Disclaimer: I dont own anything...literally

A/N: okih cant be bothered with much bilge...go easy on me its my first time and just that this story WILL have a sequel, actually it wont be a sequel it will be just continuing the story, but ill cut it in two because I need to change the title half - way through....enjoy

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Chapter 1 – A subject of interest

Her gaze went over the classroom lazily and landed on him, to where he was sitting in front of her in Advanced Potions with a concentrated and very calm expression covering his features. She frowned, it was already January and he hadn't said a nice word to her yet. This was not helping their partnership, not that they had one or that they wanted one.

Hermione Granger sighed as the bell announced the end of class and the school day and she was faced with the fact that she had to go back to the Heads' dorms and be ignored by him again. She frowned at her thoughts – she didn't even care and actually she was the one avoiding him. She glared at him as he brushed past her, making his way out of the dungeons. Death Eater scum! she thought, gritting her teeth and following Harry and Ron, who was cursing Snape about giving Gryffindors extra homework because they are 'such a noisy lot', towards the steps leading out of the dungeons. She bid them goodbye on the second floor and made her way towards the Heads' rooms.

When she entered, Malfoy was sitting in her favourite couch in front of the fire reading "Moste Potente Potions." She narrowed her eyes, she was sure he was sitting on that couch just to annoy her. She wouldn't let him get to her; she walked past him upstairs to her room and emerged minutes later with a Defence Against the Dark Arts book she had snatched from the Room of Requirement, called "Defence For the Defenceless: Ways To Protect Yourself When Wandless." She sat down on a cushion to the left of the couch and started reading. Throughout her parade he didn't move, not even flinch, and never took his eyes off his book. Hermione was irritated by his calm attitude and expressionless actions, but at the same time deep down she admired how a person could conceal themselves thus – a useful skill in her opinion, one worth mustering. She shook her head to clear her thoughts and tried to concentrate on reading, soon enough she was completely immersed in her book.

They both sat there in a piercing silence, reading, neither one acknowledging the others presence as the hours flew by. About ten minutes before 5 o'clock Albus Dumbledore's head appeared in their fireplace. They were so used to this already they didn't even notice until the Headmaster spoke.

"Good evening Mr. Malfoy, Miss Granger."

"Good evening professor Dumbledore," replied Hermione pleasantly with a smile. Draco just nodded curtly.

"Could you please escort yourselves to my office for a meeting? Then we can get matters done before tea," Dumbledore said, returning Hermione's smile.

"Of course," Hermione replied and stood up as Dumbledore's head disappeared. She went to the fireplace and was gone in a swirl of green, Draco followed suit.

In Dumbledore's office they both took a seat behind the Headmaster's desk, opposite him.

"Well, now that we are all here, let us discuss ideas for the Valentine's Ball. Today is the 8th of January and the Valentine's Ball will be held on the 14th of February, as you already know, that gives you and the prefects 5 weeks to plan the dance. Will you be able to organise the event in such time?"

Both Hermione and Draco nodded.

"Good," said Dumbledore approvingly.

For the next half hour they considered ideas for the ball concerning decorations, music and snacks. So maybe it was more like: Hermione talked over ideas with Dumbledore and Draco just observed the two bearing a far away look.

When it was 5.20 the meeting was adjourned and they made their way to dinner. Dumbledore watched the retreating backs of the Head Boy and Girl with a smile and a twinkle in his eye.

"Soon it begins," he whispered and sighed, both from extreme happiness and at the same time unmeasurable sadness, as the door to his office closed.

Hermione stepped down from the spiral staircase behind the stone gargoyle, leading up to Dumbledore's office. She was excited about the ball but even this excitement couldn't brush away the feeling of unease she had got when she noticed the worried glances Dumbledore had sent towards Malfoy throughout the meeting. Why would he worry for him? thought Hermione and didn't even notice that she was still standing in front of the doorway. She snapped back to attention when Malfoy tried to get past her in the narrow corridor and accidentally knocked her into a wall:

"Move Granger!" he said quietly, making his way past her, she, however, thought it a sneer. As she regained her balance steadily and angrily pushed aside a lock of her hair from her face, she spat back:

"Death Eater!"

Draco stopped dead in his tracks and turned around to see a fuming Hermione standing in front of him.

Hermione searched his face for an expression and was utterly surprised to see that he wasn't the least bit angry. Annoyingly, his face was the same expression as usual – a mask of nothing. He just stood there in front of her looking into her eyes – searching for an answer while not giving one himself. This went on for at least a minute and Hermione was suspecting someone had put an Immobilus curse on him, when he abruptly turned around and paced away.

Now it was Hermione's turn to be blank. What was that? she thought. As he turned a corner out of sight, Hermione made up her mind to go and follow him and ask him what was going on. Why didn't he slap her or curse her like he would have usually done and how come he called her Granger instead of Mudblood? At that moment she realised that Malfoy hadn't insulted her, or talked to her for that matter, the whole year. She felt a bit ashamed that she had stooped lower than he had. She turned the corner and was faced with an empty corridor ending in a wall. She checked the only door in the hall, standing to her right, but the classroom it revealed was also empty. It seemed he just disappeared, so Hermione quit her pursuit and made her way to dinner. Deciding then, that she really didn't care what was wrong with Malfoy.

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