Disclaimer-I do not own.

Author's Notes- Sorry once again for the wait! Absolutely loved the reviews though, so thank you! Now on to Chapter 15! Enjoy and R&R please!

Chapter 15

MISS GRANGER-DUMBLEDORE'S OFFICE

Hermione emerged from the pensieve breathing heavily. Her whole world was coming crashing down and there was nothing she could do to stop it. Pushing her own thoughts aside, she grabbed the vial and refilled it with Malfoy's memories. Putting a stopper on the top she placed it gently back into the drawer from which she had originally retrieved it. As she let go of the vial she noticed the note Professor Dumbledore had taken from Snape while she was eavesdropping.

Hermione stared at the tiny slip of paper and finally with a shaky hand she withdrew it from the drawer. Hurriedly she shoved it into her pocket and sealed the drawer. Grabbing Harry's cloak, she threw the fabric over her head and left the room.

MR. POTTER AND MR. WEASLEY-EXITING THE GREAT HALL

"I have a bad feeling about this Ron." Harry confessed as they left the Great Hall. Ron turned to face his friend as they walked.

"I'm telling you, Hermione is fine…"

"Not that, just everything. I feel like there's a gap or something. I mean, with Hermione and Malfoy, how could we have missed that?" He asked perplexed. A snort slipped from Ron's lips and Harry gave him an odd look.

"I just…know what you mean." Ron explained.

"You said you were okay in there." Harry began, referring to the Great Hall. "Would you really be okay with Hermione and Malfoy?" Ron thought a moment and shrugged.

"The truth is Harry, I think Hermione and I missed our chance a bit. We'll be okay I think, maybe even better, but honestly, if we haven't made the time to be together yet, it just isn't in the cards for us." Harry nodded.

"You've seriously aged overnight. It's kind of scary." Harry remarked spookily as they continued on.

MR. MALFOY-HOGWARTS CORRIDOR

Draco stormed the hallways of Hogwarts, trying to calm himself. "Draco!" He heard Pansy calling for him but didn't bother to turn to her. She caught up to him and walked beside him, matching his speed. "I heard what happened…" She wasn't able to say another word as Draco stopped dead in his tracks and glared at her.

"I am not fucking Granger!" He shouted angrily. Pansy gave him an irritated look.

"I know that Draco, You forget I know you better than these simpletons. Your sarcasm is never lost on me, trust me." Draco crossed his arms over his chest.

"What do you want exactly, Pansy?" Draco asked curtly as he continued on angrily. Pansy grabbed his arm to stop him.

"I wanted to see if you were alright. So quit being such an ass." Draco gritted his teeth as he looked her over quickly.

"You want to know if I'm okay? I'm not. This whole school thinks I'm in love with Granger, and you, you keep following me around, you never leave me alone! I don't want to talk to you and I don't need your stupid pity!" With that Draco spun himself around and marched away from her. Pansy let his arm slip from her grasp and watched him go.

MISS GRANGER- GREAT HALL

Hermione had returned Harry's cloak to its rightful place in his trunk, but she still had not seen or heard from Harry or Ron. Checking her watch she made her way to the Great Hall, convinced they had to be there waiting for her.

Hermione opened the doors to the Great Hall and quickly surveyed the room only to find Ron and Harry were not present. Slouching her shoulders she slumped to the Gryffindor table and sat down. It's just like those two to be missing in a crisis, just when she needed their help.

Gathering food, she realized Ginny, Neville and Luna were watching her warily. "What's going on?" She asked them quietly. Ginny was the first to speak.

"Malfoy just admitted to having sex with you…"

"WHAT!" Hermione screeched, getting to her feet and blushing profusely. The entire hall turned to her. Ginny pulled Hermione back to her seat. "I have never, ever slept with Malfoy in my life…I don't think." She shook her head when Ginny gave her a surprised expression. "Did Malfoy seriously say that to you?"

"He sort of said it to everyone." Neville remarked with an elbow from Luna.

"Everyone." Hermione breathed.

"Afraid so, Harry and Ron heard as well, although Ron took it a bit better than I imagined…" Hermione was horrified by Ginny's words.

"Ron…oh no. Where did they go?"

"Looking for you of course." Ginny explained. Hermione immediately got up and left the Great Hall.

As soon as the doors shut behind her, Hermione bent over, clutching her knees, and took in a deep breath. Becoming panicked, she began to run down corridors shouting Ron and Harry's names.

MR. POTTER AND MR. WEASLEY-HOGWARTS

Ron and Harry had been walking for over a half hour looking for Hermione.

"Hey." Harry suddenly put a hand out to stop Ron.

"What?" Ron asked looking curiously at his friend.

"Shh, do you hear that?" Ron listened intently until he heard his name softly in the distance.

"Hermione." They both said, as they turned back the way they came and began shouting her name.

Finally both men reached a stairwell and found Hermione down a few flights. "Hermione!" Harry called down to her. She looked at each of them, quite relieved as she climbed the stairs and met them. Hugging them each intensely, they were quite perplexed.

"Are you alright? We've been looking everywhere for you." Harry explained, leading her away from the moving stairs and down a corridor.

"I know you heard Malfoy's confession." Hermione got right to the point. Ron and Harry exchanged a look before nodding.

"It isn't true, it just…I am just so thankful I found you." Hermione suddenly turned her full attention to Ron who swallowed hard.

"Hermione…" Suddenly she embraced him in a hug and he and Harry shared another awkward look. Ron hugged her back as she buried her face in his chest.

"There's so much I have to explain." She began. Ron nodded as he pulled away from her. Looking her over once, he noticed the slip of paper had fallen to the floor.

"What's this?" He asked, scooping it up and opening it. He quickly read over the note before Hermione even realized what it was.

"No, wait!" She cried but Ron pulled it out of her reach. "Since when do you start looking through my things?" She shouted angrily.

"Hermione, this isn't yours. Where did you get this? Have you read it?" Ron demanded worriedly. Hermione suddenly snatched it from his hand and clutched it to her chest, never looking at the words.

"No, I…" She was so distraught by Ron's expression; she couldn't find the right words. "I don't know what's happening to me." She whispered solemnly, fingering the note gently in her hands. Ron suddenly embraced her.

"Have you tried talking to him?" He whispered gently. Hermione looked up at him quickly. Before she could speak however, Harry interrupted.

"Would either of you mind filling me in on what you're talking about?" Hermione separated herself from Ron and sighed.

"While I was…missing, Malfoy and I…we sort of…fell in love." Harry nodded slowly.

"Did you, uh, sleep with him?" Harry asked awkwardly. Hermione shook her head.

"No…at least I don't think so." She blushed. Ron cleared his throat before speaking.

"Well, then you've got to talk to him."

"But I heard Professor Dumbledore talking to Professor Snape; Malfoy doesn't have any memory of him and I. All of his memories of that time were put into a vial." She admitted, leaning her back against the nearest wall.

"So, you saw everything?" Ron questioned. Hermione shook her head.

"No, only one brief memory in bed…I was so upset I fell out of the pensieve."

"Malfoy took all of his memories of you from the time you disappeared and put them in a vial…" Ron mumbled aloud.

"The point is, he doesn't have any of those memories now. Professor Snape found them before he awoke and gave them to Dumbledore…"

"Hermione, you're focusing on the wrong thing. Malfoy doesn't have those memories yes, but he went through a lot of trouble to try and hang on to them. That's got to mean something, right?"

After a moment of silence, Harry spoke. "He clearly wanted to remember you for a reason, Hermione." Ron nodded and smiled lightly at his friend before turning back to Hermione.

"You think so?" She asked skeptically.

"I never thought I would say this, but yes." Harry chuckled. They all laughed lightly before Hermione ran a hand through her hair and sighed.

"I'll go talk to him. Thank you both." Hermione leaned forward, touching them each on their shoulders and giving them a peck on the cheek before leaving.

As they watched her disappear, Ron suddenly turned in the opposite direction. "Where are you going?" Harry asked. Ron turned back to him and sighed. "I can't have Malfoy showing me up." He answered vaguely before walking away.

MISS GRANGER-ROOM OF REQUIREMENT

Hermione wasn't sure where to begin looking for Malfoy, but as she wandered the empty halls she felt her body was taking her someplace familiar. With each step she took, she felt somewhat nostalgic as though she'd been there before, but couldn't quite remember…

Suddenly she stopped, the wall to the Room of Requirement. Pacing the floor three times she thought of Malfoy and how he had disappeared from the Great Hall after quite the confession…a door began to emerge and Hermione stopped before it. With a deep breath, she entered and shut the door behind her. The wall became blank once more as she slowly made her way into the main part of the room.

As she moved further in, she heard music. Faintly at first but after a time it filled the space. Stopping, she spotted him. Lazily sprawled on a couch with one leg hanging off the side. He held a book on his chest as he read, turning the page slowly. He seemed so peaceful that she felt somewhat guilty for barging in on his space.

As though he felt her eyes on him, he turned his head lazily to her before jumping out of his skin. "For heaven's sake Granger!" He shouted, sitting up and throwing his book to the floor. Once he caught his breath, he stood and turned off the music. Marching towards her, he stopped an inch from her face and glared at her. "What the hell do you want?" He sneered.

Hermione felt somewhat foolish at this point. Here she was, about to pour her heart out to a man who, to the best of her knowledge, hated her more than he hated any other person in the world…except maybe Harry. She sighed. "I wanted some information, but clearly you have just given me all the answers I need." She turned to walk away but Malfoy growled angrily.

"So you heard we're fucking now, have you?" Hermione quickly turned back to him but he was making his way to the couch and sitting back down. His attitude towards their situation infuriated her and before she could stop the words, they flew out of her mouth.

"I already knew that Draco, I just wanted to know how much of that night you remembered." His eyes snapped to meet hers but surprisingly she didn't falter. Slowly he stood up from the couch, never breaking eye contact as he approached her.

"What did you say?" He looked from one brown eye to the other intensely until she finally sighed and looked down.

"I'm tired of the games, why did you tell everyone we were together?"

"Is it true?" He whispered. Hermione met his gaze again and shrugged.

"I honestly don't know…things are a little foggy." Hermione moved around him and sat down on the couch. Malfoy watched her closely.

"Foggy how?" He asked.

Suddenly Hermione remembered the note and pulled it from her pocket. She still had yet to read a word of it. "Here. This…well, it's yours." Draco was perplexed as he took the paper and opened it slowly. After reading it over twice he finally spoke.

"How did you get this…did you read it?" Draco blushed profusely and Hermione shook her head. He looked her over quickly, deciding whether or not to believe her. "I wrote this." He mumbled. "What memories? What am I talking about?" Hermione blushed lightly. "You said you didn't read it…"

"I didn't…but I may have stumbled into the memories…just one, I promise." Draco was shocked.

"This…it doesn't matter." Draco tossed the note to the ground. Hermione furrowed her brow.

"Draco…" Hermione began.

"Stop, just stop. Don't call me Draco, we're not friends…and why do you care so much anyway? You'd think you'd be happy I'm not secretly pining after you." Hermione locked eyes with him but didn't say a word. "Wait…are you, into me?" Draco began to laugh and Hermione's cheeks turned a light shade of pink as she continued to frown.

"Laugh all you want but you didn't see us, Malfoy." She stressed his name as he wished.

"Don't you get it? That memory is long gone, I don't have to feel that way about you and you sure as hell don't like me. You like the idea of the chase, that's why you and Weasley have been playing cat and mouse for seven years. You want to be loved Granger, but I am so not that guy."

"You think I'm going to stand here and try to convince you, but I'm not. I agree completely with what you're saying, however, you went through a lot of trouble to hang on to your memories of you and I, and I can't help but feel that, that guy, he's worth my time." With that, Hermione walked to the door and left Malfoy alone with his thoughts.

MR. WEASLEY-HOGWARTS

Ron rounded a corner and smacked into the very person he was searching for. For once, neither of them fell over as Pansy shoved past him and continued on her way.

"Are we making this a habit?" Ron asked, catching up to her.

She stopped suddenly as Ron took a few more steps before turning to face her. "What?" She asked irritated.

"You know, running into each other."

Pansy smirked. "Believe me Weasley, it is not intentional." She tried to move on and make her way by but Ron side stepped in front of her. Pansy rolled her eyes and stuck a hand on her hip in irritation.

Ron watched her closely, her eyes on him, waiting. He realized his heart was pounding. "I know you're a very busy woman so I'll be quick, but I was wondering if you would have dinner with me tonight, in Hogsmeade." Pansy's expression quickly took on one of surprise.

"Wha-you want to go out with me?" Ron nodded seriously as Pansy looked him over strangely. "Aren't you and Granger…"

"No, just friends." He explained quickly.

As though the shock of the situation were wearing off, Pansy shook her head and sighed. "No." She said flatly, before making her way around him.

"Why not?" He asked just as she passed him. She stopped and chuckled lightly under her breath.

"The question, Weasley, is why would I agree to go out with you?" Ron turned to her but she didn't turn around.

"Simple, a free meal, a night away from school, a chance to insult me for an entire evening, and when you get bored of all that…" Ron paused for effect as she finally turned to face him. "I will surprise you by being a complete gentlemen, a superb conversationalist, and with any luck, your friend."

They stared at one another in silence for a long while. Ron's heart was pounding so rapidly, he thought for sure she was getting some kind of silent amusement from his discomfort. Finally, after what seemed like a lifetime, Pansy's lips parted.

"What time?"

MISS GRANGER-CORRIDOR OUTSIDE THE ROOM OF REQUIREMENT

Hermione watched the door to the Room of Requirement disappear completely before she fell back against the opposite wall. She took in a deep breath to try and steady herself, putting her hands up to caress her flushed cheeks.

He had mocked her, that was no surprise, but she was so unsure of what she was trying to accomplish with him. Did she really want to be the girl on the arm of Draco Malfoy? Would he ever accept her in that way? It's easy to say yes when all you know is what's behind closed doors. Perhaps if she had stayed in his thoughts longer she might have learned a bit more.

She quickly ran her hands through her pockets for the note but realized she had foolishly given that up as well…

"You've intrigued me…" She jumped at the sound of his voice. Catching his eye she quickly looked back at the blank wall before her.

"How did you…"

"Room of Requirement Granger, it's not rocket science." Malfoy scoffed.

"What do you want then?" She demanded irritably. Without a word he approached her and held up the note he had written himself. Taking in a breath he flipped the note over in his hands.

"I have a feeling this is what got me into trouble in the first place," He began as she watched him fold the note. "But I'm going to ask anyway," Hermione waited for him to continue. "Where did you stumble into my memories?"

"Will you take me with you?" She asked quietly. Malfoy scoffed.

"Why? Didn't get enough dashing romanticism the first time?" Malfoy asked smugly. Hermione didn't bother to answer and finally he nodded. "Yea, you can come along, in fact, why don't you show me the way right now, hmm?" Without another word Hermione turned and headed for the stairwell.

Finally, the pair arrived at the door to Dumbledore's office. Hermione stopped in front of it and gestured grandly with her hand. "After you." She grinned, sweetly.

"Dumbledore has them? Why didn't you say that, Granger?" Draco growled. Hermione brushed her hair out of her eyes.

"Why, you were in such a hurry, you never bothered to ask, Malfoy." The two glared at one another until the statue suddenly moved aside and Professor Snape appeared.

"What exactly are you two doing here?" Without so much as a pause, they both answered simultaneously.

"Proffessor McGonagall sent us." They looked at one another surprised before turning back to Snape who was looking between them.

"Professor Dumbledore is out, and won't be back for some time." With that, Snape walked past them.

"Should we go back to class then, Professor?" Hermione asked with an elbow in her ribs from Draco. She stifled a cry as Snape turned back to her.

"If you can manage it, Miss Granger." And with that he was off again. Once Snape was out of earshot Draco grabbed her arm.

"What the hell was that? He was about to leave us alone until you grabbed his attention again." Hermione glared back at him.

"If I hadn't asked, he might come back, assuming we're stupid enough to sit around and wait all afternoon for Professor Dumbledore." Draco rolled his eyes and headed for the statue and Hermione followed with an exasperated sigh.

Upon entering the office, Hermione shut the door and turned to find Draco staring at her. "Well, where are they?" Hermione scoffed.

"Must I do everything…" She mumbled, going behind the Headmaster's desk and whispering an enchantment. Draco came closer at the sound of the lock clicking. Hermione pulled the drawer open and pulled the vial out. Looking at it briefly, she slowly handed it over to Draco. "The pensieve is over there." She explained, but Draco continued to stare at the vial filled with his missing memories.

"Amazing that this can hold a few days worth of memories, is this it?" Hermione nodded. "Good." With that, Draco uncorked the vial and took out his wand. A quick swish and the vial and all it's contents went up in smoke.

"What are you doing?" Hermione cried unbelievingly. Once Draco was sure the memories weren't coming back, he finally looked at Hermione.

"I told you, I'm not that guy." Without another word, Draco left the office and Hermione was left alone.

Author's Notes- Another chapter done, thanks for reading! More to come soon! R&R!