It was a week before finals and Hermione Granger was, to put it lightly, freaking out. She needed something to take her mind off the upcoming tests; after all, she knew she knew everything that would be on the exams, but if she didn't find something else to think about soon, she'd go mad.

She tried reading the fluff section of the library. That worked for about three hours, then she finished the very silly story about a boarding school where the geeky girl and the bad boy (she had chuckled over the alliteration) fall for each other against their better judgment and end up living happily ever after- except for when they fought over the blanket and what to name their children. I mean, how absurd is that? Not only would their intelligence levels clash, I'm sure their moral values would differ, too. People shouldn't get into relationships when they have nothing in common…

Aah, little did she know…

Next, Hermione tried doodling. She pulled out some parchment, sharpened her quill, dipped it in ink, aaand… nothing. What could she say- she just wasn't a doodling type person. She tried imagining dresses and depicting them on paper, but she couldn't get the anatomical proportions just right which made her want to go study the subject so that she could get it perfect. And that wouldn't help her state of mind any.

Sighing, Hermione rolled her shoulders. What was she going to do? She leaned back into the cushy chaise lounge and closed her eyes to think.

olololo

Draco Malfoy was tired. Finals. Why, Life, why?

"Hey, Draco, my man, wanna duel?" His housemate, Blaise Zabini, strolled into the Common Room and plopped down into the couch across from him.

"Nah. If we start to duel, I'll feel obligated to practice all the spells for Defense and Transfig. And that would not help my brain any," Draco muttered.

"No, man, I mean like real dueling! You know, the way they used to do it- with swords."

Draco's eyes lit up. "Where we gonna get the blades from?"

Blaise burst out laughing. "Transfigure them!"

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Something was interrupting Hermione's deep thinking.

And she wasn't happy about it.

Rolling off the couch, Hermione stumbled to the window and peered out over the grounds of Hogwarts. What the heck…

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[clash][clang][spin][slice][twist][DUCK!]

Too late.

"Augh!"

"Suck it up, Draco. You're not dying," Blaise rolled his eyes and stuck his broadsword in the dirt at his feet. "And, you lose."

"No, I don't! You cheated! There's absolutely no way that I could have lost because I learned how to duel like this when I was seven! I can't lose!"

"Apparently, you can," Blaise smirked the Zabini smirk (a bit more debonair, a little less deadly than the Malfoy smirk [all the important Slytherin families copyrighted their smirks… it was just the done thing]) and said, "'Cause you just did."

Draco huffed. "I challenge."

"No, I challenge."

The two boys spun around. "What?"

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"I said, 'No, I challenge.'"

Blink. Blink.

"Granger, you can fight?" Blaise looked quite discombobulated.

Hermione sighed. "Zabini, think about it. I am, what? Oh, the top of the class, you say? Really? Hmm… Do you think I know how to fight?" By this time, her voice had risen and morphed into her 'duh, are you an idiot' voice.

Cowering, Blaise murmured, "I meant with a broadsword…"

"Come on, Granger, he didn't mean anything insulting. It's just as a girl, you know, it's not likely that you would know how to use a sword. And even if you did, you probably aren't very good," Draco looked Hermione up and down and chuckled. "Ickle Zabini here could probably beat you with one hand stuck to his forehead."

"Bring it," Hermione smiled a bit in her head as she concluded that, yes, this was just the thing to keep her brain off studying.

olololo

She trounced Blaise. And they hadn't bound one of his hands to his head. He didn't ask for a rematch, she just beat him that badly.

Draco was in awe. After all, how many brainy girls do you know who can wield a large broadsword, that probably weighed about as much as them, with finesse, grace, and strategy? As Hermione had spun, twisted, and neatly evaded Blaise's blade, she also altered her image in Draco's mind. How awesome and rare was this female brainiac who could hold her own with medieval weaponry? Where in the world had she learned to fight with a sword?

olololo

After a long, hot shower in the Head bathroom, Hermione donned her pajamas and pulled on her soft, squishy robe. She gave a deep sigh, padded into the Common Room, and plopped onto a couch. That had been fun. She waited for Draco to finish pretending that he hadn't been listening for her to get out of the bathroom so he could interrogate her, and propped a pillow behind her head. She didn't have to wait long.

"Ello, Granger."

"Mmm."

"Soooo…"

"What. What do you want."

"Whodoyoulike?"

"[sighs] [about to tell…] –wait, what?"

"Juust kidding. Since you already know what I'm going to ask, just answer the question, Granger," Draco rolled over to glance at her while she answered, and almost fell off the couch, arms flailing. Needless to say, Hermione cracked up.

"Well since you went through so much to ask me, ya know, waiting for me and all, I suppo-"

"I DID NOT WAIT!"

"Oh, excuse me, did I say wait? I meant 'lie around the Common Room and pretend to study for Potions while scribbling on your notes, which, by the way, happen to be upside down, all the while peering sneakily through your bangs at the bathroom door… and when you hear it open a bit, fling yourself off the couch to grab your butterbeer cup and yank yourself back to try to act natural and suave… until you choke on the butterbeer you tried so hard to sip naturally," Hermione raised her eyebrows at Draco, who was now attempting to look innocent and cute. "So did you wait, or did you [deep inhale] liearoundtheCommonRoom,pretendingtostudyforPotionswhile--"

"AIIGHT, AIIGHT! I waited."

Hermione smirked and nodded, satisfied. "Now, what was it you waited so long to ask me?"

Draco grumbled a bit under his breath, to which Hermione chuckled and said, "I heard that," and then he muttered, "How'd you learn to fight with a sword, Granger?"

She grinned, "Video games, my dear Malfoy. Video games."

"What?!?"

"I was at my cousin's house one time, and he had this video game where his avatar had to fight things with a sword, and the computer graphics were so awesome that it looked rather real- the moves were so cool! So when I got back from summer break, I transfigured a ruler (you know, Malfoy, those things that measure inches, centimeters, millim- ((yeah, yeah, I know, Granger, I'm not entirely stupid)) Oh. Huh. Okay, then…) and so, after I transfigured the ruler, I practiced after I finished my homework every night. Never had a real opponent until today. I guess that all that practice worked, eh?" Hermione was gloating, and both she and Draco knew it. Problem for Draco was, she had legitimate reason to gloat. Darn her. Darn her and her video games… whatever those were.

Author's Note: So, if you've read my author's page, you know that I've never played a video game ever... so yes. If any of you guys reading know of a video game that actually does have characters that use swords to fight and all that, do let me know, yes? Thanks!