A/N: I know this is kind of an overused plot, but everyone is at Hogwarts again to complete their education after the Battle of Hogwarts and Voldemort and all that. Just so you know. This (probably) won't be as long as When did This Happen (which you should totally read) but it should be good. Please R&R!

Hermione glanced at Ron. She was in an armchair across from his in the Gryffindor common room. She looked away when his eyes met hers. Things weren't so weird. They had broken up after the Battle of Hogwarts, and she hadn't really known what to do for a while. But now, he was just Ron again and things were pretty much back to normal. Which was a good thing.

She rubbed the red velvet of the armchair. She hadn't expected to be back at Hogwarts again. Actually, she hadn't really believed that there would be a Hogwarts to come back to. She still had terrible nightmares about all she had done to protect it. She would wake up in the middle of the night, screaming, seeing Bellatrix Lestrange standing over her with a knife in one hand and her wand in the other, the word "Crucio!" shrieked into the air. Or she would open her eyes in the morning and wonder why she wasn't looking at the ceiling of the tent she, Ron, and Harry had shared for so many months.

Harry broke the silence. "We'd better go. Potions starts in ten minutes, and while Slughorn may let me out of detention, you might not be so lucky."

"Yeah," Hermione replied, standing. "I just need to get my things. Give me a minute."

Ron snickered when she came back down from her dormitory, the bag slung over her shoulder full to bursting. "Shut up," she said. "Just because you're never prepared."

"Yeah, sure," he smirked.

"Can we just go?" she asked, following Harry out of the portrait hole and down the corridor.

Hermione sighed before she entered the Potions classroom in the dungeons. It wasn't her least favorite class, but Professor Slughorn was exhausting at the best of times. She sat next to Harry and tried to pay attention. The problem was that she already knew everything Slughorn was saying. So, when Hermione wasn't paying a whole lot of attention and Slughorn asked a question, the unthinkable happened; Hermione Granger wasn't the first person with her hand in the air. When she realized this, her hand flew up in a reflex reaction, even though she had no idea what he had just asked. She moved too fast. Her left pinkie slammed into the cauldron in front of her. She yelped in pain, pulling her hand back.

"Is something wrong?" Professor Slughorn asked, surprised at the interruption.

"No, sorry," Hermione replied. Except for the fact that I can't move my pinkie, she thought, trying to bend it. It didn't work too well. It'll be fine by tomorrow morning, she told herself. Slughorn continued his lecture as Hermione rubbed her hand, wincing. She finally concluded that that wasn't going to help anything, gave up, and looked around the room, hoping for a distraction.

There was nothing exceptional anywhere. Everything was exactly the way she remembered it, except… Something about Draco Malfoy caught her eye. This was strange in itself, because she usually spent as little time looking at him as possible, as his expression almost always made her want to punch him. Just then, however, he was actually paying attention, and it made him look almost like a normal student. But she was sure that something other than that was different. She kept glancing at him all throughout class, trying to put her finger on the change, when, finally, she saw it. A thin scar wrapped partway around his neck. She wondered where it had come from, because she knew for a fact that it hadn't been there before. One, it looked fairly recent, and two, he boasted loudly about all his scars during meals, and he had never mentioned this one. She shrugged to herself. Whatever. It's not my business. And I'll probably hear all about it during lunch while he relates a story of his 'incredible bravery' to his friends. She turned back to her throbbing finger.

Draco pretended to pay attention. It was easy; all he had to do was look at the teacher and move his quill like he was taking notes. And not scowl, glare, or smirk. That was more of a challenge. In between looking at Slughorn, looking at his parchment, and concentrating on his facial expressions, he glanced around the room. Nothing had changed. The only things he noticed were that Hermione Granger, a.k.a., the mudblood, wasn't using her left hand, and that she kept looking over at him. What the heck? He thought, fingering the scar on his neck. Why is she looking at me? Then, he thought, Oh my God, she likes me! Shockingly, this wasn't even unreasonable to him. Actually, he could have a lot of fun with a girl who liked him. He wouldn't do anything to her, just mess with her head a bit. He grinned. This would be entertaining.

Hermione sighed with relief when Slughorn finally ended his lecture and the bell rang. She shoved her Potions book into her bag- and that was when the seams split. All her books tumbled to the floor. Ron and Harry, already halfway to the door, looked back when she groaned. They started back to help her, but she shook her head and said, "No. You guys go on to lunch. I'll catch up with you later." Harry looked uncertain, but Ron said, "I'll save you some food," and dragged Harry through the door. He was obviously starving.

Hermione gathered all her books, parchment, quells, and ink bottles (which had mercifully not been smashed when they hit the floor) into a pile on the table. Then, she grabbed the ripped bag and tapped it with her wand, muttering, "Reparo." It stitched itself up again, ending up exactly as it had been before. She put some reinforcing charms on the seams and looked despairingly at the huge pile of her stuff on the table. Great, she thought. That's going to be fun to get back in. She managed to cram all but two of her books into the bag and stood, swinging it over her shoulder and carrying the two books in her arms. She was so busy trying to manage the load without dropping anything or jarring her pinkie that she didn't notice Draco Malfoy outside in the corridor until she crashed into him.

Apparently, the reinforcing charms on her bag hadn't been enough, because the seams split again. "Shit," Hermione said vehemently. She didn't usually swear, but it was getting to be one of those days. She had barely been at Hogwarts one week and she already needed new school supplies. "Move, would you?" she added crossly to Malfoy. He was blocking her way to her books that had scattered on the floor.

"You sure you want me to?" Malfoy drawled.

Hermione didn't have time for this. "Yeah, pretty sure."

He moved toward her. "I heard you've got a crush on me."

She wanted to scream. What an egomaniac! And that was the stupidest thing she'd ever heard. "Oh, sure. I always fall for the stupid ferrets who help get my friends killed. Now get out of my way!"

"I know you do." He kept advancing, and she backed up until she hit the wall, when she started to swear inwardly. He leaned toward her, his breath hot on her face.

"Get off me, you fucking idiot!" Hermione shoved him with all her strength. But she had forgotten about her pinkie. When she pushed him, it bent backward. She gasped in pain, dropping her hands and instinctively doubling over.

"What the-" he said.

"If you don't move right now, I don't know what I'll do, but you will be in pain for the rest of your life, I swear," she snarled.

"What did I do?"

"Move!" She pushed him aside, walking as fast as she could without running to the hospital wing.

She heard footsteps behind her and a hand grabbed her elbow. "What the hell?" Malfoy said.

She spun around, telling herself that she would ask why he cared later. "There isn't a lot that's keeping me from ripping that scar on your neck open, so unless you want to bleed all over the corridor, you'll let me go to the hospital wing so you have time to set up some defenses before I hex you into oblivion." He winced and let go of her arm.

When they got to the hospital wing- for some reason, Malfoy was still behind her- the nurse, Madam Pomfrey, bustled over and shook her head at the state of Hermione's finger.

"How did this happen?" she asked disapprovingly.

"Assault," Hermione said, feeling snappy. Professor McGonagall chose that moment to enter the hospital wing.

"What assault?" she asked sternly.

"Malfoy," Hermione said by way of explanation. He opened his mouth to protest, but, low enough that Madam Pomfrey and Professor McGonagall couldn't hear her, she hissed, "I could tell them that it was sexual assault, and you'd be in a lot more trouble than you're already in. And trust me, they would believe that." He pressed his lips together angrily, but didn't try to say anything more.

Professor McGonagall looked inquiringly at Madam Pomfrey,. "She broke a finger," the nurse said. "It's not serious; she'll be fine soon."

"Even so," McGonagall said stiffly. "Mr. Malfoy, come with me. We will discuss your punishment in my office." Malfoy looked absolutely furious, but followed the Headmistress out of the hospital wing.

Madam Pomfrey thrust a flask at Hermione. "Drink this," she ordered. "And-" she walked back to her office and grabbed something- "Keep this on for the night." Hermione obediently gulped down the potion and took the object from Madam Pomfrey. It was a roll of medical tape. She sighed and wrapped the tape around her pinkie and ring finger, splinting them together. "You should be fine by morning," the nurse added when Hermione handed the tape back to her. "You may go."

"Thank you," Hermione said politely, and headed off to the end of lunch.

Draco did not think his punishment was at all fair. A month's worth of detention, just for breaking the stupid mudblood's finger! And it was her own fault she'd broken it. He had detention and she would have a finger that would hurt for twelve hours or less. How was that fair? Well, he would get back at her. No one got a Malfoy in trouble and didn't pay for it.

The next day, Hermione was headed for Transfiguration with Harry and Ron when Malfoy passed them in the hallway.

"Bastard," she muttered under her breath.

He stopped dead in the middle of the corridor, causing Crabbe and Goyle, who were, as usual, following him, to almost run him over. Malfoy gave his very predictable response; he smirked. "I don't think you really mean that, Granger."

"I really mean that, Malfoy," she shot back.

"Then what was that yesterday?" he asked, his smirk broadening.

"That was you being the egotistical jerk you are. And deluding yourself into thinking that I don't mean what I say when I say it."

"Now, I really don't think you mean that. If you won't admit it to me, at least admit it to yourself."

Hermione mimicked throwing up behind her hand. "The day I even entertain the thought of what you accused me of yesterday is the day I use 'Crucio' on myself. Never. Now take the slime that's your ego somewhere else. I just washed my hair." She could not believe that he actually thought she could possibly have a crush on him. That was just beyond gross.

He looked like he was going to say something that was probably not even close to school appropriate, but Ron and Harry were glaring daggers at him, so he just gave Hermione a contemptuous look and stalked off.

As soon as Malfoy was gone, Harry and Ron turned on Hermione. "What happened yesterday?" Harry asked commandingly.

Hermione glared at the corridor Malfoy had disappeared down. "Just Malfoy being Malfoy," she said, trying to sound offhand. "Come on, we'll be late for McGonagall."

That wasn't the last time Hermione and Malfoy hissed insults at each other in the corridors, or had angry shouting matches about Malfoy's ego and Hermione's… bitchiness. This was oddly refreshing for Hermione. It was nice to be able to scream at someone without being afraid of getting in trouble or losing them as a friend, because Malfoy wasn't a friend and she didn't care what he thought. And she always had something bad to yell about him.

Harry and Ron still didn't know what had happened the day Hermione had broken her finger, and she wasn't planning on telling them anytime soon. She was pissed at Malfoy, but not pissed enough to deal with Ron's hotheadedness. This was her own, private war.

A/N: Hope you liked this first chapter. Next chapter will be Christmas, and it should be pretty funny. Please, please, please review!

Love,

k