Alright, so just a warning, this is a little AU. No Sir Moldy-warts, Dumbledore isn't dead, the whole thing. It's just a fun five-six shot I started writing when I was bored.
Draco walked into the common room, sitting down dejectedly next to Blaise. He slumped on, resting his head in his hands and groaning softly.
"Hmm... What's got your knickers in a twist?" Blaise drawled.
Draco mumbled something under his breath. Blaise just watched, a little amused to see Draco frazzled.
They sat on a green couch for a few minutes longer before a shout broke the silence.
"Oye! Midgets! Get out!" Blaise roared, scaring the few first years out of the room.
"Scaring first years again? I thought that was Tuesday's activity." Draco said sarcastically, watching them fight to climb out of the portrait hole.
"It is Tuesday. You'd know if you weren't moping. Let me clue you in on something, Draco, Slytherins don't mope. It's not manly."
"Ah. That's why they panicked when I walked in."
Blaise rolled his eyes. "What is up with you? No, wait, let me guess, Granger?"
Draco said nothing, pointedly looking away.
"It is! Haha! Draco having girl trouble! What's wrong, O mighty Prince of Slytherin? The Gryffindor princess turn you down?"
"Sod off."
Blaise smirked. "You know I love being right."
Draco smacked him on the back of the head. "Good thing it doesn't happen too often then. And no, she didn't turn me down. I haven't asked her."
"What? You're kidding. You spend most of your day with her and you haven't asked her?"
"What am I supposed to do? It's not like there is a manual on how to win over a Gryffindor's heart!"
Blaise grinned widely, startling Draco slightly. "Oh but there is, Draco."
Later that day...
Blaise Zabini's Guide to Romancing a Girl.
Rule number one: Take it slowly. Get to know the girl before jumping down her throat for a date.
Helpful Tips: Ask about her interests.
"Er...Hello, Granger." Draco said awkwardly.
Hermione looked up from her notes, taking in the blonde figure standing before her. "Hello."
An awkward minute passed as Hermione returned to her notes. "May I sit down?"
She looked up with a confused look. "It's half your common room, of course you can sit down."
He sat down across from her, pulling out his DADA essay. "So, how was your day?"
Nothing prepared him for the look of shock on her face. "Malfoy, are you feeling alright?"
"Chipper." He replied easily. "What about you? I thought, since we work together, that maybe we could..."
He looked away awkwardly, focusing instead on an ink stain on his knuckle.
"...I'd like that."
"Er...What?"
She grinned softly. "If you suggestion was to form a sort of friendly truce, then yes."
Draco smiled. "Great."
A Few Days Later...
"Granger!" Came the cry from across the Great Hall. Hermione raised her head to see Draco walking over with a smile. "We still on for later?"
"Obviously." She replied dryly.
"Great. I'll see you in Potions then." And with that, he walked off.
"What was that?" Ginny inquire, sitting down across from Hermione.
"Well, Gin, I'm pretty sure that was a conversation." Fred remarked sarcastically, prancing up behind her.
"Really witty. I meant, since when do you talk to Malfoy?"
"We called a truce. That's all. I'm helping him out with his Charms essay later." Hermione said, going back to her copy of the Daily Prophet.
When Hermione looked up again she saw them staring at her. She groaned softly.
"What?" She asked. "You know what, never mind. I don't want to know. I'll see you guys later."
As she walked out of the hall, Ginny turned to Fred. "Five galleons says she'll fall for him within a month."
Fred just smirked. "You're on."
Three weeks later...
"Hey, Granger, I was wondering-"
"Call me Hermione." She said suddenly, turning to see a look of utter shock on Draco's face.
"You're serious?" He asked quietly, sitting down across from her.
"Yes. Now what did you need?"
"Never mind."
They worked in silence for a while.
"Hermione, what are you parents like?"
She set down her quill, meeting his curious look. "Like any others, I suppose. They're dentists."
"Those are the Muggles that clean your teeth right?" He asked hesitantly.
"How'd you know that?" Hermione questioned.
"Muggle Studies."
"Oh." Hermione said softly. "Well, Mum is nice, she is a really good cook. Dad is the more literary one. When I was five he gave me a dictionary and told me to read it by my next birthday."
Draco chuckled softy. "Did you?"
Hermione smiled. "Eventually, about six years later. What about your parents?"
"Mum is a painter. She has paintings up in every room of the house. Dad is..." He stopped, shuddering slightly.
Hermione reached across the table and squeezed Draco's hand. "Sorry. You don't have to talk about it."
Their eyes met, and in the span of only a few seconds, each felt something different, but completely new.
Hermione's mind reeled. His eyes were a deep grey, like the sky before a storm. Startling and intense. Why had she never noticed before?
Draco's breath caught. Those chocolate brown eyes were entrancing and betrayed everything she felt, but at the same time, nothing at all. Could she possibly have feelings for him?
Neither moved, but when they did, the moment had passed.
Hermione let go of his hand, hastily grabbing her quill. "What was Flitwick's assignment again?"
Draco told her, all the while fighting to keep a small smile off his face.
Later that same day...
"Hermione, you all right? You're really spacey." Ginny complained. Harry and Ron glanced over at her words, giving Hermione a quizzical look.
"Yeah. You haven't badgered us about homework or N.E. or anything all day! Are you sick?" Ron demanded, waving his hand in her face.
"Ew, Ron. I do not want to see your half eaten chicken leg, thank you. I'm fine." She retorted, dreamily slipping back in her trance-like state. The boys gave Ginny a look, as if asking if she could explain Hermione's behavior. Ginny just shrugged.
"Harry, when is Quidditch practice?" Ron asked, trying to break the silence. Ginny joined in the discussion of tactics, leaving Hermione alone to her jumbled thoughts.
She was confused. He was being so nice, but in the past he had been rude. He had opened up to her,and that was something Draco never did. What if he'd changed?
She mulled these thoughts over, failing to notice the tall blonde that had just stopped behind her.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" Ron sneered out, glaring at the Slytherin.
Draco kept silent, wary of blurting out something embarrassing. "Hermione. McGonagall just told me we have a meeting tonight, with Dumbledore. Something about rearranging patrols."
Hermione's head jerked up at the sound of her name. She hadn't told her friends about the recent change...
"Did you just call her Hermione?" Harry asked incredulously.
"That is her name, Potter." Draco remarked sarcastically. "Anyways, I'll see you there, I guess."
He began to walk off, stopped only when he heard his name called. "Draco! Wait a moment, I'll come with you. I'm done eating."
Harry and Ron watched in shock as she strolled out of the Great Hall with Draco, talking the whole time.
"I'm so going to win this bet." Ginny muttered under her breath, returning to her lamp chops.