Draco had never tried so hard to steal a glance of a girl before. His steely eyes followed her every move, sweeping across the Great Hall as if she was the only one there. He watched as she had the time of her life in the arms of another man.

For once, Draco Malfoy and Ron Weasley had something in common. Both were seemingly hypnotized by the young woman dancing with Viktor Krum.

It seems Granger cleans up well, Draco thought with a smirk. He felt a smack on his arm and thought for one alarming moment that Pansy had read his mind. But when he finally managed to drag his eyes away from Granger, all he saw was her retreating figure as she muttered something about finding someone who would pay attention to her. He didn't care though, because Granger had just unglued herself from Krum and sat down with Potter and Weasley.

Draco observed them curiously. She seemed winded; her cheeks were flushed and her normally bushy hair was sleek, and starting to fall free from her loose bun, but she didn't seem to care. Draco found it incredibly adorable.

It used to unnerve him that he was attracted to Hermione Granger. After years of putting up with her quiet dignity and completely immodest and inexhaustible knowledge, he became honest with himself and decided it was perfectly alright to compliment her on the inside, so long as he was still harsh and cruel on the outside.

After all, the chances of him ever being with her were slim to none. Even if, by some strange series of events, she happened to fancy him, disapproval would bombard them so heavily and consistently that the mere pressure of friends, family, and history would be enough to doom the relationship.

But you don't care, said a characteristically Slytherin voice in Draco's head. You don't care what anyone thinks. You won't ask her out because you're scared. Draco sighed aloud and knew it was true. Disapproval he could deal with. Rejection, however, was another thing entirely.

As Granger stormed off away from her friends, Draco realized she was angry. He risked a glance to where Potter and Weasley were still seated. Potter looked aloof, as usual; Weasley was scarlet, as usual. But there was something else. He looked angry and almost...jealous. Draco, for once, sympathized. In his opinion, nothing good could come of this Krum oaf. Weasley seemed to hear what he was thinking, because he looked over at Draco, who pretended to be waving to someone over his shoulder.

He heard an exaggerated sigh and a sniffle to his right. Draco turned in his chair to find none other than Hermione Granger, nothing short of positively distraught and looking simply stunning in her periwinkle robes.

His mind raced. Did she sit next to me on purpose? His heart did a flip before a second, more cynical voice spoke up. Of course not. She's obviously upset. The only reason she would purposefully sit next to you is if she wanted to be more upset. Draco entertained the idea for a moment, then let it float away as a better, riskier idea surfaced. He furrowed his brow and determined his next course of action.

"I never would have expected that color to like nice on you," he drawled. She looked over at him, her caramel eyes shining and red. It was a back-handed compliment, he knew, but he couldn't just come out and say she looked nice. For Merlin's sake, what would she make of that?

He held his breath while she looked at him disbelievingly for a long time, and he moved his eyes elsewhere, waiting for her to say something, or to continue crying. He found nothing interesting to watch on the dance floor, seeing as she was no longer dancing, and his eyes came to rest again on Weasley, who was watching the pair with curiosity, then he bent over his lap and massaged his brow.

Just when Draco was going to excuse himself, Granger's eyes still boring into the side of his head, Krum came back with two plastic cups of what Draco assumed was punch. He muttered something to Granger and she stood up. As the pair passed Draco's table and back into the center of the Hall, he heard the softest "thank you," and looked up to see Granger smiling faintly at her shoes.

His heart both sank and lifted as he realized she had taken his comment for what it really was: a compliment.