A/N: OK, before anyone tries to murder me for not updating, let me apologize profusely…I BESEECH YOOOO-HOO-HOO! –ahem- ok, I'm fine…lol. But yeah, life was kinda crazy, and guess what! I have a boyfriend! –teehee- Anyway, moving on…Here's the chapter you've all been waiting for…And to my faithful reviewers who check my story religiously, I LOVE YOU! –glomp-

CHAPTER 6: PLANS

"Mother!" Draco said loudly, surprised out of his mind. "What—How—Uh…I can explain?" Behind him Hermione rolled her eyes and huffed. Narcissa burst out laughing.

"Draco, dear, I'm a seer! You've had this coming for 6 years. I'm actually quite glad you've come to your senses…" She said mildly, ignoring the glare he was sending her way. "But I came up here to talk to you about your Divination studies, in which your marks are not improving." She glanced at him reproachfully and Hermione sniggered.

"But Moooo-oom!" Draco whined, "I've been doing better! I promise! You're not going to make me do any extra classes, are you?" He gave her his best puppy-dog look, causing in effect Narcissa to roll her eyes and Hermione to burst out laughing. "It's not funny!" Draco said sullenly. "And who's side are you on, anyway?" He directed that last question to Hermione.

She gave him a look. "Honestly, Draco. You're acting like a 5 year old! A sullen, spoiled 5 year old. If you'd like, I can tutor you in Divination." She looked at Narcissa. "Is that alright?" Narcissa nodded, rather surprised.

"Last I recall from Draco, you loathed Divination, dear. Why are you taking it again this year?" She asked.

"Well, I'm trying to get in as many credits as I can," Explained Hermione. "There's a school in America that I'd like to get into, muggles call it a college, only it's a Witchcraft and Wizarding College." Draco looked surprised, he had no idea there was a college for wizards.

"But yeah, I'm doing divination again for the time being. Albeit not willingly." She smiled. "I'll try to help your son, and if he isn't doing better in a few weeks, then I guess you'll I have to hand him over to you." She grinned at Draco's face. "Aww is poor Drackie-Poo afraid of a few extra classes?" Draco growled and tried to frown, but the small hints of a smile broke out and changed his expression. Narcissa laughed.

"My dear girl, I am so glad for you. You make him happy." She grinned ecstatically. "But now my dears, Dumbledore wants a word with you in his office. Shall we?" She disappeared before either of them could say a word.

"Well, there's floo powder on the mantle," Draco pointed out. "Lets go!"

They each grabbed a fistful and stood next to each other in the gigantic fireplace. "Dumbledore's office!" They said clearly and in unison, tossing down the powder. Within seconds they tumbled out of the headmaster's fireplace, covered in soot which disappeared a second later.

"Wandless magic comes in handy, no?" Dumbledore asked, a twinkle in his eye. "Would you like to sit down? I assure you, you are in no trouble." He waved his wand and two chairs appeared, Draco took one and Hermione took the other. "So, my children. How goes life?" Hermione glanced at Draco.

"Well," She said timidly. "I've found my mate." Draco smiled and grasped her hand.

Dumbledore smiled. "Congratulations, my dear! I knew it was only a matter of time." He laughed at the expression on their faces. "Honestly, did you two think I didn't know it was going to happen?" He chuckled. "Apparently not." He sighed and clasped his hands.

"I actually wanted to talk to you about the Welcome Ball. The staff and I have decided that this year, we are going to have 4 balls. A Welcome Ball, a Halloween Ball, a Christmas Ball, and a Graduation Ball. We were hoping that you two could start planning the Welcome Ball, which is to be held on Friday the 16th of September, a week and 4 days from now. (A/N: I don't remember if I put any dates, and today (in the story) is Monday, September 5th, so please don't kill me if I mess up…) We will be having a Prefects meeting tomorrow night to decide the decorating committee."

Hermione and Draco nodded, both already making a mental list. Dumbledore nodded, and opened his arms.

"Well, that is all. So I suggest you go back to your dormitories and get some sleep. Goodnight." He stood and opened the door for them, leading them out and down the stone staircase. They walked back to their common room, discussing what different tasks they would assign.

"Well, there are 2 prefects from each house, so that's 8 prefects. I think we should pair them up and mix the houses." Hermione said. "Wait, who are the prefects this year, anyway?"

Draco listed them, ticking them off on his fingers. "Slytherin is Pansy Parkinson and Blaise Zabini, Gryffindor is Harry and Lavender Brown, Hufflepuff is Ernie Macmillan and Hannah Abbott, and Ravenclaw is Padma Patil and Michael Corner." He looked proud that he had remembered all of their names, and Hermione laughed at him.

"Ok, so you've proved your memory is better then mine. How should we pair them? Male and Female, I think. And from different houses." She said, as they walked up to the portrait. "Oh, Glory."

"I think Harry and Padma will work well, along with Michael and Lavender. Pansy might get on with Ernie, and Blaise will work with anyone, so Hannah. Does that sound ok?" Draco asked. They walked in and sat down on the couch, and Hermione accio'd a piece of parchment and a pen. Jotting all that down, she asked,

"So, what should the tasks be? We need four, no five. You and I are working together." She listed their names as well, under Blaise and Hannah.

"Er…decorations, entertainment, refreshments…I can't think of anything else." He shrugged. "That's only three, and it's really all we need."

Hermione chewed on the end of her pen, thinking what else they could do. "I can't think of anything else either! Why don't we split food and drinks into two different categories, and split decorations into inside and outside?" She suggested. "Then we have five things, right?" Draco thought for a moment.

"Actually, yeah, that would! Love, you are a genius!" He kissed her on the nose and she laughed.

"You are a strange one, Mr. Malfoy…That didn't require much thought, you know!" She tapped him on his nose and snuggled against him. "Should we have a theme?" She asked, her voice muffled by his chest. "I think we should have themes." She sat up and grabbed the paper again, writing THEMES and the numbers 1 through 4 beneath it.

"Halloween should be a masquerade, definitely!" She said, listing it. "Christmas should be formal, and Graduation should be…uh…help here, please?" She glanced at Draco, who shrugged.

"I don't know! I have an idea for the Welcome theme, though. How about movie characters?" He suggested. "That should be easy." Hermione nodded and listed it as number one.

"I know!" She said suddenly, "The graduation can be famous couples! There are a lot, aren't there? Romeo and Juliet, Abbot and Costello, Paris and Helen, You know!" She wrote it down. "There we are. We should run it by Dumbledore to make sure, but that seems pretty good for now." She set down the paper and yawned, covering her mouth.

"Ugh, excuse me!" she apologized. "What time is it, anyway?" She glanced at the clock. "It's only 10:12? Jeez, I'm getting more and more tired in my old age." She laughed. "Want to finish the movie?" She asked, searching for the remote. "There's a few more good parts, still." Hermione found it and pressed a button, flicking the screen from sleep mode back to the paused song. She looked at Draco, who was already stretched out along the couch, waiting for her. "Guess that's a yes," She laughed, pressing play.

She settled into his arms, comfortable watching Christian and Satine try to hide their love, and trying to fight sleep.

------------------------

As the movie credits rolled, Draco gently stroked Hermione's hair, trying to wake her up. She mumbled something and snuggled closer to him, shielding herself in the warmth of his body.

"Hermione," Draco said softly, "You've got to wake up, love." She didn't respond, and he stroked her hair again. "C'mon, you want to be comfortable, don't you?" Again, no answer.

Sighing, Draco sat up from where he lay behind her, and picked her up in his arms, bride style. He gently carried her to her room, placing her beneath the covers and pulling them lovingly over her.

"Goodnight, love." He whispered, "See you in the morning."

------------------------

Hermione awoke to sunlight streaming into her room, causing her to look around and try to figure out where she was. Not remembering falling asleep, she shrugged and just accepted it. Hermione looked at her alarm clock, and saw that she had about an hour to get ready. She got up and wandered over to her bureau, pulling out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Finally she heard the shower shut off, but she knew Draco would take a few minutes. About five minutes later she was about to open the door, and was reaching for the handle, when Draco himself opened it, a towel wrapped around his waist.

"Hey, love, I was just about to wake you up." He said warmly. "Need the shower? Go ahead, I'll finish changing in my room."

Hermione set her things down on the counter of the sink as Draco picked his up. He kissed her on the cheek before walking out, leaving her to shower.

She shed her clothes from the day before and shivered slightly as the cool air hit her skin. She quickly walked to the shower, stepping in. The water immediately turned on, exactly the right temperature. Hermione sighed happily as the warm water beat down on her back, loosening her muscles. Small tendrils of steam rose from shower stall, filling it. Hermione scrubbed her shampoo into her scalp, massaging slightly, and then rinsed and did the same with her conditioner. After scrubbing herself with her favorite vanilla-mint body wash, she stepped out of the shower, wrapper her long hair up in a turban-towel, and drying herself off with the other.

After about 10 minutes she was all dressed and dried off, and was carefully applying some makeup. She was about done when Draco knocked on the door.

"Hermione? Are you ready?" She pushed open the door and walked into his room.

"Yeah, what time is it?" She asked, stretching her arms and yawning slightly. Draco smiled and took her into his arms.

"You fell asleep last night during the movie, love. I couldn't wake you up to save my life! I just carried you into your room as you were." He told her, intoxicated by the smell of her body wash. Hermione hugged him tight for a moment then stepped back.

"Thanks. I fall asleep all the time during movies." She grinned. "Shall we?" Draco accompanied her to her room where she donned her robes and wand, and then they proceeded to walk down toward the great hall.

When they got there neither bothered to go in at different times, they really didn't care. Hermione walked up to Dumbledore to tell him the theme they had decided for the ball before taking her seat next to Harry and Ginny, while Draco took his between Blaise and Theo. Ron walked in as Hermione was buttering a piece of toast, and sat down across from her.

"Morning, all" He said, reaching for a biscuit. "I'm sorry about my outburst yesterday, 'Mione." He apologized, looking down as he said it.

Hermione sighed. "It's ok, Ron. I know you hate him." She smiled tiredly. "I was pretty sure you all were fine, though. That's what he told me, anyways. Said you solved your differences in the infirmary waiting for me?" She asked.

Harry nodded. "Yeah, but that was mostly me. Ron just did it because I did, I think." He said that last part in an undertone so only Hermione could hear it. Ron probably wouldn't have heard anyway, considering the fact that he was shoving food in his mouth at an astounding rate. Hermione shook her head, amused by the fact that he could get so distracted by food.

She was just finishing up her cereal when Dumbledore stood to make an announcement.

"Students! Your attention please!" He called, his voice magically amplified. "This year the staff has decided that we will be having four balls. The first of these will be on Friday, September 16th! Our Head Girl and Boy have chosen a theme, which so happens to be 'Movie Characters'. So get your outfits ready, my dears! There will be a meeting tonight in the library for all of the house prefects, so please attend accordingly! That is all. Please finish your breakfast, and then you have approximately 45 minutes before your first class. Thank You."

The moment he sat down the hall was filled with chatter about who was going with whom and what they were going as. Ginny was talking excitedly.

"Who should we go as, Harry?" She asked, eyes glittering. "Any movies you know with a man and a woman with red and black hair?" Harry thought for a moment, then shook his head. Ginny turned to Hermione. "What about you? Know any movies?" Hermione distinctly remembered a movie with a mermaid that had long red hair, but she couldn't place the name.

"I know one, Gin, but I can't think of the name! I think it's the Little Mermaid?" She guessed.

"Hey! I know that movie! Dudley had all the Disney's!" Harry exclaimed. "The mermaid's name is Ariel, and she's got long red hair. The prince she falls in love with has black hair, and his name's Eric." Ginny squealed happily, hugging Hermione.

"Thanks, 'Mione!" She said gladly. "Do you have any idea who you're going as?" She asked.

Hermione thought for a moment, nothing coming to her. Finally she said, "I don't know, I'll talk to Draco about it." She shrugged. "Well, guys, I have to go! See you in classes!" She stood up from her bench and walked out the doors, with her costume on her mind.

She was walking up a hall about 5 minutes from her rooms when a pair of arms snaked around her from behind. She shrieked and turned around, ready to severely injure her attacker, but was stopped when a pair of lips crashed down on hers. She pulled back and saw she was in the arms of Draco, who smirked.

"Why, Hermione, you didn't wait for me! I feel so unloved." Hermione glared at him.

"Mr. Malfoy! You gave me SUCH a heart attack!" She placed her hand over her heat, breathing slowly. Draco laughed.

"Sorry, love, I had to do it. Now, should we keep walking or have a quick snog in the hallway?" He winked suggestively. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"I've got this odd feeling that even if I say 'no', we will anyway. Something about the fact that your arms are still around me and one is traveling lower." She raised an eyebrow and Draco laughed.

"Right you are, my dear!" And he kissed her. Hermione let her hands go to his back, holding him tightly. After a moment the need for oxygen became apparent, and Draco pulled away. "I assume your heart attack is all better?" He asked, teasingly as she kissed him softly on the neck. She laughed softly.

"Yeah, all better." She rested softly against him. "Draco?" She asked.

"Hmm?" He murmured, stroking her hair softly.

"I think I need to feed."

Draco looked down at her, nestled against his neck. She looked up at him slowly, a million things in her eyes. The ones that hit him were guilt and shame. He gently lifted her chin so he was looking her in the eye.

"Hey, don't be like that." He chided. "I said I'd do whatever it took to be your mate, and I meant it." He watched her eyes, now filled with doubt.

"Are you sure?" She asked uncertainly.

Draco leaned his head slightly to one side, bearing a smooth stretch of pale skin. "I'm sure."

Hermione leaned down gently, pressing her body against his. She gently kissed the skin of his neck, trailing butterfly kisses until she found his pulse. Knowing he would do whatever she needed, she pushed away the voice of disgust at the back of her head and slowly sank her fangs into the tender flesh of his neck.

Draco made a small noise and clutched her closer as she drank, breathing shallowly. All Hermione could think about was how sweet the blood was as it ran down her throat, how good it felt to be sated of her hunger. They stood like that for about five minutes, Draco with his eyes closed and Hermione slowly feeding, until suddenly she stopped and pulled back.

Draco opened his eyes and looked down to see her wipe a small trickle of blood from the corner of her mouth. She looked up at him, expecting to be rejected.

"I completely understand if you don't want to be my mate anymore." She began, now looking everywhere BUT at him. "I bet that you—" She was cut off as Draco put a finger on her lips.

"Hermione, I will never leave you. That didn't even hurt." His eyes became slightly blurry as he remembered the strange sensation that had taken over him.

"It was the farthest from pain I've ever experienced. I can't describe it, but it felt good." Even he sounded surprised. Suddenly he remembered something. "Oh, I know! Remember how you said you liked books by Laurell K. Hamilton? The Anita Blake ones?"

Hermione nodded.

"Remember how she described her mind being rolled by Asher? Orgasmic?" He asked.

She blushed and nodded again.

"That's exactly how it felt. Pleasure at an extreme." He gathered her close in his arms, and placed his chin on the top of her head.

"Like I said, I could definitely get used to this."

A/N: -whew!- Done with that! I'm sorry that it totally sucked (no pun intended) but I tried! Chapter 7 to come…Please review, I'm sorry I kept you all waiting so long!