Disclaimer: I don't own any recognizable characters or settings.


It was lunch, and only the second day of Hermione's sixth year at Hogwarts. The excitement from the first years was radient, she could hear the chatter and laughs. Not that returnees were also overjoyed to be back at the beautiful school, they were just as loud and excited, finding old friends, catching up, everything was just good. She was sitting in between Ron and Ginny, with Harry across from Ron. Lavender and Parvati were sitting across from Hermione as well. Here parents had encouraged her to make new friends this year, leave her comfort zone, so that's what she had been attempting to do. The boys were caught up in an in depth conversation about Quidditch, while Hermione tried to keep up with the giggly girls who surrounded her. She was so bad at this. No wonder she'd always gotten along better with Ron and Harry.

Suddenly Ginny spun to face Hermione. Her face was lit up and she was laughing. "Truth or dare Mi?" She exclaimed excitedly. Sadly, the brunette was a bit clueless as to what they'd been scheming, so, she foolishly chose dare expecting something innocent. Maybe a 'eat ten of these' or 'take something from the boy's dorm'. That was what usually happened in this game, right? She hadn't ever played. That didn't happen.

Ginny leaned over the table, and huddled together with Lavender and Parvati, the trio now aflutter with whispers. Suddenly Hermione had a wretched feeling in the pit of her stomach, unable to hear what they were saying in the noisy Great Hall. Knowing these girls, and those expressions, this couldn't be a good thing. But then they all faced her once again. The bad feeling and butterflies remained firmly planted in her stomach.

"We dare you to... Kiss Draco Malfoy. Right here, right now." Ginny said calmly, a mischievous grin on her lips.

"What? No! Everyone would see! He'll freak out! Come on Gin, are you serious?" The girl pleaded nervously, casting a glance at the silver blond across the Hall. She would easily admit that he was handsome, not shy about it, but he was an ass. She didn't blame him for it, thinking it was mostly a result of bad parenting, but still. Why would she want to kiss the schoolyard bully? Although, maybe that was the point of a dare, taking you out of your comfort zone. It seemed to fit with her goals this year.

"Deadly serious. Go." Ginny urged, pushing her gently out of her seat. It wasn't hard to notice that once she stood and walked off, Ginny had told Harry and Ron to watch, not telling what would happen. Hermione was slightly afraid of her friends' reactions, but was sure they'd understand it was just a dare.

Screw it. It's a new year. It's not like it's outlawed for students to kiss. Just get it over with and run back. Hermione thought nervously, Or run screaming from the Great Hall. That'd work too.

Suddenly, all to fast, she was standing behind him. She tapped his shoulder gently. "Malfoy, stand up for a second." This was not going to end well, and she knew it, but by now it was too late. She was already there, and this was happening wether she was ready or not. She summoned up her famous Gryffindore courage and took a deep breath.

He spun, glaring at Hermione with those pretty grey eyes, an eyebrow raised. "What do you want mudblood?" He growled, standing anyways. Why, she'd never know, maybe it was just morbid curiosity. Either way, he was now out of his seat, glaring down at the girl, his entire table focused on them to see what would happen.

Draco was nearly six feet, and her a meager 5'5', so she had to get him to lean down some how. Suddenly, her hand reached out, like it had a mind of its own, grabbing his green and silver tie and pulling it downwards sharply. At the same time, she stood on her tiptoes. Apparently, the poor Slytherin hadn't been expecting this, and was off balance enough to lean down towards her.

Then, they were really close. Hermione had a spilt second to think, she closed her eyes, and then they were kissing. The girl hadn't expecting much, maybe a quick peck on the lips before he pushed her away and shouted insults, but once again, her intuition betrayed her. Obviously Malfoy was stunned, but after he'd figured out what was happening, she felt on hand wrap around to her lower back, pushing the two close together, very close, her whole body pressed against Draco Malfoy of all people, the other one grabbing the back of her head.

It was different. She wasn't supposed to like kissing her main source of grief for the last few years, but she did. He was warm, although maybe that was just here, obviously blushing, her entire body getting warmer than usual, even in the warm school robes. For some reason, she was smiling, seeming to forget that this wasn't supposed to be enjoyable.

They spent a good minute fighting for control of the kiss, trying to get closer to each other. While keeping a hand around his tie, Hermione's other hand found it's way around his neck, taking a handful of his silky robes, pulling him down towards her even farther. This was rough, and passionate and hungry, and not what she had expected to happen. His hands roamed, and she didn't even feel the need to stop them, even with the entire Hall watching. Then, with a screech, Pansy Parkinson leaped up from her seat, forcing the two apart. Apparently she'd been in shock, just staring the entire time they'd been kissing.

"What the hell was that Granger? You've gone crazy!" The girl's shill voice exclaimed, almost making Hermione clasp her hands over her ears. But, all Pansy got in return was a shrug, and a playful smirk sent at Draco as she went back to the Gryffindore table.

Silence. Dead quiet. No one said a word, anywhere.

The object of all their stares quietly took her seat again, as if nothing had happened. The butterflies were gone, and the stares didn't even register in her mind. Hermione was on a high from that kiss, and honestly nothing else mattered. Eventually the kids stated whispering, and then speaking once again. The professors sat in stunned silence, even they were staring, open mouthed, at the Gryffindore Princess.

Then the girls beside her squealed. Ginny hugged her shoulders, and Lavender grabbed her hands across the table. A glance to her left told poor Hermione that the boys were none too happy with her antics.

"Was he a good kisser?" Lavender asked.

"They call him the sex god of Slytherin, was it that good?" Ginny whispered, acting scandalized. Of course that's all she cared about.

"It looked awesome, I was not expecting that." Parvati said breathlessly.

Before Hermione had a chance to answer, the other two thirds of the Golden Trio piped up.

"What the hell 'Mione?! Why'd you kiss the ferret?" Ron exclaimed, his eyes bugging out of his scull.

"Malfoy? Really? Were you trying to make a scene?" Harry asked, looking just dumbstruck. Apparently they still hadn't been filled in on the fact that this was a dare.

The poor girl was coming down from her high, and the blush from her kiss was increasing even more with all the attention. Maybe that hadn't really been thought through. But it was sure as hell fun, and left her totally breathless, not what she'd expected from a kiss with Malfoy. Hermione, didn't bother answering, just let all her friends chatter away as she stole a glance at the boy she'd just snogged in front of the whole school. He was being violently scolded by Pansy, who was yelling, and even slapped his shoulders a few times.

Draco payed her no mind, staring right back at Hermione. And she liked it. She liked the fact that he was staring at her. Why?


Lunch had eventually ended, and Hermione had went through her afternoon classes painfully aware as everyone whispered and stared and pointed at her when they thought she wasn't looking. She tried her hardest to stay focused in class, and was failing miserably. It was supposed to be a dare, kiss and be done with it, but she couldn't get him off her mind.

His stormy silver eyes, that upon closer inspection were filled with little blue flecks of all shades. His platinum blond hair was surprisingly soft and silky, now that he had stopped gelling his hair back ridiculously. He smelled amazing, and not that she'd ever imagined it, but he smelled different than she could've ever expected. An intoxicating mix of vanilla and a few other things she couldn't quite name off the top of her head. Malfoy was also more muscular than she had imagined, hidden beneath his robes, probably the effects of playing Quidditch for four years. With a small sigh, she spaced out again.

The the bell rang, alerting Hermione to the fact that she'd dreamed her way through another class. Well done. She gathered her book and quills and notes, stuffing them all in her bag and rushing out into the hallway before her professor could asked her why she hadn't been paying attention, because honestly, she didn't have a good answer. After moving about 100 yards down the hallway, she paused to check her schedule, caught off guard when someone slammed into her, pushing the small girl towards the wall. She barely had time to register what was happening.

"Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Hermione exclaimed, managing to look up just as her back was pushed against the wall, someone's arms on either side of her head blocking her escape. The face of her assailant revealed that he was none other than Draco Malfoy, his eyes narrowed. He looked annoyed, probably about to yell, and she had a feeling that she knew what this was about.

"What the hell was that stunt you pulled at lunch?" Draco asked firmly. She could see quite well that there was no way out of this conversation. Even so, she tried turnig away, but he was firmly planted, his arms not moving an inch. With a sigh, she turned back to face him, leaning heavily on the wall.

Even if he wasn't touching her, he was extremely close, making it very hard for her to focus. "It was a dare Malfoy. Don't let it go to your head." She managed to say, barely able to breathe. There was a huge blush spreading across her cheeks, the light shade of pink making her look adorable. Her brown eyes couldn't manage to meet his grey ones, and there was a slight flutter in her voice. For some reason she really wanted him to touch her. Really, really wanted that. But it was conflicting. He was Draco, her main tormentor, obviously she didn't want him to touch her. Right?

He raised an eyebrow, apparently not totally convinced. She worried that he had picked up on her body language. "So this doesn't affect you at all?" He taunted, moving closer so that his body now pressed against hers and his hand rested on her hip. "Are you sure Granger?" He whispered in her ear. His voice was low and softy, somewhat gravelly, and his face was so close.

Honestly she almost melted, knees literally going weak. If the wall hadn't been there, she would have collapsed. "Not at all. And I've got class soon Draco."

There was a triumphant smirk, whether he'd felt her got weak, or seen her start sweating, or noticed that she called him 'Draco' for the first time, or all of the above, the Slytherin was now convinced Hermione was attracted to him. He suddenly stepped back, removing his hand and walking away. "See you around." He called. She had a feeling this wasn't over.

The curly haired girl took a second to steady her breathing, almost sad that his warmth had suddenly left her alone in this drafty hallway. But, either way, she scurried off to class, late for the first time ever.


A/N: Thank you for reading! Please review, it means so much to me whether it's constructive criticism or complements or even requests for a future chapter. :)