Disclaimer: I don't own these characters; they belong to the fabulous JKR. I promise to return them in working order.

A/N: This is a repost of a story I wrote previously. It has been altered slightly, and has passed the inspection of my beta, the marvelous Stellafiore. I will continue to write this story, regardless of reviews, but it is nice to hear a little feedback. I know the chapters are short, but they will be posted every day, so hopefully that's consolation.

Ch. 1

And so we meet again…

A pair of silver eyes watched the people in the club, observing each one in turn before sliding his gaze to the next. He categorized each woman in turn: Too tall, too short, too blonde. At that thought he chuckled at the irony, running a hand through his own platinum tresses.

He contemplated asking the blonde to dance anyways, but found he couldn't be arsed. Walking over to the bar, he placed one imperious hand on the smooth wood, and snapped for attention with the other.

"Bartender, a whiskey, on the rocks."

His attention was then drawn to a corner in crowded room where a young redheaded man was on one knee, apparently about to propose to a fabulous brunette. He let his gaze linger, intrigued by the display, absentmindedly sipping the drink the bartender handed him.

He was waiting for the girl to stand, pull her soon-to-be fiancée into an embrace and smile beatifically up at him. Oddly enough, this didn't happen. He watched, entranced, as the girl's eyes filled with tears and she shook her head and walked out.

The redhead followed her out and Draco was pulled to them, he slowly walked toward the exit, making it outside just in time to hear the tail end of their confrontation. The brunette was crying, trying to convince her boyfriend, not her fiancée Draco noted with some satisfaction as he managed to place the redhead's face in his memories. The Weasel couldn't seriously get a girl like that in a million years.

He was broken out of his thoughts by the sound of Weasel yelling at the obviously distraught girl, "Fine, I don't know why I wasted the last four years on you then!"

She broke down completely as he stomped off, leaving her alone and stranded.

Draco saw the opportunity and went for it. He slowly walked towards the girl, careful not to startle her. Reaching out a hand and tapping her on the shoulder, he started to roll out a slick line, when her tear streaked face looked up at him and a shock of recognition ran through his body.

'Merlin's beard, it's Granger! When exactly did she develop those curves?' and at the same time the girl was thinking, 'Someone up there must hate me, two jerks in one night, Merlin, I don't know how much more I can take!'

She glared up at him, her expression changing in an instant from vulnerable to irritated. "What a surprise Malfoy. It certainly has been a long time. What have you been doing with yourself? You look a little…peaky." The biting sarcasm rolled off her tongue just a little too easily and Draco found himself impressed.

She was obviously not in the mood to talk civilly. "Well, don't let me keep you, I'll just be going now." She stood up and was about to walk away, when a speechless Draco regained his tongue. He couldn't stand to see a decent chance at getting laid just walk away.

"Granger-" Oh blast, that's not going to get her to sleep with you…Sod it all! "Hermione, wait." She stopped, and slowly turned around, a curious look gracing her face for an instant before being hurriedly replaced by annoyance.

He reached out and placed a hand on her arm, pulling her towards him. "Look, I know we haven't gotten along in the past, but I just wanted to see if you were alright. You looked like you weren't doing too well. I'm deeply sorry I bothered you. I'll just leave you alone now."

She watched him turn around with a completely dejected look on his face, and she softened, and then finally melted completely. She always had been too compassionate.

"Mal- Draco, wait. It's been a really rough night and I couldn't stand the thought of yet another jerk hassling me for something I can't give. Then it turned out to be you and, well, we haven't been the best of friends. I may have overreacted just a little bit."

She gave him an apologetic look, pleading with him to understand. He smiled down at her and wrapped her in a hug, smirking in his mind. 'You've got her Draco, just reel her in.'

He opened his mouth and was about to invite her back to his place, but Hermione beat him to the punch. She glanced up at him, slightly embarrassed before apparently deciding to go for it.

"Malfoy, erm…Draco, do you have any plans right now? Because I was thinking we could go back to my place for some…coffee?" He considered it for just a moment, marveling at his good luck, before responding…

"Sure, lead the way."

Hermione walked through the parking lot to her car, a slightly beat up white Grand Am, before looking back to Draco and saying, "I'm assuming you apparated?" He nodded and she unlocked the doors to her car, motioning for him to get in.

He looked her over, as she sat and turned the key in the ignition, smoothly backing the car out and then shifting into drive. He felt her speed up in order to compensate for the rush of traffic. She seems so in control. Wonder how Weasley managed to push her buttons so badly.

As if sensing the train of his thoughts, Hermione looked over at him and said, "I would really rather not talk about what happened at the club. I just kind of lost myself and it's not something that usually happens."

He nodded before asking, in a rather curious tone of voice, "Umm…where exactly are we going?" She chuckled, finally realizing that he didn't know where they were.

"We are going to my home in Bloomsbury. I go to the magical section of the University of London, so my apartment is just a few blocks away from that."

Draco nodded intelligently, hoping that she would think he had a clue what she was talking about. He had never been to Muggle London until that night and had randomly chosen a place out of all the clubs he had seen.

Hermione smiled, recognizing his poorly hidden confusion. "You have no clue what I'm talking about, huh?" Her smile only grew as he rather sheepishly nodded.

"I figured as much; it's only about ten minutes away from here. Don't worry; you should be able to apparate home from there." He looked shell-shocked and sat there speechless for a second, trying to figure out how she knew he was confused.

When she looked over at him, Hermione burst out laughing. The look on his face is so cute, he looks so lost.

Draco stared at her like she had finally cracked before laughing at the situation. They both remained silent for the rest of the ride, each wondering if they knew what they were getting themselves into.