Hello to everyone!
It's been close to about six months since I have updated ANY of my stories, but I guess you could say life has been pretty nice for me lately. Between trying to put together an original story, making a return trip to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, ghost hunting, and falling in love for the first time, I've been pretty busy. However, seeing as how many people seem to like this story and how many of you have reviewed, there was no way I couldn't make an attempt to continue it. So, here I am! Enjoy :]

.:Four:.

Hermione's brown hair cascaded farther to the right as she rested her chin in the palm of her hand, head leaning slightly as she stared at the back of Draco's head.

She knew she had fallen for him. She had never known before what it felt like to have a person smile at you when your eyes lock and have your stomach automatically do flip[s, to have someone kiss you and the world around you suddenly disappear because the only two people who matter are the both of you, or even the dizziness that came once the kiss was released, almost like you were brought back to a world spinning much faster then the time you were just frozen in. She had never felt the goose bumps that made its way over her body in a wave as he nibbled on her earlobe in just the right place.

But most importantly, she had never felt the worry. Not a normal worry, like a worry of whether or not you'll wake up to your alarm the next morning. This worry was one that made her heart ache and kept her mind racing. It was when she started to wonder, to worry, if he was falling for her too, or if she would just end up with a broken heart in the end. Because you can't wonder if someone has the same feelings for you as you have for them without a small part of you falling hard.

For Hermione, however, it wasn't a small part of her, it was all of her. Hermione had fallen head over heels for Draco. She just wished she knew when exactly he had tripped her into a dream world she hadn't discovered until now and would soon never want to leave.

Hermione was so busy staring at the back of Draco's head that she hadn't even noticed the jealous eyes glaring at her from across the room.

.::.

Hermione sighed as she exited the Transfiguration classroom and immediately turned down the nearest hallway to head for the Gryffindor common room. The hallway was empty like usual, and Hermione didn't happen to notice the Slytherin turn down the hall directly after her, following her closely. "Hey, Granger." Hermione spun around quickly to see who was calling her, and was immediately shoved against the wall. Hermione's head slammed into the grey stone, her bag falling off her shoulder and everything falling out of it. Books laid spread across the floor and ink spilled out, flowing into the cracks on the floor.

Hermione made a move to push herself off the wall, but soon found a wand against her throat and Pansy Parkinson glaring at her. "Parkinson." Hermione spat, making a move to grab her wand out of her back pocket.

"Don't bother, Granger." Parkison spat back, noticing Hermione making an attempt at retrieving her wand. "Just here to give you a… verbal warning. Must say that was very predictable though. You Gryffindors are all the same."

"What are you talking about? Verbal warning?" Hermione snapped.

"I don't know what has gotten into that abnormally large brain of yours, but you better keep your eyes off my man." Parkinson said with a smirk.

Hermione laughed, she couldn't help it. "What are you talking about Parkinson?"

"Don't act like you weren't staring at Draco during Transfiguration." Pansy's smirk was now gone. "He's not interested in mudbloods like you. Never in a million years would he sully himself with the likes of you." Pansy spat, her eyes looking up and down at Hermione. "Keep your eyes, and especially your hands off Draco, or else I'll make sure I'm not the only one who finds out about this. And trust me, you don't want things like this spread around Hogwarts…." With one more push, Pansy sent Hermione slamming back into the wall, successfully banging her head again, before walking down the hall.

Hermione reached up to put her hand on the bump of her head. She breathed heavily as she blinked back tears that were starting to come to her eyes from more than just the pain in her head. It would be a lie to say that Pansy's threat hadn't bothered her. It meant more than just the usual Slytherin threat. She could handle those like she had since she was in her first year. This one, however, was different. Pansy had seen her eyeing up Draco when she believed that nobody else was watching her, and she knew that her threat was true. There were plenty of Slytherins who would go to the extreme to find out why Hermione Granger, Harry Potters best friend and muggleborn, had been looking at Draco Malfoy in the way she had.

Tears now falling from Hermione's eyes, she remembered her bag on the ground, and with her hands shaking, she started to pick up all her belongings. Trying to compose herself, she wiped the tears from her eyes and used her wand to clean up the ink on the floor, the idea of Pansy now having small knowledge of her and Draco scaring her more than anything else.

.::.

Draco's stomach growled in protest of him missing dinner as he trudged up the stairs the led to the Owlery. The sun had just started to set over the trees of the forbidden forest, turning the sky into a dark blue and making it hard for Draco to see the uneven stairs he was climbing. Lumos was easy enough to use, but not when you're trying to avoid being seen, which he guessed him owl was trying to do as well as himself. The damn bird had been gone since this morning, never returning to Draco's room. He sometimes wondered if him being so spoiled and rotten had rubbed off on his pet as well. When he finally made it to the top of the Owlery, he pulled out his wand to better see the owls around him. "Lumos." He said under his breath, watching as the light suddenly appeared on the tip of his black wand. He raised it high into the air and quickly spotted his owl, sitting within eye level and staring at him, eyes full of anger. "There you are, you stupid bugger." Draco said, approaching him. He quickly put out his wand with a quick 'nox', then stuffed it into his back pocket before reaching inside of his coat and pulling out the note, his whole reason for coming here tonight.

He sighed as he read his own handwriting on the front, forming the letters that made up Hermione's name. He bit his lip nervously. He didn't want to send it to her for a couple reasons. One, it would scare the hell out of her to know that he had something important enough to say that it needed to be sent in a letter, and two, he really didn't want to have to break the news to her about Zabini. He had promised her that everything would be okay, that nobody would find out. But he was stupid for thinking that. He should have known, just like Hermione had, that they would eventually be discovered.

Sighing one more time, he reached up to start tying the letter to his owls leg when it suddenly came flying out of his hand. Draco turned around to face a smirking Blaise, wand in one hand and Draco's letting in the other. "Zabini, what the-"

Draco stopped in horror to watch as Blaise started to tear it open. In the horror and pure shock of the moment, Draco's wand lay completely forgotten in his back pocket. "Letter to your mummy, Malfoy?" Blaise taunted.

"Give me back my letter." Draco demanded, approached Blaise quickly. "It doesn't concern you."

But it was too late. Blaise had it opened and was reading it. Draco could feel his whole world about to crash before him. "Mione," Blaise read out loud, and Draco could do nothing but watch. "We need to talk. I think Zabini knows. Meet me at the room of requirement at two a.m. tonight." Blaise looked up at Draco with a smirk on his face. "So…, Mione, huh?" He asked. "Is that the nickname you have for the Gryffindor mudblood you've been fucking?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Draco said slowly. It was as good as a confession.

Blaise chuckled again. "I can't believe you, Draco Malfoy, pureblood of the decade, have been fucking around with Potters little mudblood sidekick."

Draco glared at him. "Don't call her that." He said, teeth clenched.

"What would your mum think?" Blaise taunted. "Or your father? What would he do if he knew his son, the only Malfoy heir, was tainting the family blood by screwing around with his least favorite mudblood."

Draco, now remembering about his wand in his back pocket due to the anger he felt towards Zabini, pulled it out and took a couple steps towards his fellow Slytherin. "Shut it, Zabini!" He yelled. "You don't know shit!"

"Oh, but according to you," He waved Draco's letter in the air. "I do." Draco licked his lips nervously as Blaise continued to smirk. "Admit it Malfoy."

"There's nothing to admit."

"Admit it or else I take this letter and send it directly to the Dark Lord." Blaise's smirk fell. He wasn't playing around anymore. "Your family might be able to forgive you, but never the Dark Lord. You'll have to stand by and watched as he tortures your family, murders the parents of the filthy mudblood you've grown feelings for, and then… you can watch her die." Blaise paused. "They'll kill her Malfoy, and it'll be all your fault."

They glared back at each other, but flashes of Hermione screaming in pain, yelling for him to save her, tears running down her cheeks as she stared at him before a flash of green light that would take all the lift left in her brown eyes. Draco's heart banged in his chest. He sighed before lowering his wand. He couldn't let that happen to Hermione. "What do you want?"

Blaise's smirk was back. "I already told you."

Draco shrugged his shoulders, raising his arms in the air slightly. "Fine. It's true. I'm sleeping with Hermione."

Blaise laughed. "Well, well, well, we do have a dilemma here, don't we?" Draco stared at him, nervously biting his lower lip. "I mean, I can't not tell the Dark Lord something like this… unless…-."

"Unless what?" Draco pressed.

"There was something in it for me." Draco stared at him knowingly. Of course Blaise wanted something. "But since you're obviously not interested...-"

"Stop fucking around, Zabini." Draco snapped. "What do you want?"

Blaise chuckled. "I want ten galleons a week, and your position on the Slytherin Quidditch team."

"You're crazy. Where am I supposed to get ten galleons a week at?" Blaise didn't respond. "Make it seven."

Blaise laughed, shaking his head. "You're in no position to bargain, Malfoy. Ten galleons a week and your resignation of Slytherin Seeker by tomorrow's game, or else I tell the Dark Lord."

Draco stared at him. Did he really have a choice?

.::.

Hermione walked inside the room of requirement, already knowing that Draco would be here. She closed the door behind her and glanced around the room, spotting Draco sitting on a couch with his back to her, his eyes focused on an unlit fireplace. She walked towards the couch and stopped when she was standing next to it, her eyes on Draco, arms crossed against her chest.

"Don't give me that look, Hermione." Draco said, his eyes not moving, not acknowledging her what so ever.

"I went to the quidditch game, looking like an idiot for wanting to watch a Ravenclaw and Slytherin game, and was shocked to see Zabini playing seeker instead of you." When Draco said nothing, Hermione continued. "Naturally, I assumed you were injured, so I ran to the hospital wing, but you weren't there either."

"Obviously." Draco snapped, still not looking at her.

"Hey!" Hermione said defensively. "Don't snap at me." She said, defending herself.

Draco finally looked up at her and his eyes softened. It wasn't right to take his anger out on her. She was the only one who could help him, the only one who would help him, his only friend. "I'm sorry." He said under his breath. Hermione sighed, moving to sit next to him.

"What happened?"

"He blackmailed me." Hermione gave him a questioning look and Draco turned his attention back to the fire. "Either I pay him ten galleons a week and give up my seeker position… or… he tells the Dark Lord about the two of us." Hermione gasped, her hand coming up to cover her mouth. "I had no choice."

"But… how does he know?" Hermione asked franticly. "We were so careful."

"He knew I'd been sneaking out almost every night. It only took him intercepting a letter I wrote to you for him to put two and two together. Plus I think Pansy suspected something as well. I'm sure she mentioned it to Zabini, the whore."

Hermione was silent, not sure what say. Her eyes constantly blinked as they looked past Draco to the wall behind him. Draco could tell she was racking the giant brain of hers for answers, and he could tell by the look on her face that she was scared.

"Hermione." Draco said quietly. "Hermione, look at me." Her eyes slowly moved to Draco's and Draco gulped when he saw the fear in them. "We're going to be okay."

"I knew this would happen." Hermione's head fell. "I wanted to stop a long time ago."

"I know you did."

"But you told me everything would be okay." She was getting progressively louder.

"Everything will be okay."

"How do you know? How do you know Zabini won't run off to Voldemort?" She yelled, now on her feet.

Draco stood as well, making an attempt to calm her down. "Because I'm giving him what he wants."

"And what happens when he has had his fill of what he's asking you for? What happens when he decides he would rather see the both of us dead?" Hermione now had tears rolling down her eyes.

"Hermione… I know you're scared." Draco said, approaching her and whipping the tears from her cheeks. "But I'm not going to let anything happen to you… ever."

"Pansy knew Draco. She threatened me." Hermione said, practically ignoring Draco's comment.

"She what?" Draco looked shocked and angry at this new information. "How did she-"

"She caught me staring at you during Transfiguration a couple days ago. She shoved me into a wall and said that if she ever caught me staring at you again she would be forced to tell someone." Draco lowered his eyes to the ground, running a hand through his hair. "What if she already did?" Hermione was panicking again. "What if she went to Zabini and that's what gave him what he needed to blackmail you?" Draco said nothing, racking his brain for a plan. "What if they go to Voldemort?"

"They won't." Draco said confidently, looking Hermione in the eyes again.

"How can you possibly know something like that?"Hermione asked. "How can you be so confident?"

"Because I know Zabini." Draco answered right away. "The seeker position and ten galleons will keep him satisfied for at least a few weeks. That'll give us enough time to establish a plan."

"That's not good enough Draco." Hermione said, slightly calmer. "A few weeks doesn't help this situation."

"I know." Draco forced a smile at her, giving her a kiss on the lips before wrapping his arms around her, relieved when Hermione leaned into the hug. "But it's all we have for now."

Review please :]