Hermione was absolutely not having it with Harry and Ron today. Of course, she had tried her hardest to be understanding and patient, but enough was enough. She had actually been timing it and they had been talking for 6 hours straight now about Quidditch. They had just won a magnificent game against Hufflepuff the afternoon before, but ever since breakfast this morning they had rambled on and on about their incredible saves, dodges, and of course the wondrous moment Harry caught the Snitch. As if he hadn't done that in virtually every other game they had played. Proud as she was of the pair, there were more important things to worry about than Quidditch matches of the past, like their upcoming Herbology essay or Defense against the Dark Arts homework.

To top it all off, neither one of them had seemed to notice in the slightest that her mood had been steadily decreasing over the course of the day! They were her two best friends, but she simply lacked the patience to have her ear talked off about a sport she wasn't the biggest fan of.

"Hermione! You were watching, remember when I stopped those two attempted goals from Smith?!" Ron exclaimed enthusiastically, whacking her on the back a little too hard as he gulped down a chicken leg at lunch.

Now was her chance to mess with the two of them, and she smirked to herself as she calmly responded. "No, I'm not sure I recall. Sorry." She shrugged and returned her gaze to her Ancient Runes textbook, which was sitting open on the table in front of her. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ron's jaw visibly drop, and she had to stifle a giggle. To her surprise Ginny choked down her pumpkin juice with a laugh, and exchanged a devious look with Hermione.

She knew how big of a Quidditch fan Ginny was, but she was quite pleased the 4th Year was taking her side and realized she might not be the only one fed up with Harry and Ron's arrogant bragging.

Ron, still appalled, turned to Ginny. "You remember, don't you Gin?" He frowned when he saw her blank look. "Oh come on…." He sighed and turned his back on the girls, telling the story again for what Hermione understood to be the 7th time now to Harry, Seamus, and Lavender.

Realizing she was unable to concentrate on her studies anymore, she slammed her book shut and stood up abruptly. "I'll be in the library if anybody needs me." She announced in a loud tone but, as no one other than Ginny and Neville looked up, she rolled her eyes and traipsed off to get some work done.

"If they're thinking I'm going to be nice and give them my essay later…" She muttered under her breath, storming down the hallway and finally plopping down to review her essay, which she had in fact finished a week ago. The library calmed her, however, and soon she had returned to her natural state—reading, writing notes, rewriting notes, and memorizing entire sections of her textbook.

She wasn't sure how long she had been working when someone sat down at the table next to her, and she found herself abruptly distracted by the most alluring scent she had ever encountered. She looked up, unsure of who she would find, but shuddered visibly when her eyes met the cold, grey ones staring back at her.

Draco Malfoy.

She shot him a noteworthy glare before returning to her textbook, but suddenly found she couldn't concentrate. Her head was beginning to ache (probably from that scent filling her nose) and after a few more minutes of trying to work she finally closed her books and decided to try and do something a little more practical that she would focus on. She pulled out her wand and a quill, hoping to squeeze in a little Transfiguration practice. She still had the rest of the afternoon free, as it was a weekend, but she didn't mind spending it doing a little extra work for her classes.

She focused on the quill on the table in front of her, made sure she was holding her wand properly, and was about to recite a spell when suddenly the quill was whisked away from her, as if by an invisible hand. The force, in fact, was coming from Draco's wand, and she watched in utter shock as he daintily directed the quill across the space between their desks and allowed it to settle gently onto his. "Might want to be a little quicker with the spell next time, Granger," he chuckled, and she stood up so rapidly that she knocked out her chair from under her.

She felt her cheeks burning scarlet and she stormed over, snatching the quill from him. "Don't interrupt me ever again, Malfoy." She hissed under her breath, feeling even angrier when his grin only grew larger at her exasperation. "That was probably one of the most pointless and idiotic things you've ever done, and that's saying something. You've got a long list already." Hermione retorted, twiddling her quill between her fingers.

She was rather confused when, instead of responding to her, he bent his head low over his parchment and starting writing. A split second too late she saw the reason why: Madam Pince was ambling towards them, her finger already over her lips indicating they should be quiet.

"And just what do you think you're doing!" She exclaimed in a strained whisper. "The library is a place for quiet study, and you chose to bother this young man who is trying to do exactly that!"

Hermione, who was completely speechless, couldn't help but feel the tears prick her eyes. She had already been having a bothersome day and now she was getting reprimanded for something she hadn't done.

"Ma'am?" Draco spoke up suddenly in a soft voice. "It wasn't her fault, I was actually asking her for help on a problem. I suppose we were talking a little too loudly." He chuckled, smiling a charming smile, and gesturing to his work.

"Well…I suppose…" Pince finally let out a long, resigned sigh. "Keep it down, from now on." She said finally and hurried off, disappearing between the shelves.

Hermione looked Draco over, feeling something close to respect for him. She had never seen him as anything more than scum, after all he was constantly teasing her and her friends, but that was big of him to defend her like that. "Why did you…?" She started, but just looked at him in amazement.

"I'm not so bad sometimes, Granger, once you get to know me." And with that he returned to his studying and therefore ending their interaction, but Hermione was left thinking about it for the rest of the evening.