---Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or anything related to him. If I did own Harry Potter, however, Draco and Hermione would have ended up together in the end. That's all I have to say about that.---

How To Lose It All

Chapter Three

"Amour admonestation," Hermione whispered, standing in front the portrait leading into the Head's bathroom. The woman in the portrait, who seemed too preoccupied with her many cats, nodded to Hermione. Hermione entered through the portrait, heading straight for the counter. She set her pajamas next to the sink and grabbed a towel from the rack.

Setting the towel down by the stairs leading into the pool-sized tub, Hermione went to the knobs that controlled the bubbles. She chose lavender, as she found it was the most calming scent. As the bubbles began filling the tub, Hermione removed her clothes and flung them effortlessly into a pile on the floor. Kicking them to a corner, Hermione descended the five steps into the tub, submerging herself in the frothing, bubbly water.

The heat from the water loosened her muscles. She performed a bubble-head charm on herself, and then dove under of the surface and began her usual thirty laps back and forth.

Draco stared at the cat lady as she filled the numerous cat food dishes. Clearing his throat, he said, "I'd like to get in to the bathroom."

"Recite the password then and go inside," she answered, not even bothering to look up from filling the dishes.

"Amour admonestation." The portrait swung open, allowing Draco entrance into the bathroom. The smell of lavender hung in the air, greeting Draco's senses like a welcome mat.

"Stupid girl," he said to himself. "She can't even clear the bubbles when she's done. Good thing I like lavender…" He would never admit that to anyone, not even his own mother. Seeing the pile of Hermione's clothes on the floor in the corner made him scoff. "She can't clean up after herself either; must be a muggle thing."

Removing his clothes and throwing them in the pile along with Hermione's, Draco dove into the tub, the warm water welcoming him. He was halfway through his first lap when he felt something feather-light brush against his leg. Breaking the surface of the water, he was shocked at what greeted him.

Hermione's scream was deafening. Draco had to dunk back under the water to get his ears to stop ringing. Coming back up, his ears were met by Hermione yelling at him profusely.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN HERE MALFOY?!" she hollered, trying to gather as much of the bubbles as she possibly could.

"Well, I was trying to take a bloody bath and unwind the day. What the hell are you doing in here?"

"I was trying to a bath and unwind my day."

"Well since your stuff was here when I got here-"

"Wait. If you saw my stuff, then why didn't you leave?"

"I thought you'd left them here."

Annoyed and rolling her eyes at him, Hermione said, "Yes, because I am so messy, right?"

"Shut up, Granger."

"Don't tell me to shut up. You shut up and get out of here."

"Why should I have to leave? You've been in here longer than I have. You should have to be the one to leave."

"Oh, you'd love that, wouldn't you? I am not getting out of this tub until you're gone."

"Fine. Have it your way then." Hermione watched as Draco bobbed back under the purple-tinted bubbles. Trying to see where Draco was under the water, Hermione backed into one of the walls, gathering still more bubbles to her body. She watched as he finally broke the surface a mere two feet away from her. "Ready to leave yet?"

"You will find, Malfoy, that I am one of the most stubborn people you will ever meet. I could out-stubborn a donkey."

"You would prefer to stay in the tub with me then?" Smirking at Hermione, Draco continued. "Oh, Granger, I didn't know you cared!"

"Shove off Malfoy. I do not care for you. I just don't want you to see me naked. So you can be the one to leave first."

"Why? So you can see me naked?"

"That's exactly it. That's my goal in life: to see you naked." The sarcasm in her voice was exceptionally heavy.

Seeing the situation as a way to get closer to win his bet with Blaize, Draco began inching his way closer to Hermione who was now pinned against the wall.

"Come any closer, Ferret Boy, and I'll hex you from here to tomorrow," she said, her hands desperately grasping for the deteriorating bubbles. "I mean it!"

"How are you going to do that, Granger, when your wand is on the floor on the other side of the pool?" Draco smirked as he hovered less than a foot away from Hermione. "Do you really want to try and go for it?"

Hermione couldn't speak. Being in such close proximity to a naked man, even if it was Draco Malfoy, was driving her body crazy. Her mouth was dry, and she was literally choking on her words. Not to mention the heat that was spreading throughout her body…and it had nothing to do with the temperature of the tub.

Closing her mouth, Hermione shook her head. "No. I told you: I'm stubborn. I'm not moving from this spot. Even to get my wand. I have other ways of making sure you don't come any closer."

"And how is that exactly?"

"I'll kick you in the balls so fast your head will spin like a dreidel on the last day of Hanukkah." Catching him off-guard, Hermione took the opportunity to swim along the wall to her left and dove under the water, heading straight for her wand.

She popped her head out of the water and grabbed her wand to find that Draco was nowhere to be found.

"Where'd he go?" she thought out loud. "Damn it!"

"Don't worry, Granger. I'm out here." Hermione turned in the direction of the voice to find Draco standing by the sinks. Oh god…Why does he have to look so damn good? I am not supposed to be attracted to the man I'm trying to seduce! Wait - why am I thinking to myself? Why didn't I take advantage of the situation?! I am so stupid!

"Do you have to gawk? I mean, I know I'm sexy and everything, but seriously Granger. Come on. You're almost drooling."

"I am not drooling. And I am not gawking." She lied; she had been staring. He was wearing nothing but those damned green boxers of his and they were hanging pretty low. Even from halfway across the pool and from where he was at the sinks, Hermione could see his washboard abs and wonderfully toned arms. And the lines on his hips that led down to his…STOP IT! she screamed in her mind. Stop it!

Holding her wand closely, she merely watched as Draco put on the remainder of his clothing. Once again fully dressed, Draco turned to Hermione.

"I'm leaving now, Granger. I'm going to bed. I'll see you in the morning, I'm sure." Grabbing his dirty clothes, Draco gave Hermione one last smirk as he flung his robes on over his pajamas and exited the bathroom through the cat lady's portrait.

Giving one giant sigh of relief, Hermione climbed out of the tub and yanked her pajamas off the floor. She dressed quicker than she ever had before, fearing that Draco would return for something he 'forgot' to grab earlier. Making sure she had her dirty laundry and towel, Hermione slipped on her flip flops and her own robes and raced out through the portrait hole and down the hallway to her common room.

Whispering her password to the witch on the wall, Hermione ran to her bedroom and fell on the bed. Kicking off her flip flops, Hermione crawled under the covers and quickly fell asleep, dreaming of a certain blond Slytherin, despite all of her attempts to remove him from her mind before she drifted off to dreamland.