Following their decision to embark on a real romance, Draco and Hermione opted not to inform his friends of the change right away. Since the rest of the school already thought they were a couple, there was no need to inform them of the change of circumstances, and they wanted to see if things worked out between them before telling Draco's friends about them.

However, in the end they didn't need to tell Draco's friends as they all instantly picked up on the change between the head students. Even though they'd become friends over the Christmas break, Hermione had wondered if Draco's friends would truly approve of them getting involved for real, but she needn't have worried as they were all thrilled that the pretence had turned real. Pansy in particular was ecstatic about the new development, but neither Draco or Hermione knew that it was because she was pleased that her scheme had worked and that real romance had blossomed, even if it had happened earlier than she'd expected.

As for Hermione's friends, the fact the romance was now real helped ease her guilt about not quite telling them the truth. And thankfully, they were all really supportive and no-one seemed to have a problem with her being with Draco. Or rather most people didn't have a problem. Ginny had barely spoken to Hermione since the start of the term and Hermione knew that the red-headed witch was blaming her for the entire situation with Ron. Although Hermione hadn't made any attempt to talk to Ginny, because as far as she was concerned she'd done nothing wrong and if Ginny honestly believed half of what she'd said, she felt sorry for the younger witch as she had a very twisted view of relationships.

When it came to Ron, it was as though he was invisible to Hermione. He hadn't made any move to approach her again, and for that Hermione was grateful. Maybe in time they might be able to be friends of a kind, but at the moment things were just too raw and Hermione really didn't want to have to deal with her ex. She wasn't even bothered that Lavender had stuck to her guns and refused to have anything to do with Ron, and that her ex-boyfriend was being shunned by the witches of Hogwarts. It was hard to feel any sympathy for him, and the fact his love life was dead for the rest of the year, despite the fact she'd moved on and was extremely happy with Draco.

And Hermione was happy with Draco. Their relationship just seemed to work and they clicked in a way she and Ron had never done. To be honest, Hermione tried not to compare her relationship with Ron to her one with Draco, but sometimes she couldn't help herself. With her and Ron being friends for so long before they got together, their relationship had always been fairly low key and they hadn't really spent much time getting to know each other. It was just assumed that since they'd been friends for six years, they already knew everything there was to know about each other Whereas she and Draco shared stories and really talked about themselves, making Hermione realise that there was plenty she hadn't told Ron, and there were lots of things she didn't know about her ex-boyfriend.

Another major difference was the completability between herself and Draco compared with her and Ron. Truth be told, she'd never had a lot in common with Ron, and most of their conversations were superficial. And even though she and Draco were total opposites in a lot of ways, in other ways they were very similar and they could hold an intellectual conversation. Draco also didn't try and shove his love of quidditch down Hermione's throat, and he accepted that it was an interest that they didn't have in common, where Ron had constantly tried to change Hermione's mind about her attitude towards the sport and blamed her muggle heritage on the fact she held no interest in the popular wizarding sport.

Another aspect of their relationship that was different to the one she had with Ron, was the physical side of it. By the time the couple had been together for four weeks, they still hadn't slept together, but Hermione knew it was imminent and they'd done far more than she'd done with Ron, despite the fact she'd been with Ron for months. However, unlike Ron, Draco never pressurised her and while it had often seemed that the only time alone she'd spent with Ron was when he was trying to get some sexual action, she and Draco were often alone without the topic of sex rearing its head. However, the sexual tension was always bubbling between them and Hermione was always physically affected by Draco's presence.

A case in point was a miserable Sunday afternoon when Hermione was trying to study. Initially, Draco had been content to sit and read beside her, but after an hour he got bored and turned his attention to his girlfriend. Pushing her hair to one side, he began to pepper her neck with soft kisses, and even resorted to whispering naughty things in her ear.

"Draco," Hermione moaned, trying to focus on her Charms homework rather than the heat building in her stomach.

"Yes," Draco replied innocently, although Hermione could feel him smirking against her neck.

"You're very distracting," Hermione muttered, moaning slightly when Draco licked a particularly sensitive spot just behind her ear.

"I do try," Draco returned.

"But I'm trying to work," Hermione protested.

"You're trying to do homework we only got on Friday," Draco pointed out. "Homework, that isn't due in for another two weeks, I might add. You could leave it for today and the world wouldn't end."

Again, Hermione was reminded of the differences with Ron. Ron had also tried to distract her from her homework, but instead of taking Draco's tactic of reminding her that she didn't have to do every piece of homework as soon as she got it, he'd often belittled her need to work hard and more often than not, Hermione had carried on studying because Ron had annoyed her and she hadn't wanted to spend time with him. But she was much more open to Draco's form of distraction and she allowed her quill to fall from her fingers.

"See, I'm much more interesting than homework," Draco smirked.

"I just need a break, it has nothing to do with you," Hermione retorted, swivelling in her seat and wrapping her arms around Draco's neck. "You just happen to be here to keep me entertained."

"And how do you want entertaining?" Draco asked with a chuckle.

"I'm sure you can think of something," Hermione replied.

"I'm sure I can," Draco agreed, pulling Hermione so she was straddling his lap and connecting their lips in a heated kiss.

With her homework forgotten, Hermione lost herself in Draco's embrace and it didn't take long before the couple were sprawled entangled on the sofa. Nor did it take long for the passion to rise, and their clothing to become an obstacle. When Draco slid his hand under Hermione's top and began to slide up her skin she didn't object, but when his hand reached her lacy bra, she stopped him.

"Sorry," Draco apologised, hastily removing his hand. It wasn't the first time he'd had his hand up Hermione's top, in fact he'd even had her topless at one point, but he always backed off when his girlfriend wasn't responsive.

"Don't apologise," Hermione said with a smile. "I didn't stop you because I wasn't enjoying it. I stopped you because I want more."

"How much more?" Draco asked in a low voice, trying not to sound too eager as he didn't want Hermione to think he was pressuring her for sex.

"You know how much more," Hermione chuckled, easily able to hear the hope in Draco's question. "I want you, Draco. Don't you want me?"

"What do you think?" With a smirk, Draco pressed his hips against Hermione's, where she could clearly feel his arousal. "But are you sure?" he asked more seriously. "We can wait you know."

"I know, but I don't want to wait," Hermione admitted. "I want you to make love to me, Draco."

Draco smiled and leaned down to give Hermione a tender kiss. Smiling into the kiss, Hermione wrapped her arms around her boyfriend, but a few seconds later, Draco pulled away and got up from the sofa.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked nervously. She didn't think she could have done anything to upset Draco, but his departure from the sofa was pretty abrupt.

"Nothing, we're just going to the bedroom," Draco answered, taking hold of Hermione's hand and gently pulling her to her feet.

"Oh," Hermione muttered.

"Your first time is not going to be some uncomfortable quickie on the sofa," Draco informed her. "I want this to be memorable."

"It will be, because it's you," Hermione replied with a smile. Although she was very touched by Draco's consideration, and she had to admit a bed was more appealing than the sofa.

Leading Hermione up the short stairs that lead to the top floor of the Head Dorms, Draco tugged Hermione into his room without even asking her which room she wanted to use. Even though they'd been dating for the last few weeks, Hermione hadn't been in Draco's room a lot, but she wasn't surprised to find it was as neat as a pin. She'd learnt that Draco was a bit of a neat freak, and he didn't like things to be out of place.

"Why your room?" Hermione asked.

"You would rather use yours?" Draco asked. "I can't say I've ever thought about making love on Gryffindor sheets," he mused with a slight frown. "When I've pictured this moment, you've always been spread out on my bed. I guess I rather like the idea of ravishing the Gryffindor Princess on Slytherin colours."

"The Gryffindor Princess?" Hermione laughed at the nickname. "Let's guess, Blaise came up with that one."

"He did, but I think it suits you," Draco returned with a laugh of his own.

"I suppose we go together if I'm the princess and you're the prince," Hermione joked.

"Of course we go together," Draco replied, pulling Hermione into his arms. "Do you want to go to your room? We can if you would be more comfortable there."

"No, I think I'm more comfortable here," Hermione admitted.

"Anytime you want to stop, just say," Draco said as the pair sat down on the bed together. "Even if we're naked and about to do the deed, all you have to do is say and we can stop."

"And that's why I'm sure this is the right thing," Hermione said with a smile. "I know you won't ever do anything I'm not comfortable with."

"I won't," Draco vowed, taking Hermione in his arms and kissing her.

Within moments the couple were settled back on the bed and clothing was slowly removed. Hermione did have a moment's hesitation once she shed her underwear and was naked in front of a member of the opposite sex for the first time, and she couldn't help but wonder how she compared to the other girls Draco had been with. But Draco put her at ease and assured her that she was beautiful and he wanted her more than anything.

"Are you okay?" he checked, noticing that Hermione was starting to tense up underneath him. "Do you want to stop?"

"No," Hermione replied. "I'm just hoping I don't do anything wrong. I've read about sex, and know the basics, but what if I mess up? I don't want to be a disappointment to you, Draco."

"You won't be," Draco reassured her. "And stop worrying about doing something wrong. Sex isn't about studying and knowing what to do. This isn't an exam Hermione. There is no right and wrong thing to do. So stop thinking and just go with it. This is about feeling, and instinct. No book can tell you how to react to this moment. It's unique, and we're the only people in the world who will ever have this exact experience. We're in this together, Hermione, so just relax and have a good time."

Hermione was still slightly worried that she wouldn't compare to Draco's former partners, but she couldn't doubt that Draco genuinely desired her and wanted this, so she did as she was told and relaxed. And Draco was the perfect gentleman, putting her at ease and making sure that she didn't worry too much and that she did relax and enjoy herself. Not that it was too hard as once she was caught up in the moment, all she could think about was Draco and the pleasure he was bringing her. That wasn't to say that there wasn't moments of awkwardness and Hermione wasn't in some discomfort at times, but the passion and pleasure overwhelmed the slightly less positive aspects of the event. All in all it was the perfect first time for Hermione, and afterwards lying in Draco's arms, she knew she'd made the right decision in taking the next step with Draco. A few months earlier she would have thought Ron would be the wizard she lost her virginity to, but after shattering her heart the way he had, she was pleased that he hadn't been part of such a momentous occasion.

"You're not regretting it, are you?" Draco asked, breaking into her thoughts.

"No," Hermione assured him, smiling at her boyfriend. "I'm just thinking how pleased I am that this happened with you."

"You and me both," Draco chuckled. "I can't bring myself to be grateful to Weasley for breaking your heart, but I can be grateful to Pansy for coming up with her plan to get revenge on him. Without it, we might never have ended up here."

"We'll have to find a way to thank her," Hermione agreed. "Who knew embracing your Slytherin side could be so fun?"

"Us Slytherins are very fun," Draco chuckled.

"I know that now," Hermione laughed. "So why don't you show me how fun you can be."

"Again?" Draco questioned, arching an eyebrow at Hermione.

"Aw, is it too much for you?" Hermione pouted. "Do you not have the stamina to keep me satisfied?"

"I'm going to have my hands full with you, aren't I?" Draco laughed, rolling over and pinning Hermione underneath him.

"You wouldn't have it any other way," Hermione purred, teasingly rubbing herself against Draco.

"No, I wouldn't," Draco agreed as the couple reconnected their lips and once again lost themselves in each other and the passion they shared.

While neither Draco or Hermione would ever be able to bring themselves to be grateful for the pain Ron had caused Hermione, they couldn't help but be pleased with how things had ended up. Without Ron's cheating nature they might never have found a way to each other, and they certainly wouldn't have gotten to where they were without the help of Pansy. And the best thing was, in the end Hermione had had the last laugh. There was Ron, alone and ostracised by the witches of Hogwarts, while she was happy with Draco. In this case, revenge was sweet and Hermione had enjoyed every minute of it.

The End.

A/N – I want to thank people for taking the time to read, and especially review, this story, and I hope you all enjoyed it.

I also want to once again thank slytherinflower 26 for the initial idea, without which this story would never have existed. I just hope they like the end result of the story.

I do have another couple of short stories I might be posting this year, but other than if I manage to do anything for Christmas, there won't be a lot more from me this year. As I've already mentioned my writing this year was totally derailed thanks to the ridiculously hot summer and then my laptop dying on me. It means I haven't written half as much as I would have hoped and certain stories haven't come on the way I'd envisioned at the beginning of the year. The third part of the Darkness trilogy will likely be postponed until next year, but I am planning on starting to publish the fourth part of Shattered Trust tomorrow.

So thank you again for reading my stories and supporting me.