hermione.

"As much as I enjoy my solitude; I reasoned, why deny you ladies my charming personality and irresistible hotness," Theo smirked at them.

Hermione and Tracey snorted in unison. "Charming personality, my arse," Tracey muttered.

"I see you didn't deny my hotness," Theo remarked.

Tracey rolled her eyes. "Wanker."

The next day,

Unused Transfiguration class

Hermione smiled at Draco as he entered their classroom. To her surprise he nodded at her. He had never reacted to her greetings before and Hermione inwardly jumped in excitement.

"So what are we doing today?" she asked him as he settled in front of her.

"Moons of Uranus." He answered.

"Oh good. I always get confused which is which. I think Professor Sinistra was just going to take a test on it. I could have failed."

"That's what I'm here for, isn't it? To help you get better?" he pointed out.

"Yeah, I guess." Hermione agreed.

"Let us begin," Malfoy opened up the textbook.

Sometime later, Hermione noticed Draco staring at her. She had been reading a paragraph on Titania, when she had felt his gaze. She looked up at him, and he averted his eyes. Ignoring him, she continued reading.

A few moments later, she again felt his eyes on her. Again, when she looked up he looked away. Hermione sighed. This was getting annoying. She noticed him glancing at his watch several times before frowning at it.

He looked at her again. "This is enough for today. We shall continue next time." He packed his bag and strode off without any word.

Hermione watched him go. She was surprised by his behavior. He was extra cheery in the beginning and then as time went on, he became frustrated at something. And he kept staring at her. She knew it could only be one thing. He wanted something from her– 'some help in something?' She wondered. 'No. That didn't seem likely.'

'Something out of her?' That was more plausible. First Theo and now Malfoy.

Theo! That was it. Theo had been staring at her too. They both must be suspicious of her. It made sense. Malfoy must have asked Theo to check on her. She would have to do something. They would figure it out sooner or later. She would have to keep them distracted enough. She stood up straight. Packing her bag, she muttered a "Nox," at the room, before leaving.

Sixth year boys dorm,

Slytherin commons.

Theo glanced at Draco who entered their dorm tempestuously. Draco looked at him and nodded once before heading towards his bed. He roughly shoved his school tie off and removed his sweater and proceeded to kick off his shoes.

Theo made his way towards him. Something had gotten his best mate in mood. 'Shite, wasn't he supposed to meet up with LaRoche today? Something must have happened'.

"Draco-mate, what happened?" he asked him.

Instead of answering, Draco glared at him. "Tell me what you found out?" he demanded.

Theo looked at him for a moment. He got up and retrieved a few parchments from his bag and handed it over to Draco.

"Here, I contacted my mother's cousin, who is a trustee at Beauxbatons. I asked him for some information on LaRoche," He explained, pointing to the documents.

"They're copies of her official records right from her first year, her academic achievements, extracurriculars, personal records from her teachers and peers. As expected it's impeccable." He looked at Draco before continuing. "What's interesting is the lack of photographs." Draco looked up at him. "She isn't in any of the pictures except the ones given in her official records. None of them with her friends or teachers. Normally this isn't the case. Everyone is at least in one of the photographs. She isn't even in the annual photos they take of each year at the end of school session. The reasons listed are completely asinine. Always some medical problem due to which she had retired to the infirmary; or maybe a quick visit to her family estate for some emergency."

"Curious," remarked Draco, studying the records himself. "Does this contain any remarks about her from her friends? Dorm mates?"

Theo ruffled through the parchments and taking out one of them, he went through it searching for a specific paragraph.

"Here," he passed it to Draco. "Apparently Beauxbatons doesn't have houses or dormitories like us. Each student shares a room with an elder student, who is a mentor or a guide to them throughout the year. They change every year, so that each student can familiarise and learn newer stuff from their dorm mate. LaRoche has had five of them till now. And oh- guess who was one of them?" he asked.

Draco only raised his eyebrows. "Fleur Delacour." Theo answered.

"The Triwizard champion?"

"The very one." Theo nodded. "She was LaRoche's roommate during our third year. She is the one who has left behind the most positive remarks about her. 'Sophie ees a very intelligent, budding young witch. She ees a younger seester to me. After Gabrielle, of course. J'adore elle'. He quoted verbatim, imitating her high pitched French accent. Draco snorted at his mate's snotty expression.

"There is one thing, though. The rest of the comments…they're a bit weird." Theo hesitated. "I mean, the rest of them are inconsistent. Take a look for yourself." He waved his wand at the parchment. A silvery wisp of air rose up, forming a crude likeness of a girl. "She's nice girl. She helps me in Astronomy," it whispered. The smoky figure then changed into a boy's face. "We used to date. She was perfect. So kind and sweet. I–I…what was I talking about? Sophie?... I don't know-" the smoke faltered and then vanished back into the parchment. Draco turned to Theo, looking unconvinced.

"Do you see it?" Theo asked. Draco shook his head. "At the end. The guy–," Theo checked the parchment for his name. "Freddie DuPont. He says he used to date her. Then he pretends to forget about who he's talking" Theo clarified. Didn't you notice the confusion in his voice? He asked him. Draco considered his point. "Sweet and kind? Honestly LaRoche is as sweet as a flobberworm. And in the earlier one, the girl says she's good in Astronomy. You are tutoring her in that subject. How can that be possible? Why would she need tutoring if she's good in that subject?" Theo reasoned.

Draco suddenly looked intrigued. "This is indeed suspicious. It doesn't add up. Is the Delacour bint's the only one that's convincing?" He questioned.

"Seems like it. I'll have to go through all this again. See of I can find something else." Theo stood up.

Draco agreed. "See to it properly".

Few days later,

Slytherin Dungeons.

Hermione pulled the invisibility cloak over her head, and glanced around before making her way towards the dungeons. Creeping past the Slytherin common room entrance, she made her way deeper underground. She turned into a corner and pulled out the Marauders map. Searching for Malfoy, she found his dot only a few corridors away. She placed the map back inside her robes and rushed towards him.

She stopped once she saw him. He was standing near the wall, his wand dimming the lights in the corridor. Soon the already dark dungeon became pitch black. Hermione strained her eyes trying to spot him. She reached for her wand when something bright shone in front of her. It was a bright light, emanating from something on Malfoy's hand. It wasn't his wand, she realised. The light appeared in the shape of a human hand. It blinked once before shutting off. Again being subjected to pitch darkness, Hermione groaned as she rubbed her eyes. Finally casting a Lumos, she searched for Malfoy but he was gone.

Hermione cursed. She made her way towards the wall. Upon touching it she realised that it was the same 'secret' dungeon room she had once spotted him going. She smirked. She had finally found out how to open it. It had been so simple. A quick search in the Restricted Section of the library had confirmed her theory. It was a room near the Slytherin Dungeons after all. Blood purity was just as important to them as ambition and cunning. She pulled out a thin vial from her robes. It contained a small sample of blood. She opened the cap and poured a drop of it along a small crack and watched it as it ran down the stone. The crack opened silently and grew larger till it was large enough for her to pass through. She pocketed the vial and entered inside. The door sealed itself as seamlessly and silently as it had opened.

Hermione smiled at herself. It had been too easy. Obtaining the blood from Snape had been child's play. Once she had explained the reason, he handed it over to her. She swore she could see the hints of a smirk on the Professor's face as she backed up her theory. She had asked for the blood of a pureblooded witch; it not only guaranteed that the door would open for her, but also provide an alibi for her in case someone checked up on her. Snape had explained to her that all kinds of magic could be tracked. Including those that required blood. And a complicated spell could reveal whose blood had been used. It had been invented in the medieval ages, to regulate illegal blood rituals. It was then that her former Potions Master supplied her with someone else's blood, so that if anyone was tracking the room's openings and closings, Sophie's name wouldn't come up.

Now smirking to herself, she glanced around the room. It was more of a corridor; torches with green flames lit the way to a door at the other end. Hermione pulled out her wand and walked up to it. She touched the door and it opened at her touch. Gripping her wand tightly, she stepped through.

Inside was a small, but an even grander replica of the Slytherin common room. There were no windows or any natural light, but it was remarkably similar to the common room. The tables, sofas and chairs were arranged in a similar fashion. A small fireplace gleamed with a burning flame. A large silver chandelier, hung from the ceiling. The room was extremely opulent; however it displayed a sense of disuse. Obviously it was not in use often. She noticed several doorways from the corners of the room. Curiosity getting the better of her, she made her way to the nearest one and opened it. Inside was a large library filled with endless shelves of books. Slowly and warily, she reached for the nearest one. The books seemed centuries old and some titles seemed incredibly rare and obscure. She noticed several first editions of books she had read in the main library of the school. Surveying around the room quickly, she left it to explore the others.

As soon as she came back into the main room, she saw Malfoy. He had forfeited his robes and was staring into the fireplace, his back towards her. Hermione tried to noiselessly tiptoe into the room, but the door slammed loudly behind her. She hissed and closed her eyes. The sound attracted Malfoy's attention. He immediately turned in her direction, his wand pointed and ready to curse. "Who's there?" he called out. Hermione remained silent, praying that the cloak hid her properly. "I know you're in there," Malfoy said again, making his way towards her. "I knew you were following me all along. So hiding is pointless." He had almost reached her when Hermione, acting on an impulse, pulled down the invisibility cloak and revealed herself to him.

She watched as his eyes widened in surprise for a moment and then narrowed. "Sophie," he whispered. "What the fuck are you doing in here?" he loudly demanded.

"I–I followed you," she stumbled uncertainly; regretting her decision.

Malfoy snarled. His eyes travelled to the cloak lying at her feet. "What is–Is that an invisibility cloak? Where did you get it?"

"It's mine." She defiantly stated. "My father gave it to me when I started school."

Malfoy seemed to consider that. He gave a brief look at the shimmering cloak and raised his eyebrows in approval. He however did not lose his fury. Stepping close to her, he grabbed her arm and yanked on it. "Why were you following me? Tell the truth and tell it now."

Hermione hissed loudly ask the now familiar spark ran up her spine. She shuddered and glanced at Malfoy. His face seemed passive, his eyes blazing. As she looked down at his hand, she saw the goosebumps that had arisen over his skin, and realised that he had felt it too. And judging by his inaction, had always felt it. His arm clenched hers tightly and she tried to shake him away. "You–you're hurting me."

Malfoy seemed undeterred. He grabbed her and pulled her closer. "Tell me," he repeated.

Hermione furiously stared back at him. "Leave me first," she countered.

"No. You'll just run away. Or worse hex me." He sneaked his hand into her robes and pulled out her wand and threw it across the room.

"Hey," she cried indignantly. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Malfoy captured both of her wrists in his hands and wrestled as she tried to struggle against him. "Tell me and I'll leave you alone," he demanded .

Hermione considered it quickly as her wrists had started to hurt. "Okay. I'll tell you. I just wanted to see where you went!" She cried out.

Malfoy glared at her. His eyes bore into hers and Hermione quickly put up her mental shields against him. He frowned and loosened his hold. Hermione decided now was the time to act. Antagonising him would only get her so far. She needed more. The Order needed more. She'll have to go by Dumbledore's plan.

Taking a deep breath, she stared into his eyes. Dropping her shields slightly, she projected him an image showing her emotions. She scrunched up her face into one of concern, "It's because I care!" she whispered.

"What?" Malfoy looked confused.

Hermione averted her eyes. She looked shyly at the ground, hoping that it looked convincing. "At first it started out as mere curiosity. Then because of our lessons, I got to know you better. Everyone knew about the arrogant rich pureblood, but underneath I saw how you were suffering."

"I'm not suffering! You think you know anything about me? About who I am? What I feel? Well think again!" Malfoy snapped.

"Don't lie Draco," Hermione replied in a soft voice. "I see you every day. Did you really think no one would notice your absence? Everyone did. There were many rumours floating around as to what you were doing, each more ridiculous than the first. But I knew they were all wrong. That's why I decided to find out by following you."

Malfoy however did not seemed swayed by her answer. He got angrier instead. "So what, is this a game to you? To find out what I'm up to? Got a nice little bet with Davis?" he snarled.

"No. You have it all wrong. It's not that," she insisted.

"What is it then? Explain!"

Hermione gulped. Malfoy's face was growing angrier by the second. While she was not afraid of him, she didn't fancy being wandless and subjected to his anger in an unknown, hidden room. She released her hands from his grip and took one of his in hers. Rubbing her hands comfortingly along his, she gazed into his eyes. "I care about you Draco. I just wanted to see if you were okay. And if you ever needed someone to talk to–I'm here for you."

Malfoy's face turned into a smirk. He was mocking her, she realised. His gaze was fixed on her face, so she continued her stance. His smirk faltered and then vanished. He stepped closer to her and she leaned back until her back was touching the wall. He closed the distance between them, his hands now enclosing her between the wall and himself. Hermione could feel his chest pounding against hers; their eyes locked on to each other, she made note how his grey eyes had turned darker. 'Was this what desire looked like?' she wondered. "And why do you care, LaRoche?" he asked huskily as he leaned down towards her.

Hermione, feeling his hot breath upon her skin, pressed herself closer towards him. "I thought that it was rather obvious." She whispered in his ear.

Malfoy leaned down and brought his face upon hers, their lips crashing together. Hermione moaned as her kissed her, the tension between them finally being released.

She felt a myriad of sensations coursing through her body. Malfoy's kisses were smooth, intense and shook her to the bones. She held on to him, fervently kissing in back. Her hands entangled themselves in his hair as he held on to her waist for support. He was forceful, and Hermione; caught up in the moment, matched up to him passionately. He tasted like apples and wine, and Hermione found herself craving it more. He bit on her lower lip hard and Hermione gasped, finally coming to her senses. She pressed her hands against his chest forcefully, breaking them apart and pushed him away.

A/N: Don't hate. Review and let me know. The next one will be soon after.

~Eternity