This story was originally written by Beauxbatons22 who has graciously allowed me permission to rewrite and finish it! The original story (The Dark One) is still posted on Beauxbatons22's account so I strongly recommend you show her some love!

http :// www . fanfiction . net/u/900199/Beauxbatons22

Kisses in the Dark

Chapter 1

It was still hot out, despite the early September breeze. So hot in fact, that most of the students crammed in the stifling sardine can that was the Hogwarts express, could scarcely bring themselves to change from their cooling tank tops, shorts and sleeveless tops into their uniforms.

The corridors leading from compartment-to-compartment lay nearly barren compared to most years where students went around greeting the friends they hadn't seen all summer. This year, everyone seemed to have opted to remain idle in their four-person compartments, methodically cooling themselves with their wands or Muggle-made paper fans.

Hermione Granger was one of these heat-beaten students. She sat next to the window, watching the scenery fly by while sweat trickled from her temples and down the valley of her breasts, just over the spot her Head Girl's badge glinted against the blistering sunlight.

Next to her, Harry Potter lounged half on and half off the leather seat. His messy, black hair was plastered to his brow, leaving the jagged scar bared for all to see. His glasses were slightly foggy with his heavy breathing and the front of his gray t-shirt mirrored the humidity of the day with a large, wet mark.

Across from them sat Ronald Weasley with his mountain of sweets and oblivious domineer. Unlike everyone else on the train, he didn't seem affected by the heat at all while he munched away on a Liquorice Wand.

Unable to watch him any longer without completely flipping her cap at the injustice of the situation, Hermione pulled out her latest edition of Advanced Charms and flipped to the marked page. Her fingers idly stroked the tiny badge in an age-old rhythm of concentration.

"I seriously can't believe you're reading in this heat!" Harry groaned, closing his green eyes and turning his head away as if the sight of the book made his stomach turn.

"Its summer, you know. I mean, who in their bloody right mind would even want to read a beast of that size? It's got to be at least twenty thousand pages!" Ron piped in around a mouthful of Chocolate Frog.

Hermione glanced up at him from the paragraph she'd been reading, and scowled. "Actually, it's only one thousand, nine hundred seventy-six, and honestly, Ronald, I don't see how it's any of your business!"

"One thousand… are you fucking kidding me?" Ron exclaimed, a bit of chocolate falling out of his mouth.

"Ron, drop it." Harry said eyes still closed.

"Unlike some, Ronald, I actually enjoy reading," Hermione retorted, moving her foot away from the glob of brown goop now lying on the compartment floor. "It helps me keep up on my studies!"

Ron snorted, tearing off the head of another Chocolate Frog between his teeth like some rabid animal. "All you ever do is study," he chomped out, brown sludge moving around between his teeth. "You can't possibly get any smarter."

"And you can't possibly get any grosser!" she finally snapped, having had enough of his atrocious eating habits. "Has your mother not taught you anything about manners and chewing with your mouth closed? Heaven forbid if you actually swallowed before speaking!"

Again, he snorted, stuffing the rest of the frog into his mouth and gulping it down with some pumpkin juice. "I have never had any complaints before. You're the only one prissy enough to make a big deal about it."

Hermione gasped. "Prissy? How dare you! And I am not the only one who has noticed! Why do you think no one sits with you during meal times?"

"All right," Ron decided, the tips of his ears as red as his hair. "We'll ask Harry."

Harry groaned, and was ignored.

"Tell him, Harry!" Hermione prodded him in the side with her elbow. "I know you've noticed it as well!"

"I notice nothing!" he grumbled, moving away from her jostling. "Leave me alone!"

"You see?" Ron grinned broadly.

Huffing, she slammed her book closed and glowered. "Well, it's disgusting!"

Still beaming, stained teeth flashing, Ron tore off a large chunk of Liquorice Wand and chewing noisily, with his mouth still gapping.

"You are positively revolting, Ronald Weasley!"

Her seething was interrupted by Harry's slight snicker. "You are prissy."

"I am not!" she gasped. "Why are you taking his side?"

Harry peeled one eyelid open and smirked. "I'm not, but it's funny how your voice gets really squeaky and high-pitched when you're mad. You sort of sound like my Aunt Petunia when she's having one of her fits."

"That… that horrible woman? You're comparing me to that beastly, vile …?" Her outraged spattering only had both boys laughing hysterically.

Livid to the point of tears, Hermione shot to her feet, stuffed her book into her backpack and left it on her now vacant seat. She gave neither boy – now nearly rolling on the floor with their offending laughter – a second glance when stepping over Harry's kicking legs and marching to the compartment door.

A single tear slipped her lashes no matter how hard she fought to suppress it and she reached up to brush it away while opening the door with the other when the door flew open and she walked straight into a hard, unyielding chest draped in the softest silk shirt she'd ever felt her face press into before she caught herself and shot back to peer into the scowling face above her.

Eyes of stormy gray bore down into her upturned face through satiny strands of nearly pure white. Soft, lips pulled back into a sneer over teeth as white as his chiseled complexion.

"Bickering now are we?" Draco Malfoy goaded, drawing the attention of the two now struggling to untangle themselves off the compartment floor with their wands drawn. "Dare we dream the possibility of trouble in paradise?"

Behind him, several voices snickered, drawing Hermione's attention away from the dancing light just behind those intense, silver eyes to focus on the four blocking the corridor.

It was no real surprise that the four were none other than Draco's personal fan club consisting of Crabbe, Goyle, Theo and Pansy – or the Rat Brigade – as Hermione liked to think of them.

"Sod off, Malfoy." Ron spat, amusement all gone from his face.

"No need to get touchy, Weasley," Draco smirked. "We're all already aware of your inadequacy with pleasing women."

His gang of Slytherins snickered as Ron's face turned tomato red.

"Like you do, Ferret?" Hermione bit back before Ron could speak. "I don't think Pansy qualifies as a woman."

Despite Pansy's hiss of rage, Draco grinned, replying coolly. "Sticking up for your worthless boyfriend, Granger? Pity, I always thought you were smarter."

"Ron is not my boyfriend," she stated firmly, ignoring the sharp snap of Ron's head as it whipped around to glare at her. "But then I don't expect you to understand friendship, especially when it doesn't involve the vagina-magnet between your legs." This seemed to wipe the humor off his face quick enough. Hermione one the other hand took a step closer and smirked up into his face. "Now, tell me, Malfoy, did you come all the way here simply to ask about my relationship statues, or did you actually have a purpose?"

Draco's silver eyes darkened the longer they bore down into her face. They held her captive for what seemed like forever before he finally broke the trance to say, "Your royal highness's presences is being summoned to the Heads' compartment," He said, glancing behind her at the two watching them carefully before turning on his heels and walking off.

His merry band of misfits shot her dirty glares before following, all, except Theodore Nott, who gave her a once over, grinned slyly and strolled away in the opposite direction with his hands in his pockets.

Now what in the world was all that about? She wondered, genuinely baffled.

On his way to his own compartment, Draco's mind wondered and lingered on the Muggleborn he'd just left behind. It was an embarrassing and baffling thing that she would catch his attention so easily. He never fancied himself the type to associate with common witches and tainted blood very unattractive in his opinion. Then there was the fact that she was one-half of the Golden Trio and that alone should squish any sort of lustful feelings he may possess. But even despite all that, he couldn't help notice how much she'd changed since their first arrival to Hogwarts. The transformation had been slow, but it hadn't gone unnoticed by him.

For example: her hair had somehow been tamed from its first chaotic state. The strands were no longer frizzy and roaring around her head like some crazed medusa. It now lay in the softest, shiniest waves he'd ever seen. The golden-brown rings fell down her slender back, the ends just tickling the lush curve of her bottom.

Then there were her eyes. He could never quite understand what it was about them, but they never failed to captivate him, even from a distance. The way they shone with this… light from somewhere deep inside her and the way they could somehow project every emotion she was feeling always gave him this warring sensation to simply sit there and peer into her eyes until he knew all her secrets.

Even now, when he'd stepped into their compartment, fully expecting to find the three in some blissful moment of friendship, he had known something was wrong. Her eyes hadn't been shining. They'd been wet and sad as if she'd been crying, and for the first time in his life, he'd felt this gut wrenching desire to pull her into his arms and comfort her.

But of course, these feelings were ridiculous. She was a filthy little… well, she was just filthy and his father would never approve.

Draco stopped inside his compartment and shrugged on his robes. He ignored when Crabbe, Goyle and Pansy followed him in and took their seats. He continued to ignore them while tucking his wand into the pocket of his black jeans before heading for the front of the train, thoughts of Hermione still twirling around in his mind.

Professor McGonagall glanced up briefly from the stack of parchment on her lap when Hermione slipped into the Heads' compartment.

"Hello, Ms. Granger. Please sit." She said before returning to her papers.

Hermione murmured a greeting and took a seat across from the Transfigurations Professor. Her gaze lingered around the otherwise empty compartment, wondering where the Head Boy was.

Five minute into waiting, Hermione wished she'd brought her book along. The silence was killing her, even if it was broken every so often by the shuffle of papers. But at least this compartment seemed to have a cooling charm placed on it and was loads more comfortable than the one she'd shared with Ron and Harry.

She quickly pushed aside thoughts of her two best friends, having not forgiven them their careless banter at her expense. Sometimes she wondered if they didn't simply keep her around to do their homework and make fun of for amusement. It certainly felt that way.

For as long as she could remember, she'd always been the dispensable one, the one that always got the blunt end of their anger when all she wanted to do was help them. They never thought twice about cutting her off from their friendship whenever it suited their purpose, reinstating her only when they needed something.

She really tried not to think about it. It only infuriated her to think they would use her. So, she turned her thoughts in a different direction.

"Professor, who is the—"

Her question regarding the identity of her fellow Head Boy was quickly recognized when the compartment door slid open and…

"You!" she cried, horrified by the unexpected change of events.

Draco gave her a frown and moved deeper inside the suddenly cramped room. His gaze darted between the empty seat next to McGonagall and the one next to Hermione as if he couldn't believe his rotten luck.

Finally with an exasperated sigh, he took the spot next to Hermione, keeping clear to his side of the seat, leaving a wide birth between them.

"Now, I am aware that neither of you get along," Professor McGonagall stated, getting to her feet.

"Understatement," Draco muttered under his breath, steely, narrowed eyes fixed on the rushing scenery outside the window.

The older witch ignored him and pushed on in her solemn, no nonsense tone. "But this may prove educational to the both of you given the chance. The Headmaster has high hopes that this year – now that the war is over – the students will have a chance to form a House unity amongst them, especially Gryffindor and Slytherin as the two have never seen eye-to-eye. Headmaster Dumbledore believes that you two will provide the school with a fresh outlook on how things ought to be. You're both bright, exceptional students and given your history, it will do wondrous things for school spirit to see even an understanding between you."

"So, we have to be… civil to each other?" Draco asked, sounding and looking disgusted.

McGonagall sighed, rolling her blue eyes heavenwards as if praying for patience. "Well, it would probably do you well to try, Mr. Malfoy, seeing as how you will be sharing a dorm."

"What?" Hermione and Draco shouted on unison.

"Absolutely not!" Draco barked on.

"I would rather sleep outside!" Hermione agreed.

McGonagall put her hand up, instantly receiving silence from both outraged and horrified students. "Must I remind you that your Heads statue depends on you treating others within the school with fairness and respect? That also includes each other! If you refuse these rules, than I am afraid I have other choice but to remove you from your position, Mr. Malfoy, and give it to Mr. Potter. I am certain he will be more than thrilled to take your place!"

A Malfoy? Defeated and bested by a Potter? His father would have his hide, not to mention that having Potter as a partner would make Hermione happy and that was something he wasn't willing to have!

"No!" he all but yelled at the Professor. "I want my place!"

He could have sworn the batty, old witch actually smirked before it was concealed.

"Excellent! Now, let's begin going over the terms of your position."

Disgruntle, Draco tuned the woman out as she rambled on about their duties and what was expected of them. He gave the odd nod and mutter of understanding, but kept a deaf ear otherwise.

Sharing his dorm… with her… it was going to be a long year…

Next to him, Hermione fought to keep her focus on track. Hearing what was required of them was highly important, but she couldn't stop dreading their arrival to the school and her impending living arrangements with the loathed beast slouched next to her. She couldn't believe her own Head of House would put her through such… torment! Hermione had always believed herself slightly more favored by the older witch. This was the sort of thing one would do to their enemy. It was… well, it was just cruel!

"Everything okay?" Ginny Weasley asked tentatively when Hermione marched back into her compartment later and slammed the door with all her might.

"No, everything is not okay!" she grounded out through her teeth, giving the bottom of the seat a hard kick. "Malfoy was made Head Boy!"

The three in the room exchanged glances, no one really surprised.

"I have to share a dorm with him!" she shrilled, furious that they could be so calm about such a matter.

"Oh…!" Ginny gasped, but it was far from horrified, if anything, it sounded… excited. "How lucky are you!"

"Lucky? Lucky! How can you… how am I…?

Ginny blushed a little under everyone's questioning stare. "Well, he is one of the most… sought after boys at Hogwarts. Between him and Nott… I'm just saying… maybe it won't be so bad…"

Hermione decided to ignore the peppy redhead and focus on the matter at hand instead. She needed to mentally prepare herself if she was really going to do this without giving up her position as Head Girl. She couldn't leave the school under the callus care of Draco Malfoy. Gryffindor would never stand a chance at winning the House Cup with him in charge. She needed to maintain her position in order to keep him in line!

Draco was in no better mood as he trudged into his compartment and dropped down gracelessly into the seat next to Theo.

"Rough meeting?" Theo asked, smirking at Draco's furious glower.

"I have to share a dorm with Granger," he answered after a moment. "Can you believe it? My father is going to shit bricks when he finds out about this."

"Aw, Draky-poo," Pansy cooed in that infuriating tone that sent the hairs rising on the back of Draco's neck and his skin breaking out in cold goose bumps. "Would you like me to stay there with you? I'll keep that filthy Mudblood at bay!"

"I think Draco prefers Granger over being stuck keeping your tentacles off him," Theo snickered, earning a huff of indignation from the busty brunette.

"My Draky-poo loves my tentacles!" Pansy protested. "Isn't that right?"

"Well, at least one good thing will come of this," Draco said, ignoring Pansy's pout at not confirming her delusion. "I get to take as many points off Gryffindor as I want, with the added bonus of torturing Granger to an inch of her life!"