A/N this one-shot started as a limited word entry for The Houses Competition, but I felt there was more to the story, so here it is. It is still a one-shot, only longer. It's lighthearted and silly. enjoy!

Eighth Year turned out to be quite fun. Headmistress McGonagall insisted on promoting inter-house unity through mandatory extracurricular activities, and although it was rough at the beginning, a couple of months into the term most people were having a lot of fun hanging out in mixed groups.

The eighth-year girls had formed a fun clique and were having a blast with one obvious absence: Granger. She still spent most of her time alone or with Potter and Weasley. They all agreed she needed to loosen up. Meanwhile, they were also trying to solve the eternal puzzle: dating. The Slytherin girls were especially nervous about approaching boys from other houses, as they were used to the pureblood structured courtship traditions.

"Muggles have something called movies, and a lot of them are about romance," said Hannah Abbott. "Maybe we can watch some of those?"

"What the heck is a movie?" asked Daphne Greengrass.

"It's a cool piece of muggle technology. Like watching a whole play on a picture frame but bigger," answered Padma Patil, her arms thrown out to exemplify.

"Well, we need an insider. Someone that can show us. We need to get Hermione. And she needs this; she needs to integrate herself with people from other houses," said Susan Bones.

"She's still attached by the hip to Potter and Weasley. How do we get her to spend time with us?" questioned Daphne.

"We kidnap her, of course," Pansy Parkinson stated nonchalantly.

The next Saturday the girls waited outside the Great Hall for Granger to come out of breakfast. She was, of course, with Potter and Weasley and this time Longbottom was also with them.

"We need a distraction," said Daphne.

"I got this," said Hannah. She wanted to test her newfound 'Slytherin-ess'. She walked towards the group, gave them a sweet smile and when they passed her by she said loudly,

"Nice arse, Longbottom!"

While the four Gryffindors turned around in shock, Pansy shot a petrificus totalus and a quick levicorpus at Hermione. The other girls quickly grabbed her, taking off down the hallway. The boys saw it happen like it was in slow motion, the last glimpse of their friend being carried away as the group turned a corner and Pansy yelled

"Inter-house unity, bitches!"

Hermione came to, gasping, as she sat up. She was on what seemed to be an abandoned classroom but was sitting on a plush rug, surrounded by throw pillows and stuffed animals. There were various decorations on the walls and a table brimming with refreshments.

"Welcome to the eighth-year girls' club," beckoned Padma. "Took you long enough to join."

"What is this place?"

"Is where we hang out, Granger, and we want you to join us. No boys are allowed in here," said Pansy.

Hermione looked suspicious. "What's your angle, Parkinson?"

"Well, for one, you need this. We have all moved on but you are still moping around, alone or with your two dorks. You need us. And of course, we want something from you. We want to watch movies. We heard there are lots of movies about romance and dating."

Hermione still looked confused.

Susan began, "Look, Hermione, we are trying here. The eighth-years are a small group, we all get along, it's fun. You are the only one that is not participating. Even Ron and Harry play quidditch with the Slytherin boys. Come on, it will be fun."

Hermione smiled and faked surrender. "Fine. we can go to my parent's house. I have a floo connection set up, and we can leave from Hogsmeade. My mom has lots of romantic movies. Maybe we could order pizza and eat while we watch!" she said, feeling upbeat.

"This is the most delicious thing I've ever eaten," said Pansy grabbing a third slice of pizza. Her mother would be horrified if she saw her sitting on the floor and stuffing her face like a commoner.

"I think I'm addicted to this," said Hannah, gesturing to her soda.

"I think I'm addicted to these movie things," said Daphne, sighing. "Who knew muggles could be so romantic!"

"I think muggle men can be as good or as bad as wizards. Trust me, not all of them are like Mr. Darcy," said Hermione.

"But he is horrible!" chided Parvati.

"Give him a shot. He is not what he seems."

"Kinda like someone that we know, right Hermione?" said Susan wiggling her eyebrows.

Aghast, Hermione asked, "What? Who?"

"A certain Slytherin," teased Padma.

"That doesn't pretend he hates you anymore," added Parvati.

"Maybe you should give him a shot, Hermione," said Daphne. "He really is not what he seems."

"Who are you talking about?" she asked, nervously faking innocence.

Pansy lost it. "Oh for Merlin sake! It's Draco, alright? He is dying to ask you out but is terrified of you. So you should listen to your own council and give the man a shot."

All the girls stared at Hermione, expectant. She tried to come up with an argument but she didn't have one. Malfoy had apologized to her profusely, thanked her for testifying on his trial, and even sent her flowers for her birthday back in September. She had assumed he was just grateful. Maybe there was something more going on.

She squared her shoulders and looked at Pansy. "Fine. I'll do it." The girls all squealed but she interrupted them with a hand gesture, "If you admit that you have a crush on my best friend and ask him out. He is over his breakup and he noticed how nice you are being to him."

Pansy lifted her chin and offered her hand to shake. "Deal."

The girls ended up spending the night at the Grangers', who were thrilled to see their daughter spending time with other girls, looking young and unconcerned, so they pampered them as much as they could until it was time to floo to Hogsmeade and go back to school that Sunday night.

On the walk back from Hogsmeade Hermione put an arm around Pansy's shoulders and said

"So, ready to talk to Harry? Remember our deal, you go, then I go."

Pansy sigh. "I don't know if I can do it. Feels pretty real now. How can I pull this off?"

"Seriously? You stunned me, kidnapped me, then talked me into watching movies with you and now suddenly you don't know how to do this? Come on, Pansy, you said you were going for it, where is your courage?"

"That was the pizza talking. And I'm cunning, not courageous. I'm a snake, not a lion."

"You are a snake that hangs out with lions now," said Hermione giving her a squeeze. 'But I say if it worked once, it should work twice," she added with a malicious grin.

The next Friday after dinner, the girls started what they called "Operation Lovestruck." Pansy and Hermione hated the name, but the others called a majority vote and overrule them. Once again, they waited by the entrance of the Great Hall. This time the Gryffindors walked out accompanied by Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini, who was apparently having a heated argument with Ron about the current British Quidditch season. Daphne was the designated decoy. She walked towards the arguing pair and said coquettishly

"Tsk, tsk. Come on boys, we are not supposed to fight anymore, remember?" She leaned towards Ron and ran a finger down his nose "that frown doesn't suit you, Ronald," her voice soft and enchanting. The guys were so entranced by the scene that they failed to noticed that a stunned Harry was being carried away.

The "hostage" came to be on the plush rug, and he reached for his wand

"I have it here, Harry," said Hermione. "Sorry, we just thought if you were too shocked you may hex us badly, but here, you can have it back."

He sat up, still confused but not scared anymore. Whatever this was, it was happening with Hermione's approval.

"What is going on?" he asked

His best friend smiled

"Just trying to give you two a little privacy. You know, so you can talk?" she said gesturing towards Pansy, who was sitting primly side-saddled and smiling coyly. Hermione smirked and left the room.

Pansy spoke softly.

"I'm sorry Harry. We thought this would be kind of a funny thing to do. I mean, we kidnapped Hermione last Saturday to get her to hang out with us, so we thought maybe it would work with you too. Maybe it was a stupid idea," she said, blushing.

Harry tilted his head and smiled, then rubbed the back of his head, blushing a little too.

"So, you wanted to talk to me?"

She closed her eyes and reached for a bit of courage.

"I wanted to ask if maybe you wanted to go to Hogsmeade with me tomorrow?"

Harry let out a soft, excited chuckle

"Sure. But only if you let me buy you lunch."

Pansy grinned and nodded. She had unconsciously reached for a stuffed animal, an owl, and was holding it in her arms. Harry smiled wider. It reminded him of Hedwig.

"Who is that?" he said pointing towards the toy

Pansy answered sweetly

"This is Aurelius. I've had him since I was little. When we set up our clubhouse we all brought our favorite things and turned out we all had stuffed animals. It helped us bond, see each other in a different light. To remember that not long ago we were all just kids."

He nodded, feeling his heart warm up. Then a flash of pain crossed his face.

"I didn't have a stuffed animal growing up. The only thing to play with at the cupboard was an old toy soldier. When I found out I was a wizard and had my parents' inheritance I thought I was going to get myself a pile of toys. I wanted to buy the biggest plush animal I could find."

"So It is true? He stories about mean muggle relatives that made you sleep in a cupboard under the stairs?" she asked, horrified

Harry chuckled sarcastically

"Yeah, it's all true. They were pretty mean. I think my aunt was jealous because she was not a witch like my mom, so she made it in her head that we were freaks because we had magic."

"That's horrible."

He shrugged

"It's over now. And for the most part, my life at Hogwarts has been pretty good, if you don't count the war of course."

Pansy nodded. She was still working through her own shame and regrets, so she decided to try something.

"Harry, did you ever get around to buy yourself a plush toy?"

He smiled but shook his head

"No. When I was at Hogwarts there would always something going on, and of course, during the summers I had to stay put at the Dursleys'. They would never take me to a place where I could get one."

Pansy moved closer to him and put the stuffed owl in his hands

"Here. Aurelius is a great companion. Unless you think the boys would give you grief about it, I'm sorry, it was just a thought…" she said, lowering her gaze and blushing.

He took the plushy from her and brought it to his nose. It smelled like her sweet perfume.

"Aurelius seems like a great mate. How about he keeps me company for a week, then he will probably miss you and want to come back"

She beamed, biting her lip.

"Sounds like a plan"

He looked at his watch and sigh. "It's almost curfew. We should get going," and he offered his hand to help her up. They walked together, holding hands until they reached the main hall.

"See you here tomorrow at eleven?" He asked

Pansy nodded, then felt a surge of bravery and leaned in to pillow a soft kiss on his lips. After a few seconds, she took a step back, turned away and ran towards Slytherin dorms.

A bit later Harry was walking down the main hallway, a distracted look in his eyes and a silly smile in his face, bringing the plush toy to his nose occasionally and thinking about the kiss when a yell startled him

"Potter!"

He looked up and saw Draco making a beeline for him, a look of rage in his face

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Potter?"

"What?" asked Harry, his guard up, a hand ready to pull out his wand.

"With Aurelius. What the fuck are you doing with Aurelius? Give him to me!"

"No! He's staying with me for a week. And what do you care? She's not your girlfriend, Malfoy. So fuck off!"

"What? Girlfriend? What are you talking about?"

Harry looked at him, confused

"Pansy. She is not your girlfriend, right?"

"What? No! Wait… so she gave you Aurelius? You didn't steal it from her?"

"Why would I steal a stuffed animal?"

"I don't know, for a prank? So she really gave it to you? To you?"

"Malfoy, you are being weird."

Draco took a deep breath and explained slowly

"Pansy never lets anyone play with Aurelius. No one can touch him. Ever."

Harry looked amused

"When was the last time you asked her to let you play with him?"

Draco crossed his arms on his chest, embarrassment creeping all over him

"When we were five."

"And you are still angry about that?"

"Oh do shut up! " Draco spat, trying to flee the scene, embarrassed

"Hey, Malfoy!"

"What?"

"Maybe Hermione would let you play with Hermes. Just saying…".

Draco turned, a hopeful look in his face

"Hermes?"

"Hermes is a dragon. Kind of fitting, if you think about it" said Harry, offering him a complicit smile.

The next day Harry and Pansy walked to Hogsmeade hand in hand, talking and laughing, both of them mesmerized by how much attraction there was between them, how the change in their attitude and circumstances had catapulted them from schoolyard rivals to barely managing to not jump each other before they made it through a first date. They did make it through lunch, but when Pansy suggested walking around for a bit before going to Madam Poodyfoot's for tea and desserts, Harry pulled her into an alley and soon they had to cast a disillusionment charm to hide their shameless make-out session from unaware passers-by. They decided to forgo dessert and walk back to the castle, where they spent the rest of the afternoon and well until pass curfew tied in a knot of lips and limbs on one of the armchairs of the Slytherin common room.

By breakfast, on Monday the whole school knew about the unexpected couple, and the person most intrigued about it was the outwardly stoic Draco Malfoy, who kept a facade of indifference under the loud whispers, but who inside was burning with anticipation: if the Chosen Prat got so up close and personal with his best friend, then he could expect some quid pro quo. After all, it was all about reconciliation and inter-house unity, and he wanted to get very, very close with the Gryffindor princess.

But things between Draco and Hermione were not really moving. Pansy's head was now constantly on a cloud, absorbed in her blooming romance with the Chosen One, so she completely let her guard down on her friend's situation. Hermione, being the queen of avoidance, made sure that Pansy didn't remember her end of the deal. The other girls were so fascinated listening to every detail of the new, hot relationship that they seemingly forgot about the conversation and in turn had focus their attention on getting some romance for themselves. Hannah was set on asking Neville out, though she still needed a bit of time and encouragement to actually get on with it; and Daphne was working on putting herself on Ron's radar, although she wanted to be more traditional about it and get him to ask her out. Padma Patil was thinking about dipping her toe in the Slytherin pond, maybe Theo Nott would be a good option, but she wanted to get to know him better before going for it based only on his devastatingly handsome looks, while her sister was already in a sweet relationship with Susan Bones.

So one evening Draco waited patiently in the Slytherin common room until Pansy disentangled her tongue from Harry long enough to use the loo. He approached the Gryffindor boy, speaking softly.

"Potter!"

"Hum?" mumbled Harry turning around, a silly, dreamy look on his face.

"I need your help," he said, avoiding eye contact. Asking the Chosen Prat for help with a girl was mortifying, but he was the only person that particular girl would listen to.

"Things with Hermione not going the way you want?" said Harry, wiggling his eyebrows mockingly.

Draco gave him a killing look and was about to turn tail when Harry said

"We'll help you."

"We?" asked Draco, confused

"Me and Pansy. I'm sure she wants you to be happy and I want Hermione to let loose a bit and let herself be happy."

"What do you suggest we do?"

Harry smirked

"We'll ask Pansy to do what she does best: plot. I'll talk to her. It will be fun," he said, grinning maliciously.

"Jeez, Potter. She's really rubbing on you," said Draco, chuckling and standing to leave when he saw Pansy return.

She sat on her boyfriend's lap and gave her friend an eyebrow lift that spelled "do you mind?" so Draco left them alone. Harry went back to his duty, to thoroughly snogging her senseless. When they came out for air again he asked her

"Do you know where Hermes is?"

"You mean Hermione's stuffed dragon? Yeah, it's in the clubhouse, why?"

"I need you to kidnap it for me."

She rolled her eyes

"Is that my reputation now? You do a couple of abductions and suddenly you are a wand for hire?"

"Well, I've come to like it when you are a bit of a bad girl. Now that you are on my side I like it when you get your pretty hands dirty," he said trailing kisses down her neck, making her shiver.

The next time the girls got together at the clubhouse Hermione looked around for her plush toy, but it was nowhere to be found.

"Have you guys seen Hermes?" She asked, looking nervously around for her beloved dragon. She looked up and Pansy had a malicious smirk plastered on her face, so Hermione pointed a finger at her "spit it, Parkinson. What did you do with Hermes?"

Pansy raised her hands in a gesture of surrender

"I only did what your best friend asked me to do. I took Hermes for a walk. Then he left...with someone else?"

Hermione huffed "Who has him? They better don't do anything to him!" she hissed, furious. At that moment Padma spoke

"Hum, Hermione...there's a note here," she said handing out a piece of parchment.

Hermione took it and read

If you want to see Hermes again come to the Wentworth Elm tree by the black lake Saturday at noon. Come alone. Bring a blanket if you want. Otherwise, we will have to share.

There was no signature on the note. Hermione's heart beat like a hummingbird. Pansy smiled

"You thought I was letting you slip through the cracks, didn't you?"

Hermione sigh

"I guess is my time to be courageous. After all, Hermes needs me."

"Yeah, right, that's why you are going to the lakeshore," said Hannah sarcastically, "because Hermes needs you. It has nothing to do with sharing a blanket with whoever has him."

"Oh, I wonder who it is," said Parvati, sharing on the sarcasm.

"Oh do shut up!" said Hermione, throwing a cushion in the direction of the giggling group.

That Saturday Hermione let Pansy do her hair and makeup. They were both natural, but the Slytherin girl was really good at it. No wonder she had Harry wrapped around her finger. When she looked at herself in the mirror she smiled. No point denying that she wanted to look good for Draco. Because the truth was, when she saw him for the first time on the Hogwarts express on their very first trip to Hogwarts, she thought that he was the most beautiful boy in the world. And it had shattered her eleven-year-old heart to find out that he would not want anything to do with her because she was muggleborn. And now, after everything that had happened, after hearing him apologize, after seeing how much he had changed, she would finally have the courage to open her heart again and admit to herself that she still thought that Draco Malfoy was the most beautiful boy in the world. She looked at her new friend in the mirror, then turned to her and kissed her cheek.

"Thank you, Pansy."

The Slytherin girl smiled back

"Go! And don't you dare break his heart. He is still my best friend."

Hermione walked to the lake and saw the elm tree. There was a checkered blanket on the grass, a picnic basket on it, and then the most adorable thing that she could imagine: Hermes was sitting on the blanket, wearing a tiny Slytherin scarf. She kneeled on the blanket and pick it up, bringing it to her chest, then lowering her nose to take a whiff. Goosebumps filled her skin: it smelled like Draco. Had he kept it in his bed?

"He smelled like you at first," said a low drawl. Draco walked from behind the tree and kneeled in front of her. "I put it on my pillow and it was the best sleep I've had in years."

That was it. All the restrained feelings she had since she was eleven spilled like a broken dam and she pulled him by the collar to kiss him. He obliged, at first cupping her face and then slowly sliding his hands, wrapping one around her back to hold her and using the other one for support to lower her down on the blanket. He kissed her slowly but deeply, savoring her. When he broke the kiss for a moment to look at her she said

"I didn't bring my own blanket."

"I guess we will have to share," he whispered as he captured her mouth again.