Author's Note: Ok, so some of the ridiculous things my friends and I used to do in high school to show that we liked a boy were recently brought to my attention (wearing soda can tabs, wearing their watches, making up languages so we could write notes about them that they couldn't understand, using letter stickers to write their name on our hips and then going out and getting a suntan... all kinds of silly things) and then a scene of Hermione losing a bet and being forced to do something to publicly declare her "love" for Draco popped into my head and I couldn't resist writing it out. Hope you like it! =)

Oh and also, before you read this story you need to know that it is totally AU. There was no war, no Voldemort, just normal teenage rivalries between Slytherin and Gryffindor. Honestly, if you stick to the facts there's just no way you can like Draco, and turning him into a hero, while vastly satisfying, takes longer than I wanted to devote to this story so... no war... just go with it.

XXX

Hermione Granger had lost her bloody mind.

At least, that's what the current circumstances would lead one to believe.

Let's examine the facts shall we?

1. She was wearing a silver chain around her neck with letters on it. While normally that would not be a cause for suspected insanity, the fact that these particular letters happened to be D-R-A-C-O, certainly was.

2. When questioned about said necklace she had smiled a rather forced looking smile and replied, "I can't help myself. He's just so delicious."

Harry Potter choked on his pumpkin juice.

Hermione Granger had just called Draco Malfoy delicious. He sent Ron a sharp look across the breakfast table and saw his friend nod in understanding.

Something had to be done.

Both boys lunged for her at once and before she realized what was happening she was trapped, her arms pinned to her sides by Ron's crushing embrace and her wand snatched away by Harry.

"What are you doing!" She shrieked with anger and struggled to free herself. "Ronald Weasley you let go of me this instant!"

"Sorry, Mione," Ron said apologetically as Harry pointed his wand at her, "but you've obviously been cursed. Just hold still so Harry can fix you."

Hermione stopped struggling and let out an defeated sigh, cursing under her breath something about "revenge" and " that damned ferret". She stood still while Harry performed every test known to wizardkind to check for magical influence of behavior.

He didn't find any.

He signaled Ron to let her go and stared at her with an utterly baffled look on his face.

"Hermione, what the bloody hell is going on?"

If only she could tell him.

~1 Hour Earlier~

Hermione glared at the arrogant head boy from her place at the mirror in their shared bathroom and was incredibly thankful that she had managed to get dressed before he'd barged in.

"Malfoy, I swear by all that is holy if you don't get out of here right now I will hex you. It's my turn in the bathroom."

"Don't get your knickers in a twist Granger, I just need to grab my hair potion."

She scoffed as he crossed the room and grabbed the small bottle out of the cupboard. "Didn't get it quite right in the hour and a half you were already in here this morning?" She took pleasure in his scowl as he started running his fingers through his already completely perfect looking hair.

Score one for me.

"Good looks require upkeep Granger. Something you obviously are un-familiar with."

Ouch. And that ties it up.

Barbs and insults were thrown daily in the Head dorms and Hermione kept herself from murdering him by at least holding her own. Hell, most of the time she got in the first shot of the day, but today she was not in the mood and she pulled her wand on him with every intention of following through on her threat.

His eyes took on an amused glint and his characteristic smirk graced his lips as he turned to face her. "Granger, do you really think you could best me in a duel?"

If not for the slight tensing of his shoulders she might have believed his apparent nonchalance. As it was, she wasn't buying it. He was perfectly aware of her capabilities and he would be a fool not to be at least a bit apprehensive.

"Actually, Malfoy, I don't have the slightest doubt."

In truth she was just as aware of his capabilities, and no one would call Hermione Granger a fool, but if he wanted to play this game then she wasn't going to back down.

"What would you be willing to bet on that?"

She stilled at that and his smirk turned into a full blown evil grin.

"Not scared to raise the stakes a bit are you, Granger?"

She glared at him and set her shoulders. "I'm not scared of you, Malfoy. You want to make it more interesting? Fine." She smiled in a way that made him more than a little nervous. "If I win, you have to shave your head. And you can't grow it back magically. For a month."

He blanched a bit at that and she relished his moment of fear before he swiftly regained his cool demeanor and eyed her speculatively.

"Fine. If I win, you have to wear the claim tag of a Slytherin. And you can't tell anyone that you're only doing it because you lost a duel. In fact, when your friends ask you about it you have to say... 'I can't help myself. He's just so delicious.'"

Hermione instantly rebelled at the idea of wearing a guy's name around her neck, a fad among the girls that she had vehemently spoken out against. "What on earth would posses you to let a guy stamp his claim on you as if you were a piece of luggage? It's barbaric." The girls just giggled and rolled their eyes at her as if there was something they knew that she didn't.

She huffed at her nemesis because she knew he was well aware of her stance on that issue. However, she supposed she deserved it for going after his hair. It was now a fairly even risk for both of them. She nodded her agreement.

"Fine. Whoever successfully incapacitates their opponent wins." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Using magic only." She'd seen him tackle an opponent on the dueling field and while she thought they were fairly equal in the magical strength department, she was perfectly aware of how much bigger than her he was. She wouldn't stand a chance if he resorted to physical strength.

Draco held up his hands in a false gesture of innocence. "I wouldn't dream of using that tactic on a girl, Granger. Well, at least not outside the bedroom anyway."

He smirked at the way she couldn't help a blush from creeping over her face at the blatantly suggestive tone of his voice. Damn ferret. She knew he only did it to unnerve her. Her flustered reactions to his sexual comments never ceased to amuse him.

"Cut the crap, Malfoy, and formally agree to the terms."

He chuckled at her glare and recited the binding charm. "I, Draco Malfoy, do enter this duel of my own free will and agree to bide by the rules and conditions set."

She repeated the vow and the Head's bathroom flashed with a multitude of colors as the two opponents began to duel.

Charms and jinxes flew at an alarming rate and both of them realized they had slightly underestimated their enemy. Draco dropped his casual act and began to put more effort into his assaults, managing to back Hermione up into the common room. Hermione countered with a combination of hexes that had him staggering under the strain to block them all. Back and forth the battle raged with neither gaining much ground until...

"You're getting slow, Malfoy." Hermione teased as her body bind curse hit Draco in the chest and abruptly ceased his motion. She sauntered up to face him and the smile on her face was triumphant.

"Hmm, frozen and completely at my mercy. I believe that makes me the winner. It's just so sad," she said with fake sympathy as she reached up to take a lock of his silvery hair in her hand, "All of your annoying little groupies are going to be heartbroken."

She had barely finished her sentence before she found herself tied up to the nearest chair and a very un-frozen Malfoy was grabbing her wand.

"Tsk tsk, Granger," he drawled devilishly, "You seem to forget that the greatest practitioner of silent magic on the planet happens to be my godfather. You should have disarmed me before gloating." A smile took over his face as he looked over her helpless state. "Hmm, tied up and completely at my mercy. I believe that makes me the winner."

Hermione fumed at her mistake and was so absorbed in berating herself that she didn't notice the positively evil grin that graced his face or the fact that he had circled around behind her. When his fingers brushed against the back of her neck to sweep her hair to the side she jumped and was rewarded with a dark chuckle.

"No need to get twitchy, Granger." His voice was far too close to her ear for her comfort and she was suddenly very aware of how vulnerable she was. Tied up and at his mercy. Her breath caught in her throat and a heated, tingling sensation she told herself was fear-based swept over her body.

"I'm just making sure you won't be able to remove your punishment. Just remember that you brought this on yourself. You really shouldn't have made that comment about annoying groupies."

She felt him drape the necklace around her throat and clasp it while muttering a sticking charm. His fingers seemed to linger a bit longer than necessary and her stomach fluttered with what she assured herself was disgust. Then, as suddenly as she had been incarcerated, she was free, and she turned to see him disappearing through the portrait door.

What on earth? She was shocked that he hadn't stayed to gloat but was too distraught about who's name he had put on her necklace to give it much thought. She stood and walked into the bathroom to have a look in the mirror.

And shrieked.

"Malfoy, you evil horrible little git!"

No wonder he ran.

~End Flashback~

Draco Malfoy was having a terribly difficult time containing his mirth. He ducked his head down and pretended to concentrate on his food to hide his smirk.

Potter and Weasley had just lunged to attack Granger over the breakfast table.

The entire hall turned to watch the spectacle and now everyone was dying to know what was going on. He couldn't have engineered a better way for word of her supposed love for him to spread. By noon the entire school would know. That should teach her not to challenge me.

He smiled at her impending humiliation and pushed the slightly unsettling events of earlier out of his mind.

So what if he'd noticed that her hair was surprisingly soft against his fingers, or that she smelled like fresh apples? He could hardly be faulted for having nerve endings and a keen sense of smell now could he? Yes, he'd taken great pleasure at seeing her tied up and at his mercy, but that was to be expected. It was only fitting he should feel that way after finally besting her at something. And he most definitely had not run out of the room because he found himself wanting to lean in and taste her skin. He'd just decided it would be better not to be there when she discovered his name around her neck.

There was absolutely nothing unusual going on.

He looked up from his plate to see her being held tightly in Weasley's arms and his self satisfied smile abruptly left his face. A very strange and unsettling feeling began to take hold of him at the sight of her pressed up against the weasel and he suddenly had an overwhelming desire to hex him. When she relaxed against the wanker's chest the feeling increased tenfold.

Blaise Zabini eyed his friend suspiciously "Are you ok, mate?"

"I'm fine, why?" Draco was surprised by the low, dangerous tone of his voice.

"Well, you've got a death grip on your fork and you're staring at Weasley as though you'd like nothing more than to murder him tonight in his sleep."

Draco forced himself to look away from the scene across the room as he took in what Blaise had said. He had a rigid spine, clenched teeth and a slightly bent fork.

Oh, this is not good.

XXX

Hermione ground her teeth as she walked into her first class of the day and pretended not to notice how everyone was turning in their chairs to whisper about her. Damn that sneaky ferret. He just had to rub it in a little harder didn't he?

Any other Slytherin she could have dealt with. She would not have been having a picnic, but it wouldn't have been a disaster. But to have to pretend to be lovesick over Draco Malfoy was the worst kind of humiliation for her and he knew it. She was constantly berating the collection of stupid twits who fell all over themselves to try and get his attention and now to have to pretend to be one of them was galling.

She could not believe how many of them there were. I mean really, what is the appeal? He was an arrogant, narcissistic prat who insulted everyone and anyone who happened to be in his line of vision.

Yes, she could admit he was handsome. Anyone with eyes could see that. It was one of those things that was just a fact, and she had no problem acknowledging facts. But every time he opened his mouth his looks were rendered completely irrelevant as he was sure to be saying something to annoy her.

She turned to glare at the cause of her ire and found him staring... right at her.

XXX

Draco Malfoy had lost his bloody mind.

At least, that's what the current circumstances would lead one to believe.

Let's examine the facts shall we?

1. He was currently staring at Hermione Granger. Not glaring. Not smirking. Just plain staring because he couldn't seem to force himself to stop. The sight of his name around her neck was having a disastrous side effect on him. It was supposed to be humiliating her, not turning him on.

2. He'd just had an unsettlingly graphic daydream about her in which she was stretched out on his desk and very enthusiastically responding to him as he peeled the clothes from her body and explored every inch of her skin. With his mouth.

He fisted his hands in his hair and closed his eyes, trying to force that image from his brain.

This is definitely not good.

He absolutely could not be attracted to Granger. It was the worst sort of foolishness, and not because she was muggle born, bossy, stubborn, and a damned know it all who lived to aggravate him, but because she bloody hated him.

A feeling he'd thought was mutual until this morning.

Until he'd felt her skin under his fingertips. Until he'd realized that she was the only girl he knew who wasn't afraid to give him hell. And he loved it. He loved the way she challenged him. He was bored out of his mind with the simpering twits that followed him around. Hermione Granger would never be boring.

Damn it all to hell.

There was absolutely no way she would ever let him do the things that were currently tormenting his brain, so allowing these thoughts to continue was simply masochistic.

He would make them stop.

He had to.

His eyes drifted back to her of their own accord and he cursed his lack of control. He'd almost gotten ahold of himself when she turned in her chair to glare at him. Their eyes locked and he couldn't make himself care that he'd just been caught staring.

Her glare faded and a questioning look took its place. He knew he needed to smirk at her, or give her a glare of his own so she would stop wondering why he had been staring, but he just couldn't make himself do it.

XXX

What is he staring at? Hermione resisted the urge to check her hair or her clothing to see if anything was out of place, not wanting to give him the satisfaction of knowing he unsettled her if this was some sort of joke. She simply kept her eyes locked with his and waited for the answer to present itself.

When it did she almost dropped her quill in surprise.

His eyes were swirling with what was unmistakably desire.

Holy mother of Merlin.

He looked as though he wanted to devour her. To press her down on his desk and claim her.

She had never been on the receiving end of a look like that and it was completely scrambling her brain. That warm shaky feeling from earlier was back and was quickly taking over her entire body. This time there was no mistaking it for fear.

Her body was responding to the promises his eyes were making.

It didn't seem to matter that she loathed him.

She realized she wasn't breathing and sharply sucked in a bit of air. The oxygen must have helped because she managed to turn away from him, but not before a damning blush could take over her features. Her stomach was fluttering and her heart was pounding out of control.

What the hell?

XXX

She was blushing.

Draco leaned forward in his chair and took in the stiffness in her spine, the erratic pattern of her breathing and the way her quill was shaking ever so slightly. She was more than a little affected.

Bloody blistering hell.

His brain started to fill with the possibility that he could make her want him. He thought about the events of this morning and how she had shivered at his touch. At the time he'd thought she did it on purpose as an effective way of saying he made her skin crawl. Now he was beginning to wonder if it had been something else entirely.

The smile that took over his face was just a bit frightening as he came to a decision that there was no turning back from.

He was going to seduce Hermione Granger.

XXX

Hermione somehow managed to make it through the rest of the day, and although by all accounts it should have, the world did not come to an end.

I am not attracted to Malfoy. I am not attracted to Malfoy.

She kept saying this to herself over and over again, hoping that the next time it might by true.

What the hell is wrong with me? Is this what happened to the rest of his fan club?

If it was she was going to have to stop giving them a hard time. The compelling force of his gaze was something no one could withstand.

Damn. Damn. Damn him to hell.

She knew he'd only looked at her that way as some sort of sick joke, but even knowing he didn't mean it couldn't dispel the effect it was having on her.

She sighed in frustration and pushed open the portrait to their common room. Thankfully, he was nowhere to be seen and she heaved a sigh of relief as she dumped her books onto the coffee table on her way to the bathroom. There was no way she was going to be able to study tonight. What she needed was a nice hot soak and to try to shut off her brain for an hour or so.

She put every locking charm she knew on the door before she began to undress. Just in case.

Her eyes strayed to the mirror as she ran the bath and the sight of his name gleaming around her neck made her wonder what it would feel like to truly belong to him. Suddenly, she understood the appeal of a guy staking his claim.

Score two for the stupid twits she had previously scorned.

As she sank into the bubbles, she closed her eyes and tried very hard to think of anything but him.

XXX

Draco entered the common room slowly, wand raised, expecting an attack.

He knew her.

She'd had too much time to think since this morning and he just knew she was going to want revenge for what she would undoubtedly perceive as him attempting to mess with her head. He fully anticipated having to tie her down to get her to listen to him peacefully.

And he was wholeheartedly looking forward to it.

He let his guard down when he saw her things on the table and the light on in the bathroom. Walking softly across the room, he pressed his ear against the door... and almost swallowed his own tongue.

He could hear the soft splashes of water that indicated she was in the bathtub and an image of her, naked and barely covered by bubbles assaulted him, forcing a groan from his throat.

It took every ounce of self control he possessed not to undo her locks and get a real image to replace his fantasy, but he knew that would be counter productive. He needed her to let her guard down enough for him to have a chance, something she certainly wouldn't do if he barged in on her naked.

However, he couldn't very well let this opportunity go completely to waist either.

He pulled out his wand and pointed it at the door. "Accio Granger's clothes..."

He looked down at the pile of clothing in his hands and another thought struck him. "...and wand."

Her wand appeared on top of her clothes and he smiled deviously.

Now all he had to do was wait.

XXX

Her clothes were gone.

That was the first thing she noticed as she stepped out of the bathtub and grabbed her towel. The second thing she noticed was that her wand was also missing.

"Malfoy! You dirty little prat!"

She heard chuckling coming from the common room and steam began pouring from her ears. "This isn't funny!"

"On the contrary, Granger, I am highly amused."

As she wrapped her towel tightly around herself, her anger grew and completely overrode her capability for rational thought. Nothing mattered but delivering the slap he so richly deserved. She flung the bathroom door open and stomped toward where he was standing, leaning up against the doorway to his bedroom and smiling as if he'd just won a prize. She hauled back her arm...

and abruptly found her self tied up for the second time that day.

Her hands were bound together at the wrists and anchored above her head. Her feet were tied at the ankles and bound separately. She started to struggle but quickly stopped as she discovered that would do nothing but cause her towel to slip. She was tied up and at his mercy. Again.

Only this time she wasn't tied to a chair.

She was tied to his bed.

Her eyes flew up to meet his and the heat she saw in them made her breath catch in her throat. Angry at herself for letting him get to her, she swallowed her reaction to him and set her chin stubbornly.

"What the hell are you doing?" She was rather proud of the fact that her voice was only a bit unsteady.

"I should think that would be obvious, Granger," he drawled as he came across the room to stand over her. His gaze traveled up and down her helpless form and she couldn't stop the flush of heated anticipation that spread through her body. Fear of her own lack of control increased her anger and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Well, stop it. I'm obviously unwilling to be in your bed so unless you plan to resort to rape you might as well just let me go."

His smile indicated she was less than convincing and she forced herself to stay still as he leaned down over her.

"You're cute when you lie, Granger." He spoke softly into her ear and it was all she could do not to shiver. "I have no intention of resorting to rape." He leaned back to look her in the eyes. "You're going to beg me to take you."

The combination of his words and how close he was to her was crumbling her defenses, but she had no intention of giving in. She pushed every ounce of resolve she had left into one word.

"Never."

His smile returned. "What would you be willing to bet on that?"

Her angry retort was cut off by the feeling of his fingertips trailing down the side of her neck. His smile grew. Smug bastard. She opened her mouth to try again but his fingers continued their journey, again rendering her vocal cords useless and her eyes fluttered closed.

Down they went, across her collarbone to trace along the tops of her breasts at the edge of her towel. Her breathing grew ragged and she forgot what it was she was going to say. That's ok, she assured herself and came up with a new plan. Silence. She would just lay here silent and unresponsive until he gave up.

She lasted all of thirty seconds before her eyes flew open and her body jerked as she felt his teeth scrape across her pulse point. When he applied suction to the spot a low moaning sound escaped her throat. So much for unresponsive. She heard his dark chuckle and realized she must have spoken that out loud but she was beyond caring. His tongue swiped over the small mark he'd made and then began to follow the path his fingers had taken.

He nipped at her collarbone and trailed his lips over her chest in teasing little touches designed to drive her mad. His hair tickled her skin in the wake of his lips and she was lost to the feelings he was stirring in her. By the time she felt the towel slowly sliding down to reveal her to his gaze it was too late.

XXX

Draco leaned back to look at her and the sight of her wearing nothing but his name made his self control exceedingly hard to hold onto. He stilled, trying to reign in the urge to claim her immediately, and then cursed his mistake as he saw her regain some of her resistance in the absence of his touch.

Her eyes flew open and locked on his, the languid sensual look quickly giving way to embarrassed anger. She struggled with her bonds and glared at him.

"All right, Malfoy, you've proved your point. Now let me go. This game you're playing has gone far enough."

He held her gaze as he leaned back over her, letting everything he wanted from her show in his eyes.

"Oh, I'm not playing."

XXX

Hermione stilled at the gravelly tone in his voice and the heat pouring from his eyes.

"But, you couldn't possibly-"

"Want you? I assure you I've been unable to think of anything but wanting you all bloody day."

She was pretty sure his nearness was affecting her brain. Draco Malfoy did not just tell her he wanted her.

He leaned even closer, and her breath caught in her throat.

"The fact that you are the only female in this school that is a match for me hit me over the head like a ton of bricks, so I decided to make you mine."

Yep, she was definitely having some sort of malfunction.

His fingers trailed down the center of her chest and her body arched up into his touch of its own accord. It was really unfair that he could do that to her.

"And you will be mine, Granger."

His fingers continued to lightly trace paths along her torso, making her nerve endings jump.

"Your body is already falling in line. Now I just need to figure out a way to get you to stop thinking so much. Maybe this will help."

His lips came down on hers and his goal was very effectively met. Rational thought became a thing of her past as his mouth claimed hers and she was helpless to do anything but respond to his kiss.

XXX

Draco felt her surrender and groaned into her mouth, kissing her more fiercely and feeling triumph at the sound he dragged from her. He let his lips wander down her throat, over her collarbone to her sternum and back up again. He tasted every inch of her chest until she was writhing beneath him before finally taking one aching tip into his mouth.

She cried out and lifted herself off the bed, struggling with her bonds again. He took a moment to free her and a bolt of pure lust streaked through him as he felt her bury her hands in his hair. She held him to her as he continued to torment her and the small sounds of pleasure she was making were driving him insane.

He needed to be inside her. Now.

He vanished his clothing and the feeling of her skin against his made them both groan. He took her mouth again and slid his knees in between hers, aligning their bodies. Breathless, and more than a little out of control, he pulled back to look down at her.

"Say you're mine, Hermione. Tell me to take you."

XXX

He growled the words at her and she had to struggle to remember why she shouldn't do what he asked as a thrill shot through her core. There was nothing she wanted more at that moment than to have him claim her so she was having trouble with the logic of denying him. The small part of her brain that was still functioning screamed at her that he was arrogant enough already and if she gave in to him now he would be impossible to live with. Oh. Right.

She opened her mouth to tell him no and found herself incapable of speech as his mouth was once again silencing her brain. He kissed her until she was straining against him, trying to get closer and then he broke away and made his demand again.

"Tell me."

Resistance was no longer an option as he was completely in command of her senses.

"Take me, Draco," she heard him groan at her breathy plea and she took pleasure at the fact that she wasn't the only one so affected, "I'm yours."

As soon as the words left her lips he was inside of her and the world around them ceased to exist.

There was nothing but the pleasure of feeling him everywhere, taking her, claiming her. He took control of her body in a way she had never imagined was possible. Every touch, every kiss, every thrust sent her flying towards release. She sunk her nails into his back as her body arched off the bed and she felt him follow her over the edge.

He collapsed onto her for a moment, both of them struggling for breath, before rolling to his back and pulling her across his chest.

"I'm never letting you take that back you know."

She smiled into his chest as his words registered and then pulled herself up to look at him.

"Well, good." Her smile turned devilish. "Because next time I'm going to make you beg."

XXX

Harry Potter had lost his bloody mind.

At least, that's what the current circumstances would lead one to believe.

Let's examine the facts shall we?

1. He was hallucinating. He had to be, because he'd just seen Malfoy and Hermione walk into the great hall for breakfast together. Holding hands.

2. His hallucinations were rapidly worsening. Malfoy just pulled Hermione to him and kissed her in front of the entire student body and she hadn't hexed him. She'd kissed him back.

He choked on his pumpkin juice.

He looked around and saw that he wasn't alone. Just about everyone around him was coughing up something or other at the spectacle.

Okay, so maybe he wasn't hallucinating. He thought he might prefer it if he was.

He caught Ron's eye and they both shrugged in the same sort of confusion.

He shook his head and went back to his breakfast. "I give up."

The whole bloody world was going insane.

XXX

The end! =) I had a ton of fun writing this one so I hope you like it!