DISCLAIMER: I don't own the characters, which, as you all know belong to J.K. Rowling

This is the first fanfiction I've decided to publish. I've been writing for quite a while but I couldn't bring myself to publish my story. I'd appreciate your reviews ad of course...I hope you enjoy it!

A/N: Edited 23/12/2015.

Walking briskly along the winding hallways of Hogwarts, Hermione spotted her friend and fellow Gryffindor standing outside the Great Hall, green eyes flashing as he trembled with suppressed rage.

Making a beeline for him, Hermione spoke up tentatively, trying not to provoke his anger 'Harry are you all right? You look awful'

'Well, thanks, Hermione. You sure know how to make a boy feel better' he grumbled irritably as he folded his arms across his chest.

'OK, I know what's wrong with you' her lips twitched into a small smile as she turned to leave, beckoning for him to follow.

'Do you now?' he scowled sceptically, but took a reluctant step forward all the same.

'Yeah, you need breakfast'. Nodding encouragingly as she took another few steps toward the dining hall, Hermione turned back around to face her friend 'Boys with empty stomachs can be pretty difficult to deal with. It's something I learnt during the past years' offering him a big smile, she made an effort to lighten Harry's sour mood.

Unfortunately, her efforts seemed to have been in vain 'I'd be perfectly fine if Malfoy mysteriously disappeared never to come back'

Slightly startled by his bitter response to her seemingly harmless remark, Hermione frowned at the mention of the blond Slytherin before reaching out to rest a concerned hand on his shoulder, 'What happened?'

Scowl deepening, if that was even possible, Harry looked away, choosing to direct his laser-like stare at a portrait of an abbey on the wall instead, making the nuns flinch 'Oh, just the usual polite exchange. "Hey Potty, Where are your Mudblood girlfriend and your Blood traitor friend?"… You know the rest; nothing out of ordinary, really…'

Ah. Of course. Sighing as she tried to push all thoughts of the pampered blond, she patted Harry's arm comfortingly 'Seriously, Harry. When will you stop listening to the spoiled brat? It's not as if his insults have improved during the years. Come on, let's go and have breakfast'

'Wait. Speaking of food…where's Ron? He's not with you?'

'Well, obviously not - even the Chosen One was a bit slow in the morning, she thought affectionately as the bespectacled wizard scanned the area, looking for the redheaded Weasley - he wouldn't wake up so I just decided to come down on my own…you know I like to be on time, especially for the first day of the week'.

The two of them found their usual spot at the Gryffindor table and enjoyed breakfast, chatting idly as they ate. Hearing the sound of heavy, running footsteps growing louder and louder as they came closer, the two looked up in alarm only to see Ron come rushing, looking distinctly dishevelled and scruffy.

'So typical' thought Hermione, scooting over to make room as Ron squeezed in beside her.

Not long after, Professor McGonagall passed by to hand out their new timetables. A few weeks into the term and they'd finally know which subjects they were allowed to take. The teacher looked between the three of them with a stern yet not unkindly gaze, scrutinizing the trio 'Well, I'm glad to inform you that Professor Dumbledore finally convinced Professor Snape to take students who got Exceeding Expectations in their O.W.L.s in his Potion class, so as you – she pointed between Harry and Ron with one of her long fingers - both told me you'd like to become Aurors I've felt no reason not to add the course to your timetable'. Pausing as her expression softened slightly, there was a look almost akin to pride in the Transfiguration teacher's eyes. 'Enjoy your classes'

And with that she went on with distributing the rest of the timetables to the other Gryffindor students.

'Enjoy your classes?! Is she trying to make fun of us? We start with double Potions and oh-how-surprising we're with the Slytherins, again' Ron grouched, nearly crushing his timetable between his hands as he did nothing to hide his bad mood.

'Well Ron, you might want to get used to being with the Slytherins, we also share Transfiguration, and Defence Against the Dark Arts with them… and that's not counting the elective subjects where we're all mixed' interjected Hermione, sighing in defeat as she stared with dejected resignation at her own timetable.

'No way! Oh blimey, this is going to be an awful year, I'm telling you!'.

'Leave it to Dumbledore to pair the Gryffindors and the Slytherins. The man is calling for murder, clearly', commented Harry with a scowl on his face. Seeing the intense glare that he directed at the poor timetable clenched tightly in his hands, Hermione wouldn't have been surprised at all if the sorry slip of parchment abruptly burst into flames.

'Oh stop it, you two! Try and be the better men, don't let the Slytherins get to you, and please do not rise to the bait. You know Snape is always looking for an excuse to dock us of House Points, so don't give him one"

The boys nodded grudgingly and stood up, heading towards the dungeons. Nobody really wanted to be late for Snape's classes, especially not the Gryffindors.

Once down in the Dungeons Harry, Ron and Hermione took their usual table in the back of the room. Hermione kept an eye on Harry and couldn't help but notice that he was staring at Malfoy, Nott and Zabini, who were there already, sitting together and chatting animatedly. Turning his gaze as he studiously avoided the sight of them, it was clear as day that he simply couldn't stand them. Zabini and Nott weren't usually all that bad. Nott mostly kept quiet, or at least he never voluntarily engaged in pissing contests with Harry and Ron, and Zabini was too busy screwing half of Hogwarts' female population to annoy them. There was only a true git there, and his name was Draco Malfoy. How was it possible that the girls considered him one of the most attractive boys of the school? Well, he clearly wasn't bad looking. She wasn't blind and she considered herself an objective person. But, come on, he always had that awful smirk plastered on his pointy face. And he was needlessly cruel. Not to mention the fact that he was a bigoted, prejudiced, spoiled brat.

The class was full, and just a moment later Snape made his entrance, his black robes billowing around him as usual.

'The bloody bat is here' hissed Ron, causing Harry to snort quietly.

'Silence! I am not here to waste my time, I have been forc- well, kindly asked by Professor Dumbledore to take E.E. students in my class and I'm not pleased about it. Don't try and get on my nerves on the very first day of the week or I might accidentally decide to give you so much homework that you won't see the daylight for the next 3 weeks'.

At his ominous words, the class immediately fell silent. Snape and McGonagall sure knew how to keep the students at bay, thought Hermione absent-mindedly.

'Today you are going to produce the Draught of Living Death – with a quick gesture of his wand he made a list of ingredients appear on a blackboard - read the instructions on page 34 and get the ingredients. The Potions Master sure wasn't very talkative. Hermione opened her copy of Advanced Potion Making while Harry stood up to head towards the cabinet and get their ingredients. But he had barely even gotten out of his seat before Snape barked out 'Not so fast Mr. Potter, 5 points from Gryffindor for your bad manners'.

Hermione was glad to see that Harry knew better than to retort, keeping his mouth shut as he lowered himself back into his seat. 'I'm perfectly aware that you've all had the same partners for the past 5 years, but this year things will be different. No more trios'. At this, he glanced between Hermione, Harry and Ron, a callous gleam in his eyes 'You'll be working in pairs'.

Returning Snape's stare as evenly as she could in the brief moment they had made eye contact, fighting to keep all signs of negative emotion off of her face, Hermione stifled a groan. Well… one of them could always work with Neville… so while the news was disappointing, it wasn't too difficult to work around, so all things considered, it wasn't too bad. At least that's what she had thought.

'And' continued Snape with an evil grin on his face- I will decide who's going to be working together' and with another swift movement of his wand he made all their names appear on the panel, replacing the list of ingredients. Standing up in her chair to get a better look, Hermione just couldn't believe her eyes. Blinking her eyes and giving them a quick rub, she took another look and nodded grimly; so her eyes hadn't been playing tricks on her – she knew at once that he had done it on purpose. There was no mistake, Harry Potter – Theodore Nott. And right below Hermione Granger – Draco Malfoy. Perfect. Just bloody blissful. So much for being positive on a Monday morning. She heard Malfoy curse and say 'He must be mental. Me, with the filthy Mudblood!'. Snape clearly overheard but pretended not to - unsurprising given his blatant favouritism of Slytherins, Draco Malfoy in particular. The time when the Potion Master would take points from his own House had yet to come.

Ron was paired with Neville, but, given the fact that Neville had got E.E. on his Potions exam only because Hermione herself had helped him a great deal, he wasn't very happy either. Neville was famous for being a complete disaster when it came to Potions, and Ron wasn't a natural himself. Even so… There was no way that Neville could be considered a worse partner than Malfoy, so when Ron started to complain, Hermione lost her temper and hissed 'Oh shut up Ron! You're not the one who's going to be called horrible names all the time, look who I'm paired with!' Turning to his other friend, Ron opened his mouth, but before he could get a single word out, Harry cut him off 'In case you haven't noticed, I'm with a Slytherin too. There's no way I can be sympathetic over you getting paired up with Neville'. Giving up, Ron leaned back into his chair with a sigh of resignation 'Yeah, well…I guess you two have more reasons to complain'. Clearing his throat, Snape looked around the dungeon, ignoring the dirty looks thrown at him from all directions. 'Well? Can you all pair with your working partner so that we can actually start our lesson or should I start deducting points?' Gathering his things, Harry scowled and muttered under his breath. 'You already started, greasy git' Judging from the way Harry moved as he made his way to Nott, you'd think he was walking to his execution.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the room, Draco was fuming. He knew perfectly well that he wasn't acting like a Slytherin. He should have been able to hide his feelings, but his loathing at the mere idea of being so close to Granger was too powerful to be concealed.

Just before he exploded, Blaise leaned over and hissed 'Draco, get a grip! Go there and work with her, she's smart, you yourself have excellent grades. You'll get top marks together so just shut your mouth and stick to working, you're a Slytherin for Salazar's sake!'

'If you say so…Still, I'd rather work with Saint Potter than with a filthy mu-'

'Draco! Stop being a whiny child and go there! Are you or are you not a Malfoy? You're being immature! Want to give the Gryffindor Princess the satisfaction of being upset about this arrangement?' Blaise's last words lit a fire in Malfoy's head and it was bearing those words in mind that Malfoy found himself packing his things up and making his way over to the female Gryffindor.

Blaise was paired with Daphne Greengrass. Lucky him. The girl wasn't exactly a genius. But anyone was better that Granger. Potter was standing as far as possible from Theo, while still sharing the same table, but other than that, the two didn't show any particular signs of great dislike. Draco heard Theo saying 'Well, should I go get our ingredients then?' Potty slowly turned and simply said 'Be my guest, Nott'. Well, knowing Theo and his usual silent and collected demeanour with everyone but him and Blaise, he and Potter would probably do wonders together. Draco wanted to kill Snape. Honestly, what was he thinking? Paired with Granger of all people. Fan – bloody – tastic.

Granger was busy preparing the ingredients, acting all mature and working swiftly and making him feel even worse for not being able to just accept their new arrangement. She was trying to hide the fact that she was having the time of her life with – he was sure that was how she saw him - her oh so favourite person in the whole world. But she was a Gryffindor and Draco could read her like an open book. She was just as pissed as he was, only more determined to hand the potion in and get a good grade. Sulking over her goody-two-shoes behaviour, anytime she'd approach the table and accidentally go near him he'd snap 'Do not touch me Granger! Keep your filthy little hands off me and my things!' Draco thought he might as well have some fun and insult her, just for the sake of it.

She was beyond herself. 'Malfoy I assure that you I have no intention of touching you. Now if you'd stop being such an insufferable ass we could turn our sample in and leave. I'm not exactly a happy bunny at the idea of having to put up with you for the rest of the year, you know; but I'm mature enough to live with it'. Feeling the pure rage and loathing bubbling up inside of him, Draco looked at the Gryffindor with ill-disguised contempt. He hated that unbearable know-it-all and all that she represented. Still scowling as he watched her work, he was glad that she didn't look up from stirring the potion in the cauldron. He could see why a lot of boys fancied her. She wasn't that ugly, for being a Mudblood - not that he'd ever admit it. Still, he'd never see her as anything other than an insufferable bookworm.

Still eying her fixatedly, he jumped back, startled, when her head snapped up, glaring at him 'Malfoy, do you want to ask me out or something? Stop staring!'

Embarrassed and furious at her accusation, two pale pink splotches appeared on Draco's cheeks, 'Are you joking Granger? As if I'd ever want to touch you and your ugly face. I can barely stand the sight of you, let alone spend time with you. The mere thought makes me want to throw up'.

She looked a bit taken aback, given his angry tone, and he could sense she was a little hurt. Good. It made him feel slightly better. People around them were starting to stare at the two of them, listening carefully to what they said. Potty and the Weasel were too far and too busy with their potions to hear though. Shame - it would have been nice, upsetting them was one of his favourite activities.

'We're done here. I'll turn the sample in, so that you don't have to keep looking at my ugly face for a minute longer'.

No witty comebacks? This was no fun.

'Whatever, Granger. – an annoyed look plastered itself on his face, reflecting his displeasure - ah, just a piece of advice before you leave…go and find someone desperate enough to shag you, you'd definitely be less of a pain in the ass after a good fuck. Oh, how rude of me…I forgot you're a real goody-two-shoes aren't you, Granger? Shame poor Weasel won't get anywhere near your precious V anytime soon!'.

She half choked, her eyes bulging and her skin as red as her Gryffindor tie. He could tell she literally wanted to strangle him for bringing up such private matters in front of everyone, but what really made his day was that she obviously felt the urge to cry and was trying desperately to fight it. He was so pleased with himself as she wiped the corner of her eye.

'Fuck off, Malfoy'.

And with that she gathered her things and left him there on his own, with a smirk on his face. He loved Mondays.

Theo evidently saw Granger leaving in a rush and turned to look at him, mouthing 'Why on Earth do you have to be such an ass? Do you want Potter to kill you?'. That made him feel unexpectedly stupid, and pissed with himself for feeling so. As if Potter actually scared him. Theo then turned the sample in and was about to reach Draco when Snape said 'Well, Mr Nott, Mr Potter can finally hope to pass my class with decent marks this year. Your potion is flawless, 10 points for Slytherin. And yours too Mr. Malfoy, that'll make another 10 points for Slytherin I suppose'.

All the Gryffindors were livid, beside themselves with rage. They knew perfectly well that Hermione was the one who did all the hard work, yet Snape wouldn't acknowledge it just to piss them off. 'Does anyone have anything to say?' asked Snape threateningly. Surprisingly, Potty kept his mouth shut, gathered his things and left the room without glancing back, with Weasley hot at his heels. Reaching him at his desk, Theo and Blaise grabbed Draco and headed for the exit.

'What's your next class?' drawled Draco still quite pleased with himself at the uncharacteristic outburst he managed to provoke out of the Mudblood.

'I have Divination and Blaise has a free period. Looking forward to hear Trelawney predict someone's death' answered Theo calmly.

'Well, I have Arithmancy now, I guess I'll see you in the Great Hall for lunch then' turning to the correct hallway, he walked off, leaving his two friends behind as he went to his next class.

Once inside the Arithmancy class he spotted his usual seat at the back and headed there, walking with his usual confidence. Professor Vector entered the room and greeted them 'Dear all, welcome to yet another year. Today we- she stopped midsentence as Granger entered the room all flustered. She seemed embarrassed, but that wasn't all; the girl was never late. 'Well Miss Granger are you feeling fine? You are always on time to my classes, has something happened?.

'I'm deeply sorry Professor. I just don't feel too well today, I'm afraid', she said clearly masking her emotions. It was bullshit. Draco knew she was in perfect health, she was just upset about their little exchange in the dungeons. Stupid girl, those Gryffindors would never learn to master their emotions.

'Not to worry dear girl, just sit at the back with Mr. Malfoy, would you please? You two are my most brilliant students, I'm sure he'll gladly assist you today as you're not feeling at your best'. Teachers could be really thick. Gladly assist? Really?

Draco snorted at the thought of being again so close to Granger, and couldn't help noticing that her eyes were red and swollen; she had clearly been crying. Was it his fault? He probably hit a raw nerve down in the dungeons. He was just joking of course, he'd never imagined the Gryffindor Princess to actually be a virgin. She dated Krum after all. And as much as he loathed her, she wasn't that dreadful. He still couldn't understand what the famous Bulgarian Seeker saw in her, but still…he'd always thought she gave it up to Krum. Well, to hell with that. She was just an annoying know-it-all and he couldn't care less if she cried herself to sleep for being a pathetic little goody-two-shoes.

Hermione was less than thrilled at the idea of being so close to Malfoy, again. He was just a spoiled brat, of course…and she always told the boys to just let him talk because he was just not worth it. But this time, he did hurt her feelings during Potions. She wasn't so confident when it came to her looks, and being told that she was an ugly virgin in front of a whole bunch of people, most of them Slytherins, was a terrible blow. Being told that in order to sleep with someone, that someone should be desperate, made her feel even worse. Given the fact that she had had a huge crush on someone, namely Ron, who never even noticed she was girlfriend material, her self-confidence wasn't so high. She was just glad that her best friends hadn't heard Malfoy, or they'd probably have felt the urge to defend her virtue or something like that, making things way worse. Last time they hexed each other in the dungeons she ended up with horrendously long front teeth and she wasn't keen on repeating the thrilling experience.

She was thinking about what Malfoy said…and felt bad for caring so much. She knew for sure that Harry and Ron had their first experiences already, respectively with Ginny and Lavender respectively, and everyone supposed she had been with Krum when she went to visit him in Bulgaria. But somehow Malfoy saw right through her, he somehow knew that she was utterly unexperienced and he purposely hurt her by stating so in front of everyone. Nonetheless she wordlessly took her assigned seat beside him and buried her nose into her books, furiously taking notes. She was very aware of his presence, and she could feel his amused eyes on her, but at the same time she was very determined not to look at him.

When she couldn't keep it bottled up anymore she hissed through clenched teeth 'Happy now? You made the filthy Mudblood cry. You succeeded in hurting her feelings. Do you want a medal?'

She usually hated referring at herself with that horrible word, but this time she was too angry, humiliated and upset to care.

Malfoy was speechless 'I-I..'

Hermione kept going 'Can't come up with another witless insult to throw at me, Malfoy? Good, if you've finished telling everyone about my non-existent sexual life then you could at least leave me alone and wipe that grin from your detestable face'.

'Get a grip Granger! For the love of Merlin, you've completely lost it! How was I supposed to know that you would take it so bloody personally?'

'Oh I don't know, Malfoy. You might have guessed that my vagina is something quite personal to me'.

Draco blushed at the mention of her female parts. He too often forgot that Granger was a girl, after all. Regaining control of himself, he blurted out 'Granger, please. This is really not something I want to discuss with you. Ew. Plus, I just said you were a virgin in front of the whole class to piss you off, I didn't actually think you were one. I mean, you've been with Krum back in our fourth year, I've always implied you did something more than snogging him, with him being older…'

She interrupted him, brown eyes flashing as they narrowed themselves to slits 'Malfoy, don't try and look less of a complete obnoxious twat, I know you somehow knew'.

Draco was pissed as hell. Now, how the hell was he supposed to know a bloody thing about Gryffindor Golden Girl's sexual life? For crying out loud, she was such a pain in the bloody ass, and right now, she was being ridiculous.

'You know what Granger? I couldn't care less about what you think and about your feelings. You are nothing. Just an insufferable know-it-all who will never be boned. I, for instance, would rather be transformed into a bloody stone than go anywhere near your filthy body'.

He did it. He knew this would be too much for her to take. He could kick himself for not being able to stop sooner, she'd probably make a scene in front of everyone and he'd end up in detention. But when it came to Granger he just lost his ability to control his tongue. She literally brought out the worse of him. She jolted her head up, looking at Draco straight in the eyes. She was about to cry, he could tell. But she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of crying in front of him. He was surprised at how poised she was.

She calmly, yet angrily said 'You. Are. A. Monster. I just hope that someone will eventually wipe that grin off your face for good, Malfoy. It's too easy being the big bad boy here, though. I bet you are wetting yourself at the idea that you'll soon become a Death Eater. Because we both know you will. You wouldn't refuse, would you? You aim to please your daddy after all. And you're too scared to fight his orders. I might be an ugly Mudblood virgin, but you are pitiful. I feel sorry for you, it must be horrible to live an hollow, loveless life. So maybe, I'm not the one who should be desperate. I may be too emotional, I may lose myself easily, but at the very least I face what's to come with some dignity; that's the problem with you Slytherins - you would sell your own mother just to keep your rich pureblood ass safe'.

She left him there, dumbfounded and speechless, as she excused herself telling Professor Vector that she was feeling sick before heading out. He could feel his head burning, his cheeks reddening and his wrath coursing through him. That filthy Mudblood. That dirty bitch. How could she-how could she possibly dare to affirm that he was scared? She deserved to be punished.

'Mr. Malfoy could you please go and check on Miss Granger? I'm a tiny bit worried'. Perfect. He needed to get out of that bloody classroom. Draco left the room and stormed away, all eyes on him. The hell with Granger, she could choke on her tears for what he cared. She called him a monster, she accused him of being scared….and deep inside he knew he was so pissed because she hit a raw nerve. He headed towards the Great Hall, where he met an extremely relaxed Blaise Zabini. Apparently his free period didn't go that badly.

'Draco' he greeted him lifting his hand to give a lazy wave.

'Blaise. Where's Theo?'

'Inside. The pig couldn't wait a minute longer. He kept complaining about how hungry he was. He's a total pain in the ass, for being such a quiet person'

'He's not that quiet anymore, I'm afraid. I swear he should've been sorted into bloody Gryffindor'

'Now now Draco, he's not that hopeless. I guess he's just extremely glad you finally got rid of Crabbe and Goyle. I mean, a bloody Flobberworm would be more intellectually challenging than the pair of them put together, mate'

Draco grinned. 'Well, I'm bloody starving. Let's go and find Mr. Theodore Nott, shall we?'

Theo was sitting at his usual spot, mouth full of Merlin knows what. 'Hee uh aah maih'

Wrinkling his nose in disgust as Theodore unwittingly spewed out a few crumbs of his food, Draco did his best to stop the slice of toast he had that morning from making a reappearance 'Nott, that's revolting and you look like Weasley – can't you swallow before talking?'

Briefly glancing over at his fellow Slytherin as they slid into their respective seats, Blaise redirected his gaze back to Nott with a grin 'Draco here is in a bad mood, Theo, just so you know." Grin widening at his blond friend's scowl, Blaise gave a smirk, resting his head on his knuckles "Prince Charming; care to tell us what happened to make you so pleasantly cheerful? You're such a joy to be with'

Snorting, Draco's scowl deepened as he gave Blaise his well-practiced glare. 'Zabini, you could always sit somewhere else, you know'.

'Oh Blaise. It's the surname thing again. Leave him be, he'll come around'

'Will you two stop whatever you think you're doing? I'm right here, in case you haven't bloody noticed'

'Oh, see Theo? Tease him a little bit, get a reaction - you'd think he was a bloody emotional Hufflepuff'

'Oh, for the love of Salazar! Why am I wasting my precious time with the two of you again? Please remind me'

'Because I am the most charming, attractive, funny wiz-'

'THEO!'

'Sorry mate. You're not in the mood, I get that. But you can't honestly expect Blaise and I to be two bloody statues. We are not Crabbe and Goyle - Merlin bless'em -They could challenge a mountain Troll in stupidity'

Draco sighed. Theo was right, after all - he felt way better since he started hanging out with him and Blaise. He could finally speak to people who were able to put two sentences together without ending up with a splitting headache.

'Nothing happened. Nothing important, anyway. Bloody Granger, as usual. I swear I'm going to wipe that superior look off her ugly face one day'

'Such a shame she's so annoying, though. She's quite fit if you ask me' said Blaise casually as he buttered his toast.

Draco gasped, mouth opening and closing with disbelief. 'Fit? Honestly, Blaise. Even YOU can't possibly stoop so low'.

'She is fit, Draco. Unfortunately she's also an insufferable know-it-all'

'And a Gwyffindoh' added Theo with his mouth full, once again spraying crumbs everywhere.

'Would you fucking swallow your bloody food before speaking Theo?'

'Jeez, sorry mate. Forgot we've got the Slytherin Prince himself here. What on Earth did she do to put you in such a state?'

'She exists' he stated simply, brow furrowing at the merest thought of her 'That and she got all upset because I pointed out the obvious'

'Being what?' asked Blaise, the infamous King of Slytherin gossip himself.

'Apparently Gryffindor Golden Girl is a virgin. And I stressed out the fact that she'll be one for a long time, being an ugly Mudblood and all…'

'Ouch. I guess she didn't appreciate that. Still a virgin, you say. Interesting…' said Blaise.

Theo laughed 'That's hardly the reason why you are so upset, though, is it? I mean, she got her knickers all twisted because of what you said…great. So now what?'

Bloody Theo. Why was he so fucking smart?

'She told me I must be pissing myself at the idea of following my father's footsteps. Can you fucking believe her nerve? Mentioning my father. Stupid bitch' he explained reluctantly, trying to sound nonchalant.

'I am pissing myself at the mere thought; my father gives me the creeps... and yours is way worse' Briefly looking away from his food, Theodore gave Draco a sympathetic look.

How could he say something like that in such a casual way? He had some nerve. Or he was completely and utterly barmy. Knowing Theo, it was most likely the latter.

Blaise snorted 'Lucky me then. My mother's only worry is finding husband number 7… or maybe number 8. I think I lost count'

After a very pregnant pause, Theo started laughing his ass off, and, moments later, so did Blaise.

Draco followed straight after, completely forgetting what Granger had told him.