.-.-Prologue-.-.

"With love's light wings did I o'er-perch these walls;/ For stony limits cannot hold love out,/ And what love can do that dares love attempt;/ Therefore thy kinsmen are no let to me" stated a tall young man with platinum blonde hair as he gazed into familiar honey brown eyes.

"Um…I…er…" stuttered the young woman with slightly bushy hair as she gazed into the piercing grayish-blue eyes of her enemy. Wow, she thought to herself, he sounds so sincere. I wonder…

"CUT!!!" screamed a voice from the back of the room, interrupting her thoughts.

Hermione groaned. "I'm so sorry. Can we start the scene over again?"

"Not if you're going to be daydreaming while everybody is working their butts off!" screeched Parvati. "Okay. Let's call it quits for today. I highly doubt we're gonna get anywhere anyways," she sighed. "But remember, we have rehearsal for Monday after classes so learn ALL of your lines by then. Or else…" she growled, glaring at Hermione.

Hermione sighed. Slowly she started collecting her script of Romeo and Juliet and stuffed it into her book bag. She wished she had never tried out for the school play. AH! How could Lavender convince me to do something so humiliating? I'll get her back for th—

Somebody tapped Hermione on the shoulder.

"Granger, may I suggest that instead of worshipping me while I talk and staring dreamily at my face, could you actually learn your lines so that you don't waste my precious time?" snarled Draco with his trademark smirk etched into his face.

"Well excuse me, Malfoy, for messing one little thing up and wasting your precious time. I really hope that it does happen again" shot back Hermione.

And before either of them could come up with another mean retort, Ron appeared out of nowhere and started to lead Hermione away.

"C'mon Hermione. Let's go get something to eat. Or, we could go watch Harry's quidditch practice. Oh! Let's go hang out in the common room! There are some things that I would like to show you. Or, we could go pick out a good book in the library!" exclaimed Ron as he was trying to find a way to please her. He hoped that Hermione noticed his unusual kindness towards her. He wanted her to notice him as more than just a friend. Ron sighed.

"Weasley, you disgust me. I see that you're trying to suck up to Granger. Why would you want to do that?" muttered Draco as he walked away to collect his belongings. "And if you don't mind me, I have to go take care of some business in my common room. So long my Juliet." He snickered before he casually strode away.

Ron was blushing and seething at the same time. "Why I oughta…" he spluttered.

"You ought to what, Ron? What are you going to do? Hopefully not something stupid. C'mon, let's go meet up with Harry in the common room before we go for dinner." said Hermione mildly, obviously lost in her thoughts.

Ron was feeling thoroughly disappointed at the fact that Hermione, once again, had not noticed his attempts. Maybe he should just give up. Maybe. His eyes flickered over her face. She was so much more different than before. Now that they were in their final year at Hogwarts, he wanted to make this year count. He wanted to make it so memorable for her that she would never, ever forget him. Recently, he had noticed that Hermione acted more feminine and less of a "know-it-all". He liked this new side of her. It was different. But different in a good way. Sighing once again, he started leading her away.

Hermione allowed herself to be led away. Sometimes, she felt as though she didn't understand anything. Sure, she was hurt by the snide remarks made by Draco on her performance today. But she should be used to it by now. Ron was just acting unusually nice to her. She was extremely confused by that. She wondered if there was a catch to it. She highly doubted that he liked her as more than a friend. After all, we've been friends for so long. I wonder if he wanted a favour. She found herself wondering more and more nowadays. But she felt as though she was experiencing some weird emotions as she was rehearsing the play with Draco. Something was different. When she looked at him, there wasn't the usual coldness in his eyes. Instead, there was a hint of…playfulness? Hermione shook her head. There was just no way. Still, the thought of his eyes was still lingering in the back of her mind.

As Hermione walked away with Ron, Draco stepped away from his hiding place behind the curtains. Now he was confused. It seemed to him that Hermione appeared somewhat reluctant to leave with Ron. Not that he cared. But instinct told him that something was bothering her. He groaned. He wasn't supposed to care. He was expected to obey his father. He was expected to be feared. But something about the young woman intrigued him. However, he just wasn't sure what it was yet.

"Oh well." he said aloud to no one in particular. Swiftly, he jumped off the stage. He took one last glance at where Hermione had been standing and then walked away, disappearing into the darkness of a hallway.