A/N : This was written for a Draco/Hermione contest. The prompt was "Hermione teaches Draco the Patronus charm."

I do not own any of the characters of Harry Potter, of course. God knows what I would have done if ever I did own them.

oOo

Draco glanced unobtrusively to the Gryffindor's table. There she was, sitting with her friends, chatting with Potty and Weasel-Bee. All he could see was her back. It was well enough, though. The thought that he was possibly going to pass weeks with her for something that he was not even sure he was in need to learn basically horrified him. He could not believe himself. It was, without any doubt, the most horrible thing he ever thought he would do. Asking Granger to… He was not even dare to think the word. Help. Shivers ran down his spine. He did not even have already asked her. But he was going to ask Granger to help him. He swallowed. He must have shown a very special face – maybe something between contempt, distaste, and horror – because Pansy was looking at him with a worried look.

"Something's wrong, Draco ?" She asked, with a tone of voice that reminded Draco of his mother.

He sighed, and it sounded like he was infuriated. Maybe he was, actually. "No, everything is fine, Pansy, thank you."

Yes, he obviously was.

Hermione sighed, lighthearted. This was obviously going to be one of those wonderful days when time passes slowly and where everything felt fine, where you could enjoy every little moment of peace and joy ; one of those wonderful days without any problems showing up.

"What makes you smile so much, Hermione ?" Asked Harry.

She blushed slightly. "Well, I don't know. It's just that it feels good to be together, on such a beautiful day."

Harry and Ron smiled, as well as Ginny and Neville. Even if troubles were anyway going to happen, on that sixth term beginning, they truly felt a warm-hearted feeling. Hermione was even more pleased to see that Harry was smiling, even though he had lost another family member the previous year. Maybe he was just acting like he was happy, but she really hoped that Ron and her could do something to make him feel right again.

Ron, who was sitting right in front of Hermione, stared at the Slytherin table, and the smile that he was wearing a few seconds ago had disappeared from his face.

"The Ferret is staring at us." He said, scowling.

"He is probably just – up to no good, don't mind him, Ronald." Hermione gently begged.

She did not want her day to be ruined by this obnoxious prat. She was going to have a perfect day with her friend and everything was going to be wonderful and –

"Wait. He's standing up. Oh no. I think he is coming straight at us." Announced Ron, and she could see his knuckles going white as he clenched his fists.

"Ronald, calm down, there's no need to – "

Ron stood up, his ears turning to a crimson red. Hermione ducked her head, disappointed. Harry placed one's hand on her shoulder, feeling sorry for her. She knew, from that moment on, that her day was going to be mucked up.

oOo

"What are you doing here, Malfoy ?" Weasley asked.

Draco sighed. It was almost a shame that they were not friends. Thus, he would have simply come to us and asked something and they would have talked about it and there would have been no fuss at all. The fact that there was a mutual hatred between them made the thing a lot harder. But anyway, he did not wanted to be friend with anyone at their table. Stupid Gryffindors.

"Calm down, Weasley. I'm coming in peace." He smirked.

There was a brief moment of silent, where everyone was holding their breath.

"How could you come in peace, Ferret ? Go back to the Slytherin's table and leave us alone, for once." The ginger-head boy said between gritted teeth.

"I'm coming for the Bookworm." The blond calmly replied, looking at Hermione.

The latter gave a discreet start, before turning on the bench where she was sitting.

"What do you want ?" Hermione inquired coldly. "If ever it's another stupid joke of yours, you're going to regret it." She warned, glaring at him.

"This is no way near a joke, Granger. Come with me, I must talk to you for a second."

He put one's hand on her arm, but she freed herself from his hold.

"I'm going nowhere Malfoy." Hermione said, giving him a black look.

They held each other's gaze during a few seconds. Hermione could feel the looks of her friends on her back, while all of this was happening in front of them. Draco grinned at her.

"Well. Then, you won't know what I want from you." He said before turning his back on them.

Hermione rolled her eyes and stood up, walking quite fast after him. How unbearable this boy could be.

"Okay ! What the heck do you want ?" She asked, irritated.

Draco turned around to face her, and a smirk grew slowly on his lips.

oOo

"Are you effing kidding me, Malfoy ?" Hermione almost yelled after he asked her.

Draco stared at her with pleading eyes. Her reaction had been predictable, of course. But honestly, he expected more understanding from her.

"No need to be rude, Granger." He answered, sighing. "This is not a walk in the park for me too. You don't know how much it cost me to ask you this."

"Oh ! I would love to know !" She told him sarcastically.

"Well, it cost me my honor. And you have to know that it is quite substantial." He replied with a smirk.

She glared at him, and crossed her arms over her chest. Her day was indeed completely ruined. It only took a minute, but it went faster than the speed of sound. She was utterly exasperated, and it was saying the least.

"Anyway, why would you need to learn such a thing ? First, it is a very complicated charm, and second – well, WHY ? Honestly, I don't understand !"

She did not have the guts to ask him if it was a common thing to learn how to produce a Patronus when one was a death-eater-to-be. It would have started a fight between them, and it was not something she was able to deal with on the very moment. As for Draco, he did not really thought about the reasons why he felt the need to learn how to produce a Patronus. Thereby, he answered what came first in his mind.

"I'll give bitches a Patronus. Bitches love Patronus."

Hermione slapped him on the back of his head.

"Outch !" He exclaimed, outraged. "How come you dare have such an intimate gesture with me ?" He asked, while rubbing the back of his head with his hand.

"Because all you say is bullshit, Malfoy." Hermione snapped.

He gave her a lamenting look. She rolled her eyes, arms still crossed over her chest, looking like a mother who'd just caught her child doing something she forbid him to do.

"You could have asked Harry." She said, weirdly calm. "He taught us to realize this charm last year."

To Hermione, it sounded obvious. To Draco, it sounded crazy.

"Are you out of your mind, Granger ?" He inquired. "Potter ? Honestly ? It would have been worse with him. He would have answered "no" straight away. I didn't even bother to ask him."

"The fact that Harry would have answered "no" doesn't mean I am going to answer "yes", Malfoy." She flung, before walking back to the Great Hall.

Draco ran to her and grabbed her arm.

"So you won't teach me ?" He asked, and she could see a sincere disappointment in his eyes.

And without anymore gesture, she replied : "I will. I will teach you all you need to know about the Patronus charm." And she walked back to the Gryffindor's table.