"Wow, Hermione. You look- you look... wow."

"Thank you, Harry. You can close your mouth now."

This was a promising start. Even Ron extricated himself from Lavender's lips long enough to quickly sweep his eyes over me, the pupils in them expanding at what he saw.

Next to him, Lavender scowled and muttered 'try-hard' before drawing Ron's attention back by pinging open another button on her shirt and shoving her cleavage in his face.

Feeling smug, I smoothed a hand down the side of my backless shimmering gold gown, loving the way it hugged my curves in all the right places.

Without warning, a pair of hands grabbed my hips from behind me, and I couldn't help but gasp as I was suddenly spun roughly around and found myself looking directly up into Cormac's leering face.

"Fuck, baby," he drawled in smooth tones, his eyes sparkling appreciatively as they looked me over. "You look good enough to eat."

Ew. This was not okay. I was not comfortable with him touching me like this at all. But I had to save face, I couldn't let Ron see I wasn't enjoying Cormac's attention.

"Are you ready?" I asked, trying not to grimace as a wandering hand slid to my arse, giving it a firm squeeze.

"Fuck, yeah," he growled huskily in my ear. "Just so you know, I'm ready for anything tonight." He gave my arse a firm smack before grabbing my hand.

I paused long enough at the portrait hole to glance back over my shoulder and see the furious glare on Ron's face.

I'm not going to lie. It felt good.

*****

"I'm just not feeling this," I grudgingly admitted to Harry when he found me hiding behind some drapes on the balcony, freezing my tits off. "Nothing is worth putting myself through being constantly groped by Cormac for... not even pissing Ron off."

"You think?!" Harry muttered, passing me a Butterbeer which I gratefully accepted. "I told you he was a creep Hermione, but you didn't listen. No one ever listens to me. I may as well not exist."

"Oh don't be so dramatic, Harry," I tutted, rolling my eyes. "It's just that the last time we listened to you, your godfather got killed."

He glared at me through hooded eyes, taking a hefty swig of his beer. "Well," he pouted moodily as he wiped the residue off his lip with the back of his hand. "I still say Malfoy is a Death Eater."

I kept quiet, not wanting to admit that I actually agreed with him.

Oddly enough, it was at that exact moment when a commotion could be heard from inside the party.

"Get your hands off me, you filthy squib!"

Harry and I exchanged a surprised look. There was no denying Draco Malfoy's arrogant drawl.

We hastily darted through the drapes, keen to get a front row seat of the action.

Draco Malfoy was indeed being dragged by the ear towards a perplexed looking Slughorn by Argus Filch.

"Professor Slughorn," Filch wheezed, his jowls aquiver and the maniacal light of mischief-detection in his bulging eyes, "I discovered this boy lurking in an upstairs corridor. He claims to have been invited to your party and to have been delayed in setting out. Did you issue him with an invitation?"

Draco pulled himself free of Filch's grip, looking furious.

"All right, I wasn't invited!" He said angrily. "I was trying to gatecrash, happy?"

That's odd, I thought, why would he do that? He had expressed no previous interest in coming to this party whatsoever, and, like Ron, had never failed to hide his contempt at anything to do with the Slug Club.

As Filch and Slughorn discussed him, pale grey eyes slid over to me, widening ever so slightly as he held my gaze. I threw him what I hoped was a sympathetic smile, but I found it difficult to act normal on account of my quickened pulse.

"What a loser," Harry snorted pompously in my ear. "So desperate to come to a party that he has to resort to gatecrashing."

"Yeah..." I murmured back, but only half heartedly. I felt suddenly inexplicably sorry for the white-blond haired Slytherin who looked in no mood for a party.

When Snape swooped in and dragged Draco back away, Harry thrust his drink in my hand. "Tell Luna I'm sorry, but something unavoidable came up!"

"Harry, wait! Where are you -?"

But he'd already started making an eager dash across the room, pulling from his pocket his Invisibility Cloak before he'd even reached the door.

And he calls Draco a loser?

*****

I didn't stay around much longer after apologising to Luna for having a shitty date in Harry ("Oh, it's okay, I was actually planning on sneaking off with the vampire, so it works out quite nicely after all.").

And so I made my leave, thanking the heavens that Cormac was nowhere to be seen.

The castle was creepily dark and quiet, with everyone who wasn't at the party supposedly tucked up in bed.

An owl hooted somewhere outside, and I shivered, wrapping my arms around me as I quickened my pace, eager to get to the safety of the tower.

However, I had barely reached the end of the sixth floor corridor when a hand landed heavily on my shoulder.

I jumped out of my skin and whirled around, my heart racing uneasily at the sight of Cormac towering over me.

"Cormac!" I gasped, trying to catch my breath back. "You- you scared me!"

"I'm sorry, baby," he said, not sounding sorry at all. "But you left without saying goodbye."

"I- I had a headache," I lied, taking a hasty step back. "And I couldn't find you to let you know."

He instantly closed the gap again, lifting a hand to my face. I shuddered as he went to tuck a piece of stray hair behind my ear, twisting away from him at once.

"You know, this has been inevitable for quite some time, you and me." He drawled, grabbing my waist and pulling me back towards him, forcing me to face him. "I've noticed the way you've been with me, wearing those slutty little tops at Sluggy's dinner's, flirting with me at every given opportunity. I practically saw the eagerness in your eyes when I asked you to be my date for tonight."

"You think- you think I like you?" I said, resisting the temptation to laugh in mortification. "I'm really sorry if I've given you that impression, Cormac, but it's not been like that at all. Not for me, anyway. And tonight... I- I just didn't want to go alone. I'm sorry, I should have been clearer."

A small muscle twitched near his eye. "Don't lie. You've been coming onto me for months."

"No- I really haven't," I said, going to move away, but he refused to let go of my waist, his fingers gripping me with surprising strength.

I felt the first flutterings of panic. Owing to the dress, I didn't have my wand on me. Now I wish I had stuffed it down my bra or something. I was an idiot to put vanity before my safety.

No - I was an idiot to ever agree to go to the party with this moron in the first place.

"Look, I've got to go," I said quickly, trying not to let the fear show in my voice. "It's late and as I've said - I've got a headache."

"Not until I get my goodnight kiss."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. What was wrong with him? Was he actually being serious?

"No, I don't want to kiss you," I said as clearly as I could, needing him to get the message loud and clear.

I thought then that he would let me go, that perhaps he would be hurt - ashamed, even. But never did I expect him to do what he did next.

Grabbing my upper arms, he slammed me against the wall so hard that the back of my head connected painfully to cold stone. I experienced an explosion of pain as lights dotted my vision.

"You're nothing but a little fucking cock tease." Hot rasping breaths hit my face and I was too in shock to scream, thinking this is surely not happening to me. I felt frozen in fear and fuck my head hurt.

Before I could find out what Cormac had planned for me, however, he was suddenly ripped away before my eyes.

I blinked up in relief at my saviour. Draco Malfoy had appeared out of nowhere, dragging Cormac away from me before shaking him angrily in front of his thunderous face.

"You fucking touch her again and I'll fucking kill you!" He snarled, and before Cormac could respond, Draco pulled back a fist which he then drove right into his face, knocking him to the floor.

"Draco-" I choked as Cormac writhed and groaned on the ground, clutching his face.

Panting heavily, Draco looked up, his face pink and his eyes flashing angrily.

"Are you hurt?" He asked, his expression immediately softening as his eyes searched my face in concern.

I brought a hand up to the back of my head, wincing in pain as I touched it, horror flooding me as I felt something something warm and wet matted in my hair.

"Fuck," Draco hissed as I lowered my hand back down in front of me, revealing fingers covered in glistening red blood. "We need to get you to the hospital wing."

"No," I said at once, realising I'd have to explain to Madam Pomfrey that I'd been attacked by Cormac, thus endangering Gryffindor's chances at winning the house cup. "It's just a little cut. I'll be fine."

"Damn it, Granger, it's not fine. He's given you a fucking head wound!"

"Okay, fine," I sighed resignedly, suddenly feeling the fight leave me.

Tears stung behind my eyes. All I had wanted was to make Ron jealous and I ended up being once again humiliated. I should have just stayed in and cuddled Crookshanks in bed with a good book.

"Come on," Draco encouraged, offering out a hand to me. "I'll go with you. It's only two floors down."

Ignoring his hand, I conceded, making sure to accidentally stamp on Cormac's hand as I stepped over his body.

"Fucking prick," I heard Draco mutter behind me, followed by a spitting sound.

The hospital wing, however, was locked up, with a note pinned to the door saying that Madam Pomfrey had gone on her Christmas holidays a day early.

"What kind of fucked up system allows the school nurse to take leave during term time?" Draco spluttered angrily, as though he had always considered Dumbledore to be a man who made sensible choices.

"It doesn't matter," I shrugged, suddenly desperate to get back to my dormitory and curl up in my bed. "I think it's stopped bleeding now, anyway."

"Let me take a look at it, at least," Draco murmured, looking at me in concern. "I know some decent healing spells."

"Really?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's the least I could do after you've helped me out with Transfiguration. Come on, let's go back to my room. I keep a medi-kit in the bathroom."

"What- wait?" I spluttered, wondering if I had heard correctly. "You have your own room?"

"Well, yes," he shrugged nonchalantly. "You don't expect me to share, do you?"

Of course, little Prince Malfoy had his own quarters. Why was I even surprised?

Realising my only other options were to go back to the party and find a teacher to take me to St Mungo's or risk dying in my sleep, I agreed.

Also, I had burning curiosity to see what Draco's room was like.

Well, that's what I told myself, anyway.

*****