Hermione glanced eagerly at the clock on her bedside table. It was only five minutes later than when she had checked it last, making it five thirty-five in the morning. Sighing with defeat Hermione rolled over onto her back and stared up at the crimson canopy that covered her bed, the library wouldn't even open for another hour at least. She would have snuck out to the library last night, Snape be damned, except that Harry and Ron had decided that she was spending to much time there and had refused to let her borrow the invisibility cloak, opting instead to force her to play chess for several hours.
Hermione closed her eyes and tried unsuccessfully to go back to sleep. Her sleep had been troubled before; visions of dark gray eyes and ancient Arithmancy texts had danced around in her mind while she sleeping. Now, to think about Arithmancy was fairly common for Hermione, but to dream of Draco Malfoy wasn't in her normal routine.
Finally deciding that going back to sleep just wasn't really feasible at the moment, Hermione climbed out of bed and put on her slippers, they were blue and reminded her of something an old maid would wear, but Hermione had always thought them wonderfully comfortable, especially so early in the morning in the winter when the flag stoned hallway that led to the girl's bathroom felt like raw ice on naked feet.
The bathroom, not surprisingly, was deserted that morning and Hermione was able to secure the little bathtub in the corner. Pushing aside the crimson and gold drapes that provided privacy she set her towel down next to the large claw-footed basin. It was rather cold in here; the house-elves had only just recently lit the fires in the room. Hermione selected a purple bottled bubble bath from the small shelf that was set against the wall and poured a few drops into the tub. Purple foamy bubbles immediately sprang to life and the scent of lavender suffused the air.
She sank deeply into the water and closed her eyes, her mind beginning to drift.
Hermione found herself in a room that she hadn't been in before; a large bed was in one corner, covered in dark blue silk. A brilliant fire was burning in the grate and a great door was against the other wall. The door opened suddenly and Hermione saw Malfoy walk in, he smiled as he approached her.
"Malfoy? What are you doing here?"
Malfoy didn't answer though; he swept her up off her feet and kissed her deeply. Hermione could feel herself start to melt into the kiss and then fought against it, finding her strength she pushed him away. Malfoy easily let go of her and smiled lovingly down at her.
"Playing hard to get Hermione? And what have I done to deserve being called Malfoy?" A genuine smile played across his face and he gently stroked her cheek.
"What's going on Malfoy?" Hermione asked nervously.
But he didn't answer; his hand had dropped from her cheek and found the clasp of her robes. Hermione gasped softly as the cloth slipped from her shoulders and pooled around her ankles. Malfoy put his hands on her shoulders and pulled her to him. His hands slowly slid down her body and he pressed his lips to hers.
Hermione woke up with a gasp sending a cascade of bubbly water of the lip of the bathtub. She scrambled out of the bath. Her breathing hard, she glared at the porcelain tub, as if it was somehow responsible.
"Hermione? Is that you?"
Hermione stifled a gasp and quickly pulled her bathrobe back on, pushing the draperies apart, she gazed down the large bathroom. At the other end a sleepy Ginny Weasley stood unbraiding a thick plait of red hair.
