Disclaimer: J.K. Rowling is a rich woman. I would be rich too if I owned the Harry Potter series; which I don't, by the way. You know, for those of you who happened to be wondering.

Another chapter! And it's been forever since my last update. But you all must understand, I have so much to do and so little time. I also had to somehow rid myself of writers' block and actually sit at my computer and type up another chapter. However, I did work hard on this one, so please enjoy! It was creepy to write and I'd like for it to be creepy to read. But it's also cute. And reviews always make me happy. No reviews would be depressing, and no writers like to write when they're depressed. ;)

Chapter 16 - Hunger

He didn't quite realize what it was he started until, in the heat of the moment, he leaned his forehead closer, pressing his nose to the side of hers, their breathing mingling. That added feeling of passion brought him back. He jerked away, eyes open wide and filled with surprise, shame, and something else. He stammered quietly as his face darkened with a blush.

If Hermione hadn't have been so shocked, she would've noticed the blush, and surely she would've grinned at him mercilessly.

He swallowed hard and cleared his throat, taking a deep breath. He reached out and grabbed the bag of Chocoballs from her hand, feeling he had more than deserved them. Licking his lips hesitantly, he shoved a couple in his mouth, chewing forcefully. Well what now?

Hermione blushed madly as soon as she snapped out of her reverie. She tilted her head down and grabbed the Every Flavored Beans. She quickly ripped the box open and slid one into her mouth. Pumpkin pie. Should they just pretend it never happened? Did it happen? Why did it happen? Oh dear.

"So..."

He had spoken! Her head snapped up to meet his eyes. "So?"

"Are you keeping watch first, or am I?"

Chapter 17 - Lose Control

Her stomach tilted to the side uncomfortably, despite her sitting still. Not only was that a topic she did not want to think of, more or less discuss, but he didn't at all even address the fact that he, Draco Pureblood Malfoy, in a fit of Merlin knows what, had kissed her, Hermione Muggleborn Granger.

She wasn't entirely positive as to why she wanted him to stay on that topic anyway.

"I… I don't care." Hermione mumbled, off-handedly.

Draco refused to make any sort of eye contact, which meant forbidding himself to look at the entire upper half of her body, just in case his eyes trailed or he caught her gaze from the corner of his eye. He played it all off nonchalantly. "Well alright then, I'm exhausted, so you take first shift, then I'll go from there."

Hermione swallowed the Every Flavored Bean she had just hesitantly put in her mouth, without chewing or even recognizing the taste. "Wh-why do I have to go first?" She was already quite terrified of whatever was out there (or in here), and the thing from the bathroom was still vividly fresh in her mind. She wanted to maybe sleep a little.

"You said you didn't care, Granger. So I made the decision myself." He twirled a Chocoball between his middle finger and his thumb. He had to admit that this decision of his was a bit hasty and he did feel somewhat bad about it. She was after all shaken up over everything. But after that… kiss, he couldn't be kind to her right away.

He just couldn't.

Drat. She regretted not caring immediately. "But then…" She sighed. Alright. "When do I know when to wake you? I haven't got a watch on me."

Draco betrayed himself and made eye contact. That was a good point. They didn't have their wands, so conjuring something would be impossible. And they couldn't exactly count. He looked at the fireplace. It burned steadily on magic wood, promising to never die out.

He looked around the dorm room for anything that could assist them in keeping time. But nothing jumped out at him except for beds, tables, and books.

Books.

That might be something.

After a few more moments of thought, he broke the tense silence. "Granger, how long does it take you to read a book? On average."

Hermione raised a brow at him. "I'm not sure... Why?"

"Well, a decent book with three hundred pages or so takes me about four hours to finish if I'm not distracted."

She huffed impatiently. "Malfoy, could you please tell me why we're talking about books now? Shall I read you a bedtime story? Is that it?"

He rolled his eyes. "Read a book. When you're halfway through, wake me. Then I'll read half of one. It will give us a good two or three hours of rest, don't you think?"

Hermione pondered on this for a little while. It was a good idea, but there'd be no way she could actually sit there and calmly read a book for three hours without paranoia striking her every other second. Especially since she'd be alone… In the dark… With the Forme Levier… "A-alright."

Draco yawned, stretching his arms out and climbing onto the closest bed, which happened to be Ron's. He set the small candle they had brought up with them on the nightstand.

"Brilliant. Just wake me if something goes wrong, or when my time's up. Try not to fall asleep and get us killed, Granger."

That last statement was meant to be teasing, but as soon as he finished it, he saw Hermione's face pale and her eyes grow wide. Draco winced.

"I was only joking. You'll be fine. Here," He stood and pulled back Ron's blankets, fluffing a pillow against the headboard. "You sit here and read. I'll sleep in Potter's bed."

Hermione's face darkened a tinge as Draco showed a sensitive side of him. She very much enjoyed the tone of his voice as he spoke to her right then. Nodding, Hermione clutching one of the Quidditch books Ron had tucked away in his chest, and sat in the bed. She watched Draco stumble over and into Harry's bed, about ten feet away, yawn once more, and mumble a "good night" as he forced sleep to take him over.

With a deep breath, she turned to page one of her book and began a furious attempt at wasting time.

"What were you thinking, Albus?" Minerva McGonagall's wrinkles seemed to triple in size and in number. The frown lines appeared heavily and her eyebrows furrowed, framing her nervous eyes. It was not rage that swirled in her eyes, but another emotion—disbelief, disappointment, shock. One of those. Or possibly a mixture of all three.

"Minerva." The old professor begged calmly. "You cannot understand how angry I am at myself. Please."

Her eyelids grew heavy. Even as the elderly headmaster pleaded with her, she couldn't seem to let it go. What was happening now was far beyond her wildest, most frightening imagination.

Yesterday, the evacuation took place. Albus Dumbledore, in a frenzy of fear, rushed the students out of the building, refusing to explain why to any of them. Only he, a select few professors, and the Ministry knew of the happenings within the old castle walls.

A disaster was occurring. A deadly creature was on the loose in the dungeon. It was not like six years ago when the troll ran free, and it was certainly not like the basilisk in the chamber of secrets. Nor was it like the Dementors, the Death Eaters, or even the Dark Lord himself. Something more awful than any of those was loose inside of Hogwarts and not a soul knew how it had happened. The only thing Dumbledore was sure of was that the students and staff of his beloved school had to be saved from this monster.

Dumbledore, with his head in his hands and his eyes glazed over, recalled every incident. He replayed how things could have been different.

He had noticed strange noises in the dungeons quite some time ago, and had heard from Filch that something unusual was walking those corridors. Sensing his fear, he let Filch steer clear of the dungeons until he investigated the issue further. It took him weeks, however. Only when he finally listened to the complaints and cleared his schedule did he realize what it was that was plaguing the school.

Disheveled and panicked, Dumbledore had immediately called the Minister, who without missing a beat demanded Dumbledore seal the school walls, magic and all, until further notice.

And so he had.

But he didn't take the time to search the school for lingering students. He did not take a moment of his time to scour the halls, classes, and secret rooms for anyone who might not have made it.

And this is what he wished he could have changed. There was neither a spell nor a charm that could take back the seal he placed on Hogwarts. He could not apparate. He could not use a time-turner or any other time traveling device or spell. Nothing magical could affect the state of the school. Even if he went back a century, it would still be locked. Only the Minister himself knew of the proper way to unbind the school, but he would not, not even for the life of a student or two, allow it.

So here, in a small room located on some floor of the Leaky Cauldron, Dumbledore sat mourning and thinking about what should be done to save the students still in Hogwarts.

Standing in front of the now-deadly castle yesterday, and hearing all of those students calling for Miss Granger and Mister Malfoy now brought chills down his spine. At the time, he thought they had simply lagged behind and were arguing. But not one being saw them.

He sighed remorsefully as McGonagall somberly walked out of the little room, holding her jaw as if it would unhinge and fall to the floor.

What could he do? What could he possibly do?

It had been no doubt a good half hour since she had started this quote-on-quote reading, and she hadn't even started page four. To be perfectly honest, Hermione didn't even know the title of the book or what Quidditch move she was currently reading about. The only thing she was very well aware of was how cold the room had gotten. However, it was only her psychological state that made the room cold, but she could not acknowledge this.

Shakily, she turned her head to the side to examine Draco for the millionth time since he had fallen asleep. She watched his breathing, calm and steady, reflect off of his chest. She noted how his hair fell into his eyes as he turned his head toward her in his sleep. She also observed how relaxed and oblivious he looked, and with such a painful desire wished she could feel the same way.

Her heart pounded every time she made a move, thinking it was in the room with her, in the far dark corner, and that it would see her. But when she did not move, it was much too quiet and still for her to concentrate on a single thing and her breath hitched in her throat. She couldn't settle on anything.

She clenched her eyes tight, squeezing the sides of the book with her hands. Taking in a deep breath, she let it out as calmly as she could and loosened her muscles. Finally, she broke the silence. "Calm down, Hermione Granger. Open your eyes."

She mentally told herself that she was being silly. Draco was sleeping barely ten feet away from her. She was in the dorm, while the Levier was wandering the halls of Hogwarts. It would be alright.

One more breath later and she opened her eyes. "And now, read." Forcing her eyes downcast, she brought the book mere inches from her face and started a new paragraph.

"A Keeper has two noted moves he or she may play in a game of Quidditch. The first is called 'The Double Eight Loop'. It is a defen-"

She snapped her head up and peeked over the book. There was a creaking sound. She heard it! Quietly she sat, stiff as a board, waiting for whatever may have been out there to just hurry and attack.

But for minutes and minutes, she heard nothing.

...it might have just been the wind.

...the castle was old.

...it could have been a rat.

...her mind was playing tricks on her.

All of these explanations went through her head as a means of calming her. Trembling slightly, she resumed her reading. "…it is a defense move in which-"

Another creak. There was no doubt about this one. It couldn't have been the wind, and it was too loud to be a rat. She sunk into the bed, and turn to face the flame. Hermione covered everything but her nose and eyes with the blanket.

As time went by, she watched the flame burn on the wick and the charmed wax dissolve and solidify in an endless cycle.

She was tired of being scared; tired of being afraid to look in a different direction from the one right in front of her.

And she was envious of Draco.

Hermione knew she should have been reading. Laying in that warm bed, comforted by the blankets, she started to doze off. She could feel her body twitch as sleep started sinking in, but she didn't care. It felt nice to just let go of everything.

But in an instant, her eyes were wide open.

What was happening now was not a hallucination brought upon by her fear. It was not her imagination. It was also not the wind, or a rat, or the age of the castle. Not by any means.

Hermione, tense as she had ever been in her life, felt the mattress tilt slightly, as if a weight of someone or something had been placed on the bottom right corner of the bed. She felt the pressure of something cold and hard against her calf. She couldn't turn around. She wanted to look and see what it was, to scare it away! But she also didn't want to. Was it the Levier? Or was it the little… thing? Or could it be something else?

Tears formed in the corners of her eyes and her heart pounded. Her breathing slowed alarmingly and every muscle in her body stiffened. She couldn't move. She couldn't even hear, for her blood was rushing to her head and pounding in her ears.

It moved upward, now at the back of her knee. She still was not able to identify it, except that it was cold and it dragged along her leg.

Without any warning, whatever the sensation was, it slid up and over her knees to slid against her lower thighs.

She wanted to throw up. It was facing her.

Hermione mustered enough strength to lower her wide eyes and peek at what it was, but the blanket was in her way. In her head, she chanted, 'I am a Gryffendor. I am brave.' It hardly worked, and she didn't even put much effort into the mantra.

Taking a quick look at Draco across from her, she exhaled sharply and, with strange new courage, tilted her head forward ever-so-slightly to look.

She screamed. It was blood-curdling and Draco shot up in his bed.

"What the fuck?" He glared at her, a frenzied look in his eyes.

Hermione trembled violently, sobbing without a care, letting out little screams every few seconds or so.

Draco blinked away his sleep and calmed, but his heart still pounded. He felt cold and saw that something bad had just happened. He had never seen anyone, more or less the brave Hermione Granger, cry the way she did.

All of this he processed within half a minute, and after that he was up and leaping toward her bed. In a split second, he was crouching toward her, confused and worried. "Granger, what's the matter? Why are you crying…?" He set a hand on her hip to calm her, but she shrieked and jumped away.

She would have fallen out of the bed if not for his quick reflexes.

"Calm yourself, Hermione!" Draco didn't care about the tone of his voice anymore. She would hurt herself if she didn't act rationally, and he would yell at her if she didn't listen! His eyes bore holes into her teary ones. One tear spilled over and followed a trail that previous ones had made before it. Then another.

She stared at him with wide, sparkling eyes.

Hermione was absolutely terrified.

Before he knew it, her arms were wrapped tightly around his torso and she was silently crying into his chest. Draco felt the material of his shirt stick to his skin as her tears drenched it. Swallowing his pride and fighting back a blush, he let himself hold her.

He rested his head on hers, making soothing circles on her back. He heard her mumble something.

"What is it?" He winced again, it came out sounding harsher than he expected.

Hermione tilted her head upward, into his neck. "P-please…" Hiccups echoed in her voice as she spoke. "…d-don't leave me, Draco. Please…"

Chills ran up and down his spine and his arms erupted in goose-bumps. He buried his face in her hair to hide the pink tint his face had taken on due to the feeling she had spurred in him.

His neck was the second most sensitive place on his body, aside from you-know-what.

"Herm-"

But she cut him off with another quick sob. "Draco, please. I'm… I'm begging you to stay…" Hermione's voice trailed off as she pressed her face further into his neck, her breathing quick.

His eyes watered as they rolled back slightly and his ear twitched. He wanted her to move away from that spot immediately. It was not for her. But… he didn't have the heart to push her away. And something about how she kept saying his name made his stomach flip. He hated it. "Herm- Granger, sit back just a little."

The noise she made was a mixture of a cry and a groan. It was a protest to his plea. She gripped his shoulders tighter and he could feel her bit her bottom lip against his bare skin.

Being who he was, he wasn't used to feeling even a little sexually needy and not getting immediate release. Hermione would be the death of him. Draco couldn't take much more of this.

"Hermione. I'll hold you, I won't move away from you, just please, sit back. I need bloody space." He whispered through his teeth.

She sniffled and hiccupped, then tentatively moved back.

Draco noticed how red and puffed her eyes were. Whatever happened had really taken its toll on her. She was still trembling. And he was compelled to pull her back to him, but that was mostly because now that her body heat was gone, he felt cold.

Taking a shaky breath and willing the chills to go away, he placed a hand on hers. "Lay down, alright?"

Hermione's eyes went wide again. She couldn't lie down in that bed again. Not so close to the dark; not so close to that thing. "D-D-Draco. I… I…" She stuttered, but no more words came out.

Sighing, he understood somewhat. "I won't leave. I'll sit here with you and watch while you sleep, okay?"

Hermione just about started crying again. She put her face in her palms and breathed heavily.

"Hey, tell me what happened." Draco was stern, he needed to know what was scaring her so bad.

"…can we sleep in Harry's bed?" It was a brave question to ask. She still couldn't believe that she wanted him to hold her as badly as she did.

He blushed again. "Granger, I hardly think that-"

She looked up at him suddenly, and he lost his train of thought. The sadness in her eyes begged him not to say "no". He had never seen such a look before. This was a look that asked something no one had ever trusted him enough to ask. It simply said, "I need you to protect me."

And he couldn't deny her. "…alright."

He took her hand and stood, pulling her upright. Hermione lost her balance at first, but she gripped his arms and leaned into him, refusing to look out into the darkness. She muttered a quick "thank you" before climbing hastily underneath the covers that were still warm from Draco's body moments before. If he didn't get in the bed with her right that instant, she would probably cry again.

Luckily for her, he did just that. Gracefully, very unlike Hermione, Draco moved aside the covers and sat next to the muggleborn witch.

It was awkward.

The bed was twin-sized; just barely enough to fit one student comfortably. Now here sat Draco, legs outstretched and arms in his lap. Next to him, Hermione sat similarly, but with one hand wiping a stray tear.

Both looked straight ahead with a pink color on their cheeks.

Hesitantly, Hermione looked up at him. His jaw was very defined and his skin was very clear. How, she wondered, does someone look so perfect with so much stress in their lives?

Draco felt her gaze on him and peeked at her through the corner of his eye.

She jumped, blushed, and looked down immediately. Caught in the act.

A small smile tugged at his lips. That was pretty cute, he had to admit.

"Are you still scared, Granger?"

"Hermione." She practically cut him off, she spoke so quickly.

"What?"

"Her-Hermione. I don't want to be formal anymore. We're friends now…" Her voice faded as her sentence ended.

Draco raised an eyebrow, not sure how he felt about that. He opened his mouth to argue, but closed it again after a moment of thought. It'd be a bad idea to hurt her again so quickly.

"Alright. Hermione."

The brunette couldn't help the small smile that appeared on her face. It was nice to hear her name roll off his tongue. He had shown sympathy and kindness toward her this last day or two, and she was very grateful. She wouldn't mind being friends with the Slytherin.

Draco noticed that she had calmed down a great deal since he had woken up. "I take it you're feeling better?"

She frowned, remembering everything in a rush. Closing her eyes, she willed it all away. But the image came back and she jolted.

Immediately, Draco's arm was around her shoulders, holding her a little closer. "Granger! Snap out of it already!" He had to admit that he was getting rather impatient with her.

She shuddered and placed her head in between his neck and shoulder, looking at her hands clutching at the blanket. "Hermione."

It was very unlike her to suggest something of the sort, she understood this. But he was the only one there to comfort her and keep her from the brink of insanity. He was the only one who she could turn to. And it surprised her how he seemed to suck the fear right out of her sometimes.

He rolled his eyes and let his arm droop around her frame. He didn't want to hold her. So maybe if his arm was limp, it wouldn't seem like he was doing just that…

"Malfoy?"

"If I have to call you Hermione, you have to call me Draco." He paused, letting it sink in. He could feel her muscles relax completely. "Deal?" A spark of pride lit up within him at being able to calm her like this.

"Deal."

He could hear the smile in her voice.

"Thank you."

He blushed again, getting annoyed. "Whatever." Blinking a few times, he figured now would be a good time to ask. "Gr- Hermione, what exactly was it… that you saw?"

And then she tensed again. Her entire body. He could almost feel the hairs on her head stiffen. "Please tell me? We're in this together. I need to know. Was it a nightmare?"

"No." She didn't want to talk about it. Every time she thought about it, whether it was the one from the shower or the one now, she wanted to rip her eyes out and scream until her throat gave out. It was a gruesome and extreme desire, but it was how she felt. She felt as though she had no control left.

"So it was real?"

"…yes."

"How do you know that? Maybe it was-"

"Draco."

He heard the way she said that. It was final. What she saw was not a nightmare. "Alright. Describe it to me."

She sniffled, but stopped when she felt him squeeze her tighter in assurance. Gratefully, she moved a small hand over and lightly placed it on his. "It was just like what I saw in the shower." She whispered.

A chill came over him and he shuddered. "Go to sleep now, I'll take care of everything."

She yawned as though on command. Hermione allowed herself to look up at him from her spot on his shoulder. Tears glistened in her eyes from the yawn.

Draco's breath caught in his throat. It was that feeling again… The same one he got when she was teasing him with the Chocoballs. His eyes trailed down her forehead, past her eyes, down her nose, and to her lips. This was not a pleasant thought he was having, at all.

Hermione looked into his eyes, suddenly realizing how pretty they were. But his eyes weren't looking into hers for very long. She followed them and blushed when she noticed what he was staring at. His eyes were dark with swirling emotion. Slowly, she let her eyes travel down to his lips, too.

He had kissed her before.

Draco Malfoy, Slytherin, promised Death Eater.

But it was… nice. It wasn't like Victor Krum's kiss, which was empty and lustful. And it wasn't like Ron's innocent kiss way back when. It was still lustful, but it was passionate and… hungry. Although, that may have only been from the Chocoballs.

Her heart lurched just thinking about it. She hadn't noticed that they had been silent for a good two minutes. Nor had she noticed that they had gotten a little closer.

Both of Hermione's hands grasped Draco's left hand firmly as his clutched the blanket. His other hand had given up on being limp the moment he stopped breathing regularly, and pressed itself against Hermione's back.

She could smell his cologne, mixed with his sweat and the chocolate on his breath. It didn't disgust her though. Rather, it was alluring.

Draco stared at her lips as though they had all the secrets of the world on them. He felt desire pool in his lower belly when he saw her tongue jut out to spare some liquid to the chapped skin.

Hermione noticed the change. His hand moved lower and squeezed her side roughly, but it didn't hurt. It made her legs tingle. At this moment, she was sure of it, she wanted to kiss Draco Malfoy more than she had ever wanted another thing in her life.

His lips parted as she began moving closer. His heart pounded. Why did such a witch provoke such feelings? Why the muggleborn, Hermione Granger? The moment he was close enough to Hermione to feel her breath on his chin, the bubble of warmth in his stomach had popped, allowing that warmth to leak down to his crotch. It reacted as expected, and he could barely contain himself any longer.

"Hermione…" He whispered gruffly, eyes half shut, body trembling.

Hermione's head was spinning. She was seeing stars. Nothing had even happened yet and she was in so much pleasure. Her thighs kept tingling, and the tingling was getting higher and higher… And now, Draco was saying her name with so much passion.

"Hermione…"

She could barely let out a word, but she forced herself. "…yes…"

His eyes shifted to her molten ones. Amazingly, they had gone from milk-chocolate to a raspberry-dark-chocolate. He had never seen so much lust before. It almost made him snap. "…Go to sleep… Hermione."

She faltered. That one command brought her back to reality and made her realize what she was doing. A dark color enveloped her skin, head to shoulders. Her head snapped down and she took her hands from his. "Y-y-yes. Of course. Good night…"

He muttered a quick "night", still gripping her side. Hard. But he loosened it a little and pulled her body lower down into the bed. Without thinking about it, he slid down as well and bit his lip when she nestled her head into the crook of his arm, resting her leg against his and her arm on his stomach.

Merlin.

He was hard as a rock and had to get away from this insane woman. But he couldn't leave her. Surprising even himself, he found that it wasn't hard to admit that he wanted to protect her.

But how would he protect her from himself tonight?