"Hey, Granger!"
The call echoed down the cold corridor, and Hermione's head whipped around, a confused frown on her face, to find herself face to face with an out-of-breath Draco Malfoy.
"What do you want?" she snapped.
His expression was somewhere between a sneer and something resembling disappointment, and wordlessly he shoved something onto the already large pile of books in her arms. She glanced down to see her Arithmancy textbook and swallowed the taste of her own embarrassment, had Draco just done something nice for her? If not nice, then it could at least be regarded as in the realm of normal, and non-hostile, and that just didn't make any sense. He seemed to be waiting for her response, and after a moment she met his gaze and said with meaning, "Thank you. It would have been really annoying to make it to the Dormitory only to realise I had to come all the way back."
"Ever think about taking less subjects, minimising the load?" Again his tone was difficult to understand, there was something of his usual arrogance but far less venom than Hermione was accustomed to.
She shifted the straps of her weighty schoolbag and shrugged as best she could, "I've found a way to manage the work."
"That involves staying in the library until almost midnight?"
It was starting to sound like more of his usual taunting and she frowned at him, "I'm not the only one studying late, struggling to keep up with your own classes, Malfoy?"
He pursed his lips, "What I'm working on is none of your business, Granger."
"And my schedule is none of yours. Goodnight."
She turned on her heel and marched off towards Gryffindor common room, not seeing the odd smirk Draco wore as he returned to his desk in the library and began to pack up his own things.

It had all started only a few weeks before, when Draco had retreated to the stillness of the library in search of somewhere to study, and research his mission for the Dark Lord, in peace. His own common room had become much rowdier as the days got darker and the threat of the Dark Lord grew, to the point where he could hardly stand to be the subject of so many stares and whispers. He didn't know how Potter had done it all the years, constantly having eyes on him.
In the library no one paid any attention to anything other than the textbook or essay in front of them, and he had found it somewhere he was strangely at home. At first he hadn't noticed those surrounding him, until he'd started to stay later, arrive earlier, frequent the shelves and dusty passageways between stacks at lunchtimes- that was when he realised that he wasn't alone in his habits. That was when he first really paid attention to Hermione Granger.
It was no secret she was the smartest Witch in the year, it was rare to see her unburdened by an armful of heavy books and usually most people focussed on her famous best friend and his ever-more-popular, since he became good at Quiddich, sidekick, Weasley. However, in the library where she built for herself a fort of books and papers, there was something far more appealing than the bossy know-it-all that Draco mocked since their very first Potions lesson.
There were certain things that she did that caught his attention, luring him away from his work and distracting him; like the way that she hummed softly as she browsed the stacks. At first he'd found it irritating, but as the days passed he found it brought a smile to his face when from inside the maze of shelves he could hear her. And then there was the way she would work, furiously scribbling out an essay when she was under pressure, the scratching of the quill uneven, her bushy hair falling into her eyes so many times, until finally she would throw down her quill in exasperation and twist it into a knot on the top of her head. It never stayed put for long, loose strands curling against her cheeks and temple until the whole thing came tumbling down and the process began again.
He also noticed that she chose to sit at the tables closest to the window, furthest from the door and tucked into a corner near the section on Arithmancy; a subject that Draco had always been interested in, but put off by the complexity, and the fact that many of the students taking it would frequently have breakdowns in the middle of the exam. Sitting by the window meant she controlled the temperature around her, and there had been one afternoon when the evening sun was hot that she had it ajar and the breeze coming in had disturbed all of her papers, scattering them across the library floor. Some stupid Hufflepuff had helped her tidy them again, though he went back to his group with a rejection at his invitation for her to join them.
Hermione, like Draco, preferred to work alone.

And so, it hadn't taken him long to come to terms with the fact that instead of disdain, he now always felt slightly elated whenever he saw her. It was a harder struggle to hide this from his friends, classmates, and of course, Hermione herself. Not that she ever paid him the slightest ounce of attention during their hours together in the library.
What was most frustrating about the whole thing was the fact it had started to take away the element of productivity that Draco had enjoyed most from the library. He was falling behind with his classes and therefore his free time to carry out the task the Dark Lord had set for him. And somehow Draco was sure that the excuse that he was distracted by a Muggleborn classmate, was not one his Master would accept.
The best course of action therefore, was to ignore her. He wouldn't give up his library time, not for some stupid Gryffindor, and he most definitely didn't have time to waste. Of course the very next night was the night she left her textbook on a spare seat. It was the night that Draco had his first exchange with her that wasn't unpleasant. It was the first night, of many, that would see the two unlikely characters, become friends.
And it all started the moment Draco rushed out of the library doors, the book clutched in his hand, took a deep breath and yelled, "Hey, Granger!"

For any of you who are new to me as a writer, let me start by saying hi ;) thanks for clicking and I hope you keep reading. Just so you know I LOVE feedback, I'm crazy for it, so please feel free to share your thoughts.

This fic is just a total love affair for me, Draco and Hermione are my OTP and I'm going to have so much fun writing about them. The format is short and sweet, the theme will become apparent. Basically, I'll keep writing regardless but I'd love to hear what you guys think/what you'd like to see. Just because I'm trying to keep you guys sweet, I'm going to upload the second chapter just now... happy reading.

-H