AN: This is my first time writing a Dramione fic. I know the whole concept is pretty cliché but I promise not to let this turn into a soap opera. Honest reviews are greatly appreciated, I'd love to know what you think and I can take some criticism. This is set in 5th year and I'll try my best to stay true to the time line and events.

Also, J.K. Rowling owns all the characters... I'm just playing with them for awhile.

Chapter 1

Hermione stood triumphantly over Draco Malfoy's unconscious form, breathing hard, her brown eyes flashing angrily. She contemplated doing more damage but a familiar voice froze her and her wand in place.

"Miss Granger!" cried Professor McGonagall reprovingly as she took in the scene before her. McGonagall quickly took out her wand and made Malfoy's knickers stop strangling him.

Bravado gone, Hermione was embarrassed at her overreaction and her use of the spell Fred had taught her. "Professor, I…" she began weakly. "H-he said.. about Harry and- and Cedric.."

McGonagall understood her and the disapproval faded a little, even though her face was still stern. It was only the beginning of the second week in a new Hogwarts year and Cedric's death at the end of last term was still fresh in everyone's mind. Harry's recent moodiness had both her and Ron on edge so Malfoy's nasty comments about Harry having murdered the Hufflepuff just sent her into a rage.

Indicating the new prefect badge pinned to Hermoine's robes, Professor McGonagall said, "Next time Miss Granger, just give him detention." Hermione nodded meekly as McGonagall waved her wand quickly and revived Malfoy. He sat up, gasping and spluttering.

"Unfortunately, I'll have to give you both detention for the rest of the week," she continued. Hermione accepted her punishment quietly… Malfoy did not.

"What?!" he cried outraged. "She nearly kills me and I get detention too?"

McGonagall gazed down at him from behind her glasses. "Miss Granger says that you provoked her and I'm rather inclined to believe her version of events; therefore you both have detention. Off to bed, both of you, and tomorrow after dinner you will meet me in my office. That is all."

Even Draco couldn't argue with Minerva McGonagall's authoritative tone. Casting him a final nasty look Hermione swept off to the Gryffindor common room, not looking forward to tomorrow evening. For a moment she stood stupidly in front of the Fat Lady because she had forgotten the password. It came to her and she blurted it out to a concerned look from the portrait. She crossed the common room, heading for the girl's dorm.

"What's wrong with you" The familiar voice coming from a chair by the fire almost made her jump. Hermione stopped in her tracks and glanced over at Harry who was watching her curiously over the top of his Potions book. She decided to join him and flopped down into a chair next to her best friend. She figured that telling him about it might make her feel better. After all he too was serving detention, albeit a much worse one, with that evil cow Umbridge.

"Well I was doing a quick round, prefect duties and all, when I ran intoMalfoy." She said his name as if it tasted bad in her mouth. "He's a complete git and he said-" Hermione broke off and shot Harry a speculative glance. She wasn't sure how he'd take it if she told him what Draco had said about him. It was impossible to predict how he'd react to things nowadays and his face was already darkly serious.

"It doesn't matter what he says," she continued, waving that part off. "The point is that I lost my temper and used that jinx Fred and George came up with." The first traces of amusement filled his face. "You know, the one that makes someone get strangled by their own underpants." Harry burst out laughing and she talked over him. "Then Professor McGonagall shows up and gives us both detention for the week. I suppose it's fair but- stop laughing!"

"Sorry," Harry apologized, still chuckling. "I really wish I'd been there to see that. It sounds even better than the time you decked him." Hermione blushed a little at that memory, another shining example of her lost temper. She caught only the end of his next sentence, "…he did, I swear I'll go and teach that creep a lesson."

"It's nothing," Hermione lied quickly. "I really don't know why I let him bother me, he's worthless. I'm going to bed." She got up. "Be sure to use the murtlap essence again," said Hermione pointedly, looking at the raw words carved into the back of Harry's hand. She still didn't approve about his silence over the matter but there was nothing she could do to change his mind. By the time she got up to her room everyone else was already in bed and she joined them.

"…and really that old hag isn't fit to teach!" Draco fumed, still rehashing the incident with his own friends in his respective common room. "Giving me detention! My father will-"

"Oh shut it Malfoy. We all know Daddy won't do anything," drawled Theodore Nott lazily from across the common room. Though housemates, he and Malfoy were hardly friends but less than rivals since Draco didn't see the lanky boy as a threat.

"Funny, I thought I just head a hippogriff's ass talk," said Draco to the room at large. Since the hour was late the room only consisted of himself, Crabbe, Goyle, Zambini, and Nott; all laughed but the latter.

Theodore sat up, his dark eyes flashing angrily. "Look Malfoy, we're tired of hearing you complain about that fucking Mudblood. So she got the best of you; it's not the first time. And it's not like you could get her back."

The other boy's words had inflamed Draco's already bruised ego so he snapped back, "You want to bet, Nott?"

As if this was what he was waiting for, Theodore smiled. "Actually I do. 20 galleons says you can't stick the Mudblood."

Draco's gray eyes widened in shock. "What the hell? I thought we were talking revenge."

"Oh but we are my dear friend. She's a 16 year old girl- a hormonal, emotional time bomb. You get her to fall for you, give herself to you…then reveal it was all a big fucking joke. Nothing would destroy any girl more."

Malfoy paused, considering this. "You have a point," he admitted reluctantly.

"Of course I do. But there's no way she'd go for someone like you," said Nott as he settled back into the black chair, stretching out his legs.

The Slytherin knew he was being baited and his fingers dug into the arm on the couch he was sitting on. Coming from anyone else he could have ignored it but Draco's pride would not allow him to turn down a challenge from Nott. "Make it 50 galleons and you have yourself a wager," he boasted.

Blaise Zambini was watching him with a dubious expression; Crabbe and Goy were too dense to understand the full implications of the situation. A slow smile curled Theodore's lips. "It's a bet. Shall we say by Halloween?"

Draco shook his head. "Too soon, that's only a month. I'll need more time to soften her up."

"Alright… but more time will cost you," said Nott shrewdly. "Make it 100 by the end of Christmas break. January 1st. If you can't get her in three months then you never will."

Malfoy stood and crossed the common room. "Deal," he said, offering his hand to shake.

The next morning she set off for the Great Hall with Harry and Ron with the two of them reminiscing about her attack on Malfoy. When she entered the hall Hermione couldn't stop her eyes from sliding over to the Slytherin table just to check... Malfoy's grey eyes glared back at her. If she could have managed a sneer half as good as his, she would have.

Draco smirked as Hermione glared at him. You'll change your tune soon enough. Pansy caught him looking at Hermione and began the other girl's looks. "Honestly," said Pansy in her high voice, "don't even get me started on that disgusting mop she calls hair." But then Pansy began talking about herself again and he grew bored, wondering when it was that he'd started to find Pansy so immature and uninteresting.

Not that long ago he'd found her attractive. She certainly liked him too, hanging all over him any chance she got. He hadn't minded the attention but now she seemed to expect some sort of commitment from him. He'd have to get rid of her soon, especially if he was going to pursue Hermione. Draco figured would have to pretend to be in love with her in order to get her to sleep with him and win the bet.

Hermione hesitated with the fork halfway to her mouth. She shot a dark look over at the laughing Slytherin table. Draco was smirking as Pansy Parkinson whispered in his ear and Hermione's eyes narrowed. "I think it's absolutely brilliant," Ron said happily as he piled his plate with eggs and then shoveled them into his mouth. "So he called you a mudblood and you what, snapped? 'Bout time. Git. He won't say anything bad about you for awhile."

She considered her response and remembering the way Harry'd shouted at Grimmauld Place, she tactfully decided that truth was not the best option at the moment. Hermione replied, "Yeah, I guess it was just one time too many. I'm not proud of it, you two. Really!" she added when they continued laughing. She was glad when the morning post came and they got the Daily Prophet which held the disgusting revelation of Umbridge being made High Inquisitor.

After breakfast she chivvied Harry and Ron to double Potions. As she took her usual seat with Ron and Harry, she avoided the hook-nosed teacher's glare. Hermione had always wondered why he hated her. Maybe because she was friends with Harry? Or maybe it was the fact that she did as good as, if not better, than any of the pureblood students in Potions. Probably a combination of the two. Snape put their assignment on the board and gave some vague instructions.

He did that sometimes to test them… or maybe so he could have the pleasure of going around and criticizing them. She gathered the needed ingredients to begin working. She did the bulk of it while Harry and Ron attempted to look busy. By now she was used to it and their minimal participation didn't bother her as long as they learned as well. The book told her all she needed to know and she was absentmindedly stirring her cauldron when Snape swooped down upon her.

"What is this Miss Granger?" he sneered. Hermione's potion was more goldenrod than the lemon yellow it should have been and she instantly realized that she'd been a little heavy-handed with the beetle eyes. Before she could say anything he continued, "Did you simply toss in the beetle eyes?Measure things Granger, this is 5th year Potions not cooking in your muggle grandmother's kitchen!"

He swept off before she could compose any kind of reply. Her cheeks flaming with embarrassment, Hermione tried to rectify her mistake and silently cursed Draco Malfoy. He had been watching her throughout the lesson and whenever she met his cool gaze she got sidetracked. There was an emotion there that she didn't couldn't quite place and it was nothing she'd ever seen from him before.

"What's up 'Mione? I've never seen you mess up a potion before," whispered Ron covertly as he took over the stirring.

"I didn't mess up!" she snapped quietly as the last of the blush drained from her cheeks. "I… miscalculated. It's not the same thing."

"Slimy git," she heard Harry mutter. Hermione glanced over at him. "Snape yells at you but when Malfoy messes up he just helps him," he explained. "It's completely unfair. But when has Snape ever been fair?"

Hermione shook her head and went back to work. Typical. And it was stupid of her to pay any attention to Malfoy. Thankfully the torture of Potions was over quickly…. But it seemed the rest of the day went by quickly as well. The next thing she knew she was having dinner with Harry and Ron and then she had to be off to detention. Hermione sighed into her pumpkin juice.

She ended up being a little late coming to McGonagall's office because Harry and Ron had distracted her by conjuring a small image of a white ferret and bouncing it around the Gryffindor table. It was their way of trying to cheer her up. She was still smiling when she entered the office but that faded when she saw Malfoy.

"Nice of you to join us Miss Granger," said Professor McGonagall as she entered the office from her classroom. "Tonight you two will be in the classroom polishing all of Professor Sinistra's telescopes while I get some work done in here…" Hermione peered into the classroom which was indeed filled with telescopes and cleaning supplies that she recognized from having them at her own house. She sighed. "…cleaning the muggle way," finished McGonagall.

Hermione relinquished her wand silently and headed for the classroom but paused when she heard Draco's voice rise in complaint. "But Professor, that's going to take all night!" he protested. "We're wizards, we're supposed to use magic. That's the whole point."

Professor McGonagall just looked at him over the top of her glasses. "The idea of detention, Mr. Malfoy, is that it's punishment. Obviously using magic would not be punishment." Draco opened his mouth to protest again, but shut it at the glare he received from McGonagall. Grumbling, he handed over his wand and traipsed into the classroom.

"This is all your fault," he hissed to Hermione as he sat in a desk adjacent to hers and picked up a rag. Annoyance had pushed his bet and the fact that he was supposed to be making her like him to the back of his mind.

Hermione polished her telescope and while inwardly she bristled at his words her answer was calm. "You're right. It is." She glanced over and could see Draco was surprised she had agreed with him. Hermione set down her rag and continued. "You were being your usual beastly self and doing what you always do. I was the one who acted out-of-character by jinxing you instead of ignoring you. So in short, it was my fault but you're still vile."

"I'm not vile," he said, latching onto the last thing she had said. Was that just the way she really saw him? with Hermione's eyes on him, he felt uncomfortable. Draco wasn't sure why it bothered him a little. He'd never cared before; all that's important is his pureblood status. She couldn't claim that. He shook his head slightly and went back to work with renewed vigor. He had nothing to feel bad about. She was just stuck up. This was going to be harder than he thought.

Hermione snorted as she squeezed polishing solution onto her rag and began rubbing a fresh telescope. "Yeah, right," she retorted. "And I'm the Queen of the Faeries." Hermione's voice dripped with sarcasm that she didn't even try to conceal. "Tell me Malfoy. Tell me just one good deed you've done. Or one selfless act. Anything at all to prove that you aren't a vile toerag."

Draco opened his mouth to retort. "I..." he tried and then stopped. He couldn't think of anything. It wasn't like he was supposed to go around doing selfless acts though. He didn't play the hero like certain scarred persons. And he didn't have to answer to Hermione. "I don't have to prove myself to you Granger," he said coldly. "Since when it is your place to judge anyone? Just because I don't go around befriending mudbloods and blood traitors doesn't mean I'm vile."

She blushed a little and looked down, a little ashamed because he was at least right in the sense that she had no right to demand he prove himself to her. It had been rather arrogant of her and that was more suited for Malfoy himself. Still, she couldn't completely hold her tongue. "That's true… But you know befriending people, even so-called mudbloods, doesn't make you a good person either."

Hermione bit her lip and put down her rag. Something about trying to carry on a conversation with Draco was incredibly draining. In fact she honestly didn't even know why she was trying. Maybe it was because Malfoy seemed more human and almost approachable without his slack-jawed cronies hanging about. "It's about compassion. Caring about someone other than yourself in more than just a superficial manner.

She smiled faintly and still didn't look directly at Malfoy. "It's about the ability to love. It's a powerful thing. That's what makes you a good person… What we love defines us…. What do you love, Draco?" Hermione hadn't actually meant to ask that question. Her last few sentences had been mere musing and she supposed it sort of slipped out.

It surprised her even more that she was actually interested in his answer. What does it matter? a little voice in the back of head whispered; it sounded accusing and vaguely like Ron. What could knowing anything about Draco Malfoy help? He's trouble, you know it. Just shut up and let it go.

"Well… I love my parents," he answered reluctantly though he was unsure how true that was. He felt stifled by his father's expectations to uphold the family's dignity and tout superiority of the purebloods. And though his mother loved him, she sometimes suffocated him even more than Lucius did. "And I love quidditch." The exhilaration of flying was the closest thing he had to freedom… and he loved winning.

"And what about you Hermione?" he asked, wanting to shift the focus away from what had somehow become an analysis of his inner feelings. Draco also wanted to keep the conversation rolling since it was going somewhat well. "What do you love?" There was a sneer in his voice but it was only out of habit. He really did want to know because he hoped she would tell him something that he could use.

Hermione went back to her work mostly so she wouldn't be tempted to pick at the fact that he had called her 'Hermione' rather than 'Granger'. She wasn't sure if he had ever done that before. For some reason she felt like she'd gained some kind of ground. Also she found that it pleased her that he'd mentioned his family even if the lot of them were bigoted and obsessed with blood status. Polishing another telescope thoughtfully, she considered her own answer.

"I love my family as well, which includes Harry and Ron. They're like the brothers I never had. About as much trouble too," she muttered to herself. "I love reading and knowledge; it comforts and interest me. I love being able to help people and feeling useful…" She must have used too much polishing solution because the telescope slipped out of hand and clattered across the floor toward Malfoy.Damn, Hermione thought in irritation as she went after it.

"I'll get it," said Draco quickly, crouching down to pick it up from where it lay under a nearby table. While he knew that she would find this small courtesy odd but he had to make at least some headway toward the bet. He was also secretly pleased that she'd claimed both Harry and Ron as brothers. He would have no competition there and would only need to make sure that they wouldn't find out about his 'interest' in Hermione. Those two were experts at thwarting plans.

"Er, thank you," Hermione said uncertainly as she took back the retrieved telescope that he held out. Her hand brushed Malfoy's for a moment and the point of contact tingled. Because you're disgusted by him, she thought defensively. Unnerved, she continued her work in silence and pointedly did not look at Draco.

She was undeniably relieved when Professor McGonagall appeared at the end of the hour, handed them back their wands, and shooed them away. She was about to say good night to Malfoy but when she realized it Hermione shut her mouth. Casting him one final glance, she hurried off to the Gryffindor common room and the familiarity of schoolwork.

A slow, self-satisfied smirk crossed his face as he watched her leave in a rush. This might not be as hard as he'd originally thought. Hermione was brilliant but the girl was too trusting for her own good. She'd be smitten by the end of the month. Guaranteed.