Enjoying some much appreciated time on his own, Draco Malfoy wandered around the far side of The Black Lake, revelling in the peace and quiet so far away from the castle. Between his head duties, studying for his exams, captaining the Slytherin quidditch team and still spending time with his friends, the year so far had been a busy one for Draco. Even the recent Christmas holidays had included several days doing homework and prepping for the next quidditch match. So it was nice to get away from the hustle and bustle of Hogwarts and just enjoy some time on his own. Even if it was still January and the weather wasn't exactly ideal for strolling around the grounds.

Despite the chilly weather, Draco was still enjoying the fresh air, and he stopped to gaze across the lake at the sight of Hogwarts standing on the opposite shore. It was hard to believe he'd spent almost seven years attending the famous school, and in just a few months he would be saying goodbye to the place for good. Gazing at the castle, Draco realised just how much the school had come to mean to him, and it was only just hitting him how much he would miss the large castle he'd thought of as his second home.

"Sentimental idiot," he muttered to himself, turning away from the view of the castle.

As he did so, a flash of movement in the water caught his eye. At first Draco thought he'd just caught a glimpse of the giant squid which occupied the lake, or one of the other many magical creatures rumoured to live in the depths of the water. But a second look revealed a small brown cat struggling in the water. Assuming the cat belonged to a student, Draco pulled out his wand in order to rescue it before it drowned.

"Accio cat," he called, attempting to summon the cat to him. However, the cat merely continued with its struggle to survive, seemingly unmoved by the spell Draco had cast.

Trying a second time, Draco was annoyed to find he couldn't summon the cat. Either he was struggling to perform a simple spell, which he didn't believe, or else something else was interfering with his spell. Maybe it was something to do with the old magic seeped into Hogwarts and its grounds, or maybe the cat was physically caught on something and summoning it without hurting, or even killing it, wasn't possible.

Quickly Draco realised he had two options. He could either leave the cat in the lake to drown, or he could physically rescue it. He knew that most people in Hogwarts would think he would be the sort to just leave the poor creature to its fate, but Draco already knew he wasn't going to walk away from the struggling feline. People liked to think he was cold and unfeeling, but he did have a heart and he would never be able to forgive himself if he abandoned the cat and let nature take its course.

"I am such a sucker," he muttered to himself as he yanked off his jumper and shirt and kicked off his shoes. He briefly debated taking his trousers off as well, but he was going to end up wet and cold enough without taking off another layer of his clothing.

Wading into the water, Draco quickly found the lake soon became rather deep and he had to swim to where the cat was still valiantly struggling to stay afloat. When he reached the cat, he found two of its paws were caught in some weeds. Carefully he de-tangled the weeds from around the cats feet and taking the shivering creature in his arms, he began to swim back towards the edge of the lake.

"It's a good job there's no-one around to see this," he muttered to the cat as he clamoured out of the lake with the small creature tightly in his grasp. "Rescuing a cat would totally ruin my reputation. I'm meant to be a nasty Slytherin you know, not a simpering do-good that the other houses boast among their numbers. No-one expects a Slytherin to dive into ice-cold water to save a cat, so this will be our little secret."

Still clutching the cat tightly to his bare chest, Draco found his wand, where he'd left it with his jumper and shirt and used a drying spell to remove the wetness from his trousers. Although he was still rather chilly and the small creature in his arms was still damp and shivering. Making a decision, Draco held onto the cat as he shrugged his shirt back on and stepped into his shoes. He then wrapped the cat in his jumper and cradled it against his chest.

"I'll take you inside," he said to the cat. "We can go to the head dorms, so you can get warm. I'll even give you some milk and get the elves to bring you some food. But don't forget to keep this between us, I'm not supposed to be this soft."

Shaking his head at how affected he was by the poor half-drowned cat in his arms, Draco set back off around the lake and back towards the castle. He knew the Head Girl, Hermione Granger, wouldn't object to him bringing the cat into their dorms if she was there. She was one of the kindest people he'd ever met, and he knew that if she was nice enough to give him a second chance after the appalling way in which he'd treated her in their early years of school, then she wouldn't object to him helping a poor creature in need.

Although whether Hermione's cat, Crookshanks, would feel the same way was another matter. Hermione's cat was notoriously grumpy, and Draco didn't have a clue how it would react to another feline encroaching on his territory. Somehow he'd managed to win the cat over and Hermione had commented more than once that her ginger cat had taken to Draco faster than he had to anyone else. In fact he still hadn't really taken to Hermione's two friends, Harry Potter and Ron Weasley, despite the fact he'd known them for years. Draco was just hoping that the fact it was him bringing a new cat into the head dorms would help ease any tension with Crookshanks.

When he reached the castle, Draco decided against using the main doors. The chances of him getting from the front doors to the head dorms without someone seeing him was remote, and Draco didn't fancy word getting out that he was the sort of wizard who dove into icy water to save cute animals. Although to be fair he doubted it would do him any harm with the witches of Hogwarts, who would likely swoon over his heroic antics, but he had a reputation as a tough Slytherin that he would rather keep intact. So instead, he crept in a side door and took a series of back passageways up to the third floor, where the Head Dorms were located.

Entering the Head Dorms, Draco found so sign of Hermione or her cat. Hurrying over to the fireplace, he pulled out his wand to set a roaring fire going before carefully unwrapping the cat from his jumper and settling it down beside the warm fire.

"There you go, beautiful," he cooed, settling down beside the cat to catch some of the heat himself.

Slowly the cat began to stop shivering, and Draco gently stroked its fur as the feline began to dry out. Once he was also starting to feel warm, Draco kicked off his shoes and asked the cat if it wanted some milk. The way it looked at him with large soulful eyes, Draco almost imagined it could understand every word he said, and he wondered if the cat was part Kneazle. However, before he could consider the matter any further the cat began to shake again. Only this time it also began to grow and Draco's mouth dropped open as the cat he'd been sitting beside morphed into the naked form of the Head Girl.

For a second, Draco was too startled to do or say anything. All he could do was stare at Hermione, who was now curled up on his jumper in front of the fire. Due to how she was lying, he couldn't see everything, but he could see her naked backside, and if his gaze travelled further north he could see the curve of one of her breasts and its rosy pink nipple.

"Granger," he finally gasped.

At the sound of her name, Hermione's eyes opened and a squeal escaped her slightly blue lips. Leaping into action, Draco grabbed the throw that lay over the back of the sofa and threw it over Hermione's naked body. Wordlessly Hermione wrapped the throw around herself and moved into a sitting position.

"Thank you," she whispered in a shaking voice.

"For what?" Draco asked, slightly taken aback by the turn of events, not to mention how delectable he'd found Hermione's naked body. He knew for a fact that she would be the star of his dreams for some time to come.

"Saving me in the lake," Hermione said. "And giving me a throw without too much staring."

"I tried not to stare, but damn you're hot," Draco said, surprising himself with his honesty.

"I don't feel hot, I still feel so cold," Hermione said with a shiver.

"Move closer to the fire," Draco urged. "And then you can tell me what you were doing down at the lake. How did you fall into the lake, and how were you in the form of a cat?"

"I'm training to be an Animagi," Hermione explained as she edged closer to the warmth of the fire. "Professor McGonagall's being helping me master the transformations."

"Okay," Draco said with a thoughtful nod. It wasn't too much of a surprise to find that Hermione had decided to become an animagi as was such a rare branch of magic to explore. "But how did you end up in the lake? And why were you naked?"

"I feel in the lake by accident," Hermione admitted. "I was a bit too adventurous in my exploring, and I got too close to the edge. Before I knew it, I'd slipped on the mud and was in the water. I tried turning back to myself, but I was also trying to stop myself from drowning and in the panic, I couldn't turn back. I then got myself tangled in some weeds and thought I was going to die as a cat. Until you came along and saved me."

"Which I hope will stay between us," Draco said, assuming that Hermione could recall everything he'd said to her while she was in her cat form.

"Don't worry, I won't ruin your reputation," Hermione assured him with a small smile which told him that she remembered everything. "You can still be a nasty, tough Slytherin if you want to be. I'll not tell anyone that underneath it all, you're a soft touch with a heart of gold."

"I wouldn't go that far," Draco chuckled. "I just like animals. I wasn't going to let a poor innocent cat drown."

"For which I will be forever grateful," Hermione said gently. "You saved my life today Malfoy, I won't ever forget that."

"It was nothing," Draco replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "Although you never said why you were naked when you turned back into yourself. I've seen Professor McGonagall turn from a cat into herself, and thankfully she's never been naked."

"I'm just learning," Hermione explained. "Actually a lot of animagi struggle to stay clothed during transformations. You have to be very skilled and very focused to return to your human state wearing clothes. I'm nowhere near ready to start even trying to do that."

"So until then, you'll be naked whenever you turn to and from a cat?" Draco asked, his mouth going dry as the image of Hermione curled up beside the fire with no clothes on jumped back into his head.

"Yes," Hermione admitted with a blush. "Which is why I try and turn in private. But I couldn't help myself once I was safe from the lake and starting to warm up. I needed to get back to normal."

"I understand," Draco said. "Well actually, I don't as I've never been a cat before," he added with a chuckle. "But I can imagine that you just wanted to be yourself again."

"I did," Hermione said. "Only now I'm thinking I might have been better off staying as a cat. I was much warmer as a cat. I just can't get warm now."

"Should I send for Madam Pomfrey?" Draco asked in concern.

"I'd rather you didn't," Hermione said. "I'm sure there has to be a way for me to warm up."

"I can stoke the fire some more," Draco suggested, leaning closer to the fire to add extra heat to its flames.

Turning back to Hermione, Draco found she had shuffled even closer to the fire, and he found himself closer to her than he'd ever been before. If of course you didn't count the time she was snuggled up on his chest while in her cat form. Looking into her eyes, he recognised them as belonging to the lovely cat he'd saved, and he wondered how he hadn't noticed the intelligence shining in them while she was a cat.

"Thank you for being so kind," she whispered.

"Just don't tell anyone, it'll ruin my image," Draco returned with a wink.

"Your secret is safe with me," Hermione chuckled, her hands sliding out from under the throw she was wrapped in and brushing Draco's.

"Bloody hell, you are freezing," Draco cried, jerking slightly at how ice-cold Hermione's hands were.

Automatically he grasped Hermione's hands in his and rubbed them to try and get the circulation going properly.

"You've got warm hands," she commented quietly.

"My dip in the lake doesn't seem to have affected me," Draco replied, still rubbing Hermione's hands in his. "But then again, you were in there a lot longer than I was. Are you sure you don't want me to call Madam Pomfrey?"

"I'm sure," Hermione clarified. "Maybe I need to put more clothes on."

"That could be a solution," Draco agreed, unable to stop his eyes from drifting over Hermione's body which was still wrapped in the throw, acutely aware that underneath she was wearing nothing at all.

With a small smile, Hermione removed her hands from Draco's and pushed herself to her feet. Even before it happened, Draco was on alert, and as such he was able to catch Hermione as her legs cramped beneath her and she virtually ended up sprawled on his lap.

"Sorry," she apologised, her lips only inches away from Draco's.

"Don't be sorry, you're clearly not ready to stand," Draco replied softly. "I think we need to try and warm the rest of you up before you try and stand again."

"What do you suggest?" Hermione asked. "Using your warm hands on other cold parts of my body."

Draco's eyes widened at Hermione's suggestion and he couldn't contain the small moan that left his mouth as he had images of sliding his hands under the throw and running his warm hands all over Hermione's exposed flesh.

"I shouldn't have said that," Hermione muttered, lowering her eyes as a blush stained her cheeks.

"Why?" Draco questioned in a slightly hoarse voice. "Were you not thinking about my hands on you?"

"It just slipped out," Hermione admitted, raising her eyes enough for Draco to see they were swimming with heat.

"Maybe it was your subconscious suggesting the best way to warm you up," Draco said softly, cupping Hermione's face in his hand and running his thumb over her cheek.

"Malfoy," Hermione whispered, her lips inching closer to Draco's. "I'm not sure this is a good idea."

"What? Warming you up?" Draco asked innocently. "I think it's a very good idea. We can't have you freezing to death, can we?"

"I'm anything but cold now," Hermione muttered. "In fact I'm feeling rather flushed."

"That's good to know," Draco said with a slight smirk as he dropped his hand from Hermione's face and slipped it under the throw wrapped around her. However, the second his hand made contact with her leg, he jerked slightly at the chill he still felt on her skin. "That is not warm, Granger, that is cold. You're still freezing."

"Only on the outside," Hermione whispered.

"Maybe I need to help warm your outsides," Draco suggested, returning his hand to Hermione's chilly leg and rubbing his palm over her skin until it started to warm. "Where else is chilly?"

"Everywhere," Hermione admitted, her eyes dark with lust as she gazed at Draco.

"Do you want me to warm you up?" Draco asked thickly, knowing that Hermione understood what he was really wanting to know.

"More than I realised," Hermione returned. "I think I've been waiting for you to warm me up all year."

"Really?" Draco's eyes widened at Hermione's confession as he also allowed himself to admit that he'd wanted Hermione long before he'd seen her naked in front of the fire. The incident today had merely been the catalyst that allowed them both to admit to an attraction they'd both tried to deny since they'd started living together in September.

"Really," Hermione confirmed in a soft voice, reaching out for Draco and running her chilly hand down his cheek. "Warm me up, Draco."

Not needing a second invitation, Draco pulled Hermione closer to him and connected their lips in a searing kiss as the hand under the throw trailed up her icy skin. Hungrily returning the kiss, Hermione pressed closer to Draco, causing the throw to slip from her shoulder and reveal the top of her breast.

"For someone so full of fire, you are ice cold," Draco murmured as his lips trailed down Hermione's neck to her exposed shoulder.

"But your hands are warming me nicely," Hermione gasped as his warm hand closed around her naked breast, tweaking her nipple between his fingers.

"Not just my hands, I hope," Draco returned, dipping his head lower and replacing the hand on Hermione's breast with his mouth.

"Not just your hands," Hermione confirmed with a shudder as she tangled her fingers in Draco's thick blond hair and crushed him even closer to her.

Draco could feel Hermione's skin warming up beneath his heated touch as he slipped the remainder of the throw off her shoulders, leaving it to pool around her waist. Turning his attention to her second breast, he warmed it the same way he'd done the first while Hermione's fingers ran through his hair as she let out whimpers of desire.

"Body heat is supposed to be one the best ways to warm people up," Hermione remarked, gently tugging on Draco's hair to get him to raise his head.

"Isn't that what I'm doing?" Draco asked.

"I meant full-on body heat," Hermione whispered as her fingers trailed down Draco's side and slid underneath his shirt. "You should use your whole body to warm me up."

"All of it?" Draco checked, the words almost sticking in his throat as Hermione's fingers dipped below the waistband of his trousers.

"All of it," Hermione confirmed in a throaty whisper. "Unless you're not up for the task?" she asked innocently.

"I'm up for it," Draco promised, rearranging Hermione on his lap so that she could feel how up for it he was.

"So you are," Hermione purred, brazenly rubbing herself against Draco's straining erection.

With a low growl, Draco crushed Hermione to him and reconnected their lips in a searing kiss. Wrapped in each other's arms they tumbled backwards onto the floor with Draco pressed against Hermione. When they finally broke for air, Hermione smirked at Draco and pushing him off her, she casually discarded the throw, leaving herself totally bare to her heated gaze.

"If you're not careful you'll catch a chill," Draco remarked, his grey eyes taking in the sight of Hermione's pert breasts with perfect rosy nipples, her flat stomach and the patch of brown curls between her thighs.

"Then you better warm me up before I freeze again," Hermione said, shivering slightly even though she was in front of the roaring fire.

"That I can do," Draco grinned as he tugged off his shirt.

Aware that Hermione's gaze was on him, and liking the fact she seemed entranced with his body, Draco slowly unbuckled his trousers and slid them down his legs. Left in just his black boxers, he then knelt down beside Hermione and ran his hand down her bare body, his fingers finally settling between her legs.

"You're wearing too much," Hermione pouted with a moan as Draco's fingers playfully teased her. "You're supposed to be warming me with all of your body."

"I fully intend to," Draco vowed, leaning over Hermione and connecting his lips with hers.

As they kissed, Hermione's hands trailed down Draco's toned torso and tugged his underwear down his legs.

"That's better," she whispered in Draco's ear as she gently ran her fingers over his erection, causing him to moan and buck his hips into her hand. "This will warm me up nicely."

"It'll warm us both up," Draco gasped, determined to make Hermione burn with the passion he felt bubbling inside him.

"Sounds good to me," Hermione returned as she tugged Draco closer to her, his erection nudging her lower lips.

"Are you sure about this, Granger?" Draco asked, pausing before thing went too far and they would be unable to stop.

"I'm sure," Hermione replied, smiling at Draco's thoughtfulness. "I want this, Malfoy. I want you."

"Draco," Draco corrected, brushing his lips against her ear. "When you scream my name in ecstasy, I want it to be my first name."

"You've got to make me scream first," Hermione teased, rubbing her chest against Draco's and smirking at the groan that left him as her nipples grazed his smooth skin.

"That I can do," Draco promised, dipping his head and giving Hermione a lingering kiss. "Hermione," he whispered as they broke the kiss.

"I like that," Hermione purred. "I like how my name sounds on your lips. Say it again."

"Hermione," Draco whispered, his hands ghosting over Hermione's skin as their lips gently brushed against each other. "Say my name," he ordered her.

"Make me," Hermione challenged with a smirk as she nipped at Draco's ear.

"I intend to," Draco promised, closing the small gap between their lips and ending their conversation.

As their kisses became more heated, Draco buried himself inside Hermione, eliciting cries of pleasure from them both.

"Are you feeling warmer?" he whispered in Hermione's ear.

"Never hotter," Hermione returned breathlessly. "You're good at getting a girl's blood heated."

"I can get it even hotter," Draco boasted with a smirk as he pulled back out of Hermione and slammed back into her.

"Oh god," Hermione cried, her body moving in perfect rhythm with Draco's.

"I prefer Draco," Draco bit out, trying not to lose control before he'd made Hermione scream his name. Which wasn't at all easy as it felt amazing to be buried inside Hermione.

"Draco," Hermione gasped as his lips brushed over a sensitive spot on her neck and she arched against him.

"We should have done this months ago," Draco remarked with a groan.

"We should," Hermione agreed. "But we're doing it now. I'm so pleased I fell into the Black Lake and you saved me."

"Me too," Draco said with a slight chuckle. "Thank Merlin you turn into a pretty little cat. It was my pleasure to rescue you."

"And mine," Hermione gasped, clinging tighter to Draco as she felt her pleasure begin to mount.

"I can't last much longer," Draco admitted through clenched teeth as their fevered bodies continued to move in perfect sync with each other.

"Then make me scream your name," Hermione challenged.

With a chuckle, Draco slanted his lips over Hermione's while his hand dipped in-between them where they were joined. Trailing his lips down Hermione's neck, his fingers brushed against her sensitive nub. Within seconds Hermione was panting and moaning loudly and a smirk crept over Draco's lips as his name repeatedly fell from hers as she began to shudder and convulse around him. Feeling Hermione come apart around him was enough to send Draco over the edge and with a final few thrusts into Hermione's quivering heat, he found his own blissful release, Hermione's name falling from his lips as he did so.

"I'm not cold any-more," Hermione remarked after a few minutes as they lay tangled in a messy heap in front of the fire.

"Glad to be of service," Draco grinned, reluctantly removing himself from Hermione.

"Although, I don't want to suffer a relapse," Hermione remarked, stopping Draco before he moved too far away from her. "I think it's best you kept your warmth on hand. I might need warming up again."

"I was heading up to my room, I guess you'll just have to join me," Draco said with a smirk. "I'm sure I can keep you warm in my bed."

"I'm sure you can," Hermione laughed as the pair scrambled to their feet.

Not bothering to pick up Draco's discarded clothes and the throw which had been wrapped around Hermione, the pair headed up to Draco's bedroom. Settling down in the head boy's room, they proceeded to spend the rest of the day ensuring that Hermione kept warm and didn't suffer any after effects of being in the cold water so long. Although the only real fall-out from the incident was that the head students had been given a chance to admit their attraction to one another, and the end result was the start of a blossoming romance between the pair.

The End.