A/N: The kiss between Ron and Hermione never happened and Fred lives! Because I said so. And Adrian is the same age as Hermione.

~5 Reasons Not To Fall for A Slytherin~

5. Slytherins equals dark, sneaky, sly bastards. Well not really all of them...but you get my point right?

I stared gloomily at the invitation of yet another Ministry function handed to me by the secretary during lunch break. Apparently some newly promoted department head was giving a speech and everyone was required to attend this Saturday.

It wasn't that I had anything against Ministry functions, (or maybe I did) but aside from the fact that I just absolutely hated having to wear fancy dresses that make me itch in all sorts of places ,wearing heels that were obviously made to make the female gender suffer and having to apply Sleekeazy's to my hair that I had given up on long ago, I just didn't want to be reminded of my non-existent love life when all my friends would be bringing dates and would at least have someone to talk to during the entire boring event.

"Cheer up Hermione," Ginny said next to me, noticing the change of my expression when I had received the invitation. "We'll find someone for you." She said, wiggling her brows playfully.

I snorted. "I'm not exactly reassured. Remember the last time you set me up?" The last time Ginny had set me up on a date had been two months ago, and boy had that ended well.

He seemed like a decent person at first sight; blonde, green-eyed, athletic build, average height, but as the date progressed it became clear that he wasn't interested in me. Rather, he wasn't interested in the female population.

I had been relieved really, because he was just so different from a certain boy from Hogwarts that up to this day I, embarrassingly, still held a fancy for.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Just because he wasn't a brunette, or grey-eyed unlike Ad—"

"Shush!" I whispered, my eyes darting around the canteen where Ministry workers were on their lunch break.

Harry, Ron and Neville were still stuck in Auror training, whereas Ginny was just visiting.

Having just graduated from Hogwarts a few months earlier, I was still new to the whole working thing.

Ginny giggled. "Honestly Hermione, you should just ask him out. You even work in the same department."

I was a valued employee in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, along with said person.

I poked at my pasta gloomily. "I can't. We can't even have a proper conversation at work without me screaming at him. And have you even seen him Ginny? I won't be surprised if he's got a hundred dates this weekend."

The red-head patted my arm playfully. "Oh don't exaggerate."

I glared. "I do not exaggerate. And besides I—"I quickly turned bright red and hid my face behind the folio that was beside me.

Ginny looked at me worriedly. "What's wrong?"

"He's coming this way!"

She grinned wickedly. "Excellent!"

"Don't you dare Ginevra Weasley," I threatened with a glare but suddenly froze as I sensed his presence behind me.

"Hello ladies." He grinned charmingly, his dark hair dishevelled and a glint in his eye.

I fisted my hands under the table and inwardly cursed.

Ginny smiled sweetly. "Oh look at the time! If Harry looks for me, I'll be by the lobby! I better get going," She winked at me and promptly left.

I growled inwardly. She was so dead later.

"Mind if I join you?" He asked, loosening his tie a bit while I narrowed my eyes.

"Well, you're already here aren't you?"

"Ooh, feisty." He smirked, but took the seat opposite me anyway.

"What do you want, Pucey?" I asked, pretending to be immersed in the book I was reading but actually couldn't understand because we were actually starting a conversation without me screaming at him for playing a prank on me and him trying to say he didn't do it.

"Can't I spend a little time with my partner?" He asked, looking at me innocently.

I gasped. "Partner?" I asked as my expression changed into one of horror.

Adrian folded his hands behind his head. "Ah, that was the expression I was looking for. Yes, you heard right, partners. The head of our department just assigned partners for a new assignment our department will be working on. And I got paired with you." He pointed to me and grinned, as if I should be jumping for joy or something equally horrendous.

"Oh, no." I shook my head.

While Adrian was the guy I had a forbidden obsession on, I didn't know if I could survive being partners with him. His pratishness could practically drive me insane! And not to mention his...well...he is very, erm, distracting to be around with.

Adrian placed his chin on his palm and grinned. "Oh, girls would kill to be my partner. Consider yourself lucky!"

I sighed and shook my head. "I'm surprised how your big, fat head can fit in here."

He grinned cheekily. "Oh, I know you love it."

"You're delusional." I continued to read my book, peeking through my fringe to look at Adrian.

He frowned and traced the title of the book gently. "Oh, I've read that. The ending is actually pretty stupid you see, the girl finds out that her dad was actually the murderer and—"

I covered my ears rapidly. "Don't spoil it!" I glared at him but then stared at him curiously as I realized something.

"Wait...you've read it? But it's a Muggle book." I pointed out; confused as Adrian was a pure-blood Slytherin.

Adrian looked flustered for a moment before composing himself. "I had to go to Muggle London for some business and passed by a bookstore. I was horribly bored and had no choice but to buy it." He shrugged offhandedly as he explained.

I laughed. "No choice but to buy it?" I repeated his words. "You make it sound as if you didn't buy it out of your own free will."

Adrian glared at me. "Muggle stuff isn't that bad, really." He murmured, inspecting his tie.

I stared at him in shock.

When we were still in Hogwarts, Adrian had never been one of those Slytherins that teased me and played dirty. Actually, I had never recalled him cheating on a single Quidditch game, and that was what made me notice him in the first place. He was different. I liked that.

He had also stayed to fight in the Battle of Hogwarts, and had stayed to help the injured. But while I knew that he was fair and loyal to Hogwarts, I didn't know if he held any malice towards Muggles and Muggleborns even if he didn't tease me about my blood status.

I smiled into the book I was reading.

"I still can't believe you spoiled this for me though." I murmured, shaking my head.

Adrian grinned. "Oh it's stupid anyway. I can recommend another one though; it's much better and still written by the same author."

I stared at him curiously. "I didn't know you were into books."

He raised a brow. "What, did you think I was a lumbering idiot who only even graduated because my father was some high Ministry official?" He chuckled.

I laughed as well. "Of course not! I just didn't think you'd be particularly interested in Muggle books."

He rested his chin on both of his hands and stared at me intently. "You Gryffindors seem to have the impression that all Slytherins are pure-blooded Muggle haters that wouldn't dare touch anything from the Muggle world within a ten foot pole."

I blushed slightly. "Erm...well...it's kind of hard not to think that when...well...most of you are." I winced. "And I don't really have the most pleasant experiences with Slytherins when they spent years taunting me in Hogwarts and tried to sell my best friend to the Dark Lord." I scowled at the last part.

It was his turn to wince. "Erm...yeah... I'm sorry about that, though you should know I didn't dare do any of those. And I stayed to fight, didn't I?" He grinned.

I looked at him softly. "Yeah, you did."

"Hey, Hermione! And uh...Pucey." Harry greeted as he arrived, looking at us oddly as Ron and Neville walked behind him. "I, uh, heard Ginny was here?" He said, trying to dispel the tension that settled in.

I swallowed. "Yeah, she's by the lobby."

Harry excused himself from our group to head over to his girlfriend.

Ron looked at me questioningly but greeted Adrian anyway as did Neville.

Adrian, sensing the tension and odd looks we were getting, prepared to leave. "I better get going; I have some work to finish up. See you around Hermione, Weasley, and Longbottom." He smiled charmingly, leaving the table.

Ron and Neville—thankfully—decided to ignore the fact that he referred to both of them in surnames while using my first name and settled in their seats instead.

"Merlin, training was exhausting!" Ron broke the silence, wolfing down the food that I had gotten for them earlier.

"I know," Neville groaned, massaging his back. "And to think Kingsley said this was light training."

I looked at my friends sympathetically. "I'm sure you can do it, you survived a war after all." I encouraged.

Harry and Ginny arrived a few minutes later, both looking a bit dishevelled.

Me, Neville and Ron (most especially Ron) grimaced.

Ginny scooted beside me and smirked. "I bet you had fun with Pucey earlier huh?" She teased, gulping down her juice.

I rolled my eyes and ignored the looks I was getting from the three boys. "Well we were at least able to have a civil conversation. And I still haven't forgiven you for leaving me."

The red-head rolled her eyes. "Oh, I know you enjoyed."

I smiled, not noticing that a certain Slytherin was staring at me from the other side of the room.

X~X

4. Slytherins show up at your home suddenly, and laugh at your attire. Okay, so maybe that applies only for Adrian. But still.

I sighed, flopping down on my bed in the safe confines of my apartment, wearing only an old shirt I had hastily put on and sweatpants.

Harry and Ron lived near as well in their own apartment, so we visited each other practically all the time.

I rummaged through my bag and found the Ministry invitation at the bottom.

I fiddled with the envelope and sighed as I thought about Harry bringing Ginny, Ron bringing Luna, and Neville bringing Hannah Abott, his recent girlfriend.

And of course I would end up all alone by the bar, drinking some non-alcoholic drink and telling all my woes to the poor bartender who had no choice but to listen.

A knock on my door brought me out of my vision, and I made my way to the door to take a peek.

It was Adrian.

I opened it swiftly and stared at him in shock. "What are you doing here?" I narrowed my eyes at him. "And more importantly, how did you know where I live?"

He rolled his eyes. "Oh, you really are so welcoming. I can practically feel the hospitality radiating from you!" He said sarcastically.

I bit my lip. "Oh, I'm sorry. Why don't you come in then?" I moved to the side to let him in, closing the door after he entered.

"To answer your question, Ginny Weasley gave me your address." Adrian smirked at the expression forming on my face.

"I needed your address because Smith forgot to give our assignment earlier, the bastard," He murmured before he continued, "and only managed to give it when I was about to go home, and it was by partners and it's due tomorrow afternoon. You had already left by then, but thankfully Weasley and Potter were still hanging around and she happily gave me your address."

I understood but was still a bit cross with Ginny; what if it wasn't Adrian and was actually some rogue Death Eater still on the run, polyjuiced as him determined to get revenge on me? Call me crazy but it could happen...probably.

Adrian sat comfortably on my sofa and grinned. "What, are you angry at Weasley for giving me your address because you think that it could be some other person, perhaps a Death Eater, out to get you?" At my silence which he took as a yes, he continued. "Don't worry, Potter made sure I was the real Adrian." He smirked.

I groaned and tucked a wild curl behind my ear. "Oh, just give me the assignment that we're supposed to be working on already!" I huffed, sitting beside him on the sofa.

"By the way, nice shirt." Adrian commented, stifling a laugh as he stared at my tee.

I looked down at the shirt I had put on hastily and turned red in embarrassment. "I—it's not—I don't—"I stuttered, asking Merlin why this had to happen to me.

I briefly remembered that Ginny had knocked on my door one day, smirking and handing me the shirt and saying she had it made for me when she found out I liked the Slytherin prat.

In big, bold, letters it said: I like my men tall, dark and Slytherin.

I fought the urge to lock myself in the bathroom and dig an escape tunnel all the way to America. "I-It was a gift from Ginny before and I was really tired when I got home and I didn't realize I was putting it on!" I defended, crossing my arms over my chest to cover the ridiculous text that was unfortunately true in my case.

Adrian grinned crookedly and I only realized just how close he was when he whispered softly to me. "I like it." He tucked a strand of hair behind my ear and pulled away.

I gritted my teeth. He's just teasing you. "Okay, so where's that assignment?"

Adrian pulled out an inch thick folder from his bag and heaved it on the table.

"That, is our assignment." He said, looking at the folder like he'd very much want to burn it instead.

"What are we supposed to do with it?" I asked, though part of me didn't want to know.

"Those are new proposals for laws; we're supposed to revise them and see if there's anything wrong with it." He ran his fingers through his hair. "Err—there are about a hundred."

"What?" I hissed. "Why was this only given now?"

"It was actually supposed to be given weeks ago, but our stupid Department Head Smith only assigned the pairs and gave that to me today." He said darkly.

I groaned. "I'm going to murder him."

He grinned. "I'm with you on that."

X~X

"Only...eight...m-more laws to go." I stuttered, almost half-asleep while Adrian and I were making the necessary changes, writing them down on the parchment.

I glanced at my watch. 2:30.

I groaned.

Adrian yawned and rubbed his eyes, dozing off for a few minutes before resuming his writing.

"Go to sleep, I'll finish this off." He said to me, stifling a yawn.

"But..." I started but Adrian silenced me with a finger to my lips.

"It's okay. I'll finish this," He smiled, stroking comforting fingers through my hair while I subconsciously leaned into his touch.

"Okay..." I finally agreed, and moments later I was already dozing off by his side. He conjured a blanket and placed it over me, smiling at my sleeping figure.

X~X

3. Girls secretly like Slytherin boy's rebel attitude and bad boy image so they fawn all over them. So there's going to be some competition there. And you know how girls are when they fight over guys; crazy, blood- thirsty beasts. Especially if they're hot. Not that I'm saying Adrian is hot. Well...actually he is. Okay, I should stop now.

I yawned as I awoke, blinking my eyes blearily and adjusting to the morning light. Getting ready to get back to sleep, my eyes snapped open rapidly when I realized there was another person on my couch.

Rushing up quickly, I was about to scream when I realized it was Adrian and remembered that we had stayed up until two AM because of our bloody assignment.

Checking my watch, I realized it was seven thirty in the morning, and that we had to be at work by eight.

I approached his figure, ignoring how adorable he looked with his hair sticking up.

"Adrian," I shook his sleeping form. He rolled over and groaned, rubbing his eyes.

"What time is it?" He asked, his voice raspy.

"It's seven thirty," I replied. "Were we able to finish the assignment?" I asked, remembering that he had asked me to sleep while he finished it. I smiled fondly at the memory.

He stretched and nodded.

"Do you need to go back home to change your clothes or...?" I trailed off, looking at his rumpled white shirt and pants.

Adrian smirked. "You seem to be forgetting something, love." He emphasized the last word, and I tried to ignore the tingle it brought to me.

I narrowed my eyes and swallowed thickly. "What am I forgetting?"

"I'm a wizard." He said, and in a wave of his wand, he was wearing fresh, new clothes.

I laughed. "Oh, yes sorry. I'm just a bit used to doing some things the Muggle way."

"I'm not skipping a shower though." I added, rushing to the bathroom.

After five minutes, I dried my hair with a wave of a wand and put on new clothes. I stepped out of the bathroom.

Adrian was still sitting on the couch, flipping through the pages of a book he had found by the table.

I smiled. I hadn't told him to wait for me...

He turned around to face me and wrinkled his nose. "You actually read these kinds of books?" He asked incredulously, showing me the book he found with a title of "Rose Petals on a Summer Day" with a picture of the silhouette of a young boy and woman embracing by the beach while the sun set in the distance.

The smile slipped of my face instantly and I turned bright red. "Stop snooping through the things in my apartment!" I glared, snatching the offending book away from him. "And it's not mine; Ginny left it here the last time she visited!"

He smirked. "Sure, she did..."

I growled. "I'm telling the truth," I crossed my arms, staring at him defiantly.

He placed both his hands inside his pocket and bended down so we were the same height. He stared into my eyes. "And when did I ever say otherwise?" He whispered, his eyes twinkling.

I took in a sharp breath, remaining silent for a few moments.

Stupid, Slytherin charms.

"If we turn out to be late for work," I started, finally regaining my sense of speech, "I'm going to kill you," I glared.

He shook his head and chuckled, waving his wand.

Together, we apparated to the Ministry.

X~x

I ignored some of the stares and murmurs we received as we entered the Department of Magical Law Enforcement together.

We entered Smith's office and Adrian slammed the folder down on his table.

Smith looked up, startled, but accepted it anyway. "I see you've finished this on such...short notice." He said.

"Short notice?" I asked, incredulously. "You gave us less than a day to finish that!"

Smith winced at my tone but grinned. "It was a test. Every member of our Department had to go through it. And congratulations, both of you just passed!"

Adrian and I stared at each other, and then back at Smith.

Adrian cracked his knuckles and stared darkly at him.

"Okay, thank you Mister Smith, we better get going now, Adrian." I laughed nervously, steering the brunette away.

"A test..."Adrian murmured when we were away. "We had only five hours of sleep because of a bloody test."

I patted him on the shoulder sympathetically.

"Adrian!" A female voice suddenly called out to him, together with the clacking of heels and the strong scent of horrible perfume in my humble opinion.

I looked up to see Christine Jones approaching us with her long auburn hair flowing behind her. I remembered her briefly as a Hufflepuff in Hogwarts that was a year older than us.

Something twisted in my gut and I swallowed.

Christine seemed to notice my presence and her smile faltered. "Oh and, hi... Hermione." She said slowly, as if unsure of my name.

I rolled my eyes inwardly before responding. "Hello, Christine." I greeted, though I would rather throttle her.

She turned her attention back to Adrian, who was looking to the side uncomfortably. "Anyway, I was wondering if you had a date for that Ministry Event this Saturday..." She trailed off, smiling sweetly and flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"Oh...well..." Adrian faltered, casting a fleeting glance at me while I was pretending to be immersed by some flyer on the wall.

"Excuse me, Ms. Granger, Mr. Smith is looking for you." The small secretary of our department interrupted, and I gladly followed her.

I didn't want to see Adrian scoring some hot date anyway.

X~X

It was a Friday after work when me, Harry and Ron all apparated to the Burrow together for dinner with the whole family.

Mrs. Weasley engulfed us all in a hug and as usual, fussed about how thin we've gotten and how we needed more food.

"Bill will be arriving with Fleur later on while Charlie called in earlier and said he couldn't make it due to an accident at the reserve," Mr. Weasley explained the absence of the other Weasley's as he, too engulfed us in a hug. "Percy is still busy with work, as usual, and Fred and George will be here soon."

"Dinner will be ready in ten minutes!" Mrs. Weasley called out from the kitchen as Harry and Ron took their seats.

"I've already heard how Hermione's work is going," Mr. Weasley smiled up at me, "So, now I'd like to hear how Auror training is from you boys," Mr. Weasley grinned and Harry and Ron immediately went into detail.

"Hermione!" Ginny called out from upstairs and gestured for me to come to her room. "I have something to show you!"

"What is it?" I asked as I entered the red-head's room.

"Well...the Ministry Ball is tomorrow..." Ginny started, opening her closet and going through her clothes.

I groaned and flopped down on her bed. "Oh, don't remind me."

"Do you have a date already?" Ginny asked, still looking for something in her closet.

I huffed and blew a stand of hair away from my face. "No, and it's not important for me anyway; it's just one night," I said, but even to my ears it sounded as if I was trying to convince myself.

"Why didn't you ask out Adrian?" Ginny asked, placing her hands on her hips.

I snorted. "Oh, please, like he would ever agree to being my date when there are tons of girls who probably asked him out." I faltered and bit my lip before continuing. "Christine Jones asked him out today...and I was beside him. It was so awkward," I laughed without humour. "He probably said yes anyway." I shrugged, acting nonchalant.

"Hermione..." Ginny started, approaching me.

"It's nothing really," I tried for a smile. "What was it you wanted to show me?"

"Oh...well, do you already have a dress for tomorrow?"

I shrugged. "I was just thinking of going through my closet and wear some of my old dresses...It'll only be for one night, so it'd be a waste if I would buy a new one."

Ginny grinned and pulled out a beautiful, white, knee-length dress with a small black ribbon around the waist. "Well, I was thinking maybe you could wear this instead!"

I gasped. "Ginny, where did you get that? It's amazing!"

Ginny shrugged. "I found it in Muggle London when Harry brought me there and I thought it would look good on you."

I fingered the soft dress. "This looks really expensive, Ginny..."

Ginny blushed. "Actually, you should be thanking Harry. When I saw the dress, I thought it would look good on you so I decided to buy it, but he insisted that he pay for it because he thinks he hasn't been spending much time with you and that it was a present." She smiled. "He's so sweet isn't he?"

I clutched the dress, feeling an immediate rush of gratitude for my friends and hugged Ginny. "You guys are the best."

Ginny smirked. "Oh, I know."

X~X

2. Slytherins do devious things to get their way—not that I mind, in Adrian's case.

I cringed as I sipped on my drink.

Today was the Ministry Ball and I had paired the dress with strappy black heels—the contraption made to make the female gender suffer were required, unfortunately— and had applied just a bit of Sleekeazy's to make my hair less bushy.

I had arrived with Harry, Ginny, Luna, Ron, Neville and Hannah and had danced with quite a few boys, judging by the soreness of my feet.

I winced and shifted on my feet again as I tried to get the feeling back to my toes.

After the dinner with the Weasley's, I had given Harry a bear-hug and thanked him for the dress while he just laughed and hugged me back.

I smiled as I watched my friends dance with their dates. They had offered me some company but I declined, instead retreating to the balcony with a drink in hand.

I nibbled on my lip. I hadn't seen Adrian all night.

After Smith had called me to ask about something, I had avoided Adrian all day and had gone to the Weasley's for dinner.

"He's probably off enjoying Christine's company and tons of other girls..." I murmured, resting my chin on my palm and staring off into the sky.

"Mind if I ask you to dance?" Someone asked as he entered the balcony, suddenly bringing me out of my thoughts.

My heart leapt up, thinking it was Adrian. I turned around and—

Oh.

Disappointment flooded me as I stared at Michael Rogers; a co-worker that I noticed was a little too friendly whenever he spoke to me.

"Well, I—"

"Actually," Another voice interrupted me but this time I was glad to hear it, "I think she does."

Adrian approached me and gave Michael a glare. "I think your date's waiting outside; run along now," He said haughtily.

Michael huffed and stormed out, muttering curses all the way.

I turned red and tried to think of what to say when my feet made its complaints known again; pain shot up my legs and a wince made its way to my features.

Adrian turned his amused but concerned expression on me. "You do know you can put a numbing charm on that right?"

I cleared my throat. "I did earlier but it must've worn off and I left my wand with Ginny before when I asked her to hold it. I don't think I can find her in the crowd..."

Adrian rolled his eyes and asked me to sit.

He brought out his wand and, pointing it to my feet, muttered a spell.

I felt the soothing sensation wash over me and sighed in relief as the throbbing disappeared. I got up to my feet again. "Thank you," I said softly.

He smiled. "No problem."

"By the way, where's Christine?" I asked curiously, realizing that the former Hufflepuff or any other girl for that matter wasn't with him.

He shrugged and looked at me oddly. "How would I know? I haven't seen her all night."

My brows furrowed. "But it thought she was your date!"

Adrian snorted. "Well, maybe if you hadn't avoided me all day, you would know that I didn't agree to her offer."

I stared at my drink guiltily. "Sorry, I was...busy." I lied. I had actually thought they were going together and didn't want to hear about it.

Adrian remained silent before speaking again. "I went to your apartment yesterday, you know." He swirled the drink in his hand before continuing. "I wanted to ask you something but you weren't there."

I stared at him in surprise. "I was with the Weasley's at the Burrow."

Adrian hummed and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "Did you use Sleekeazy's?" He asked as he fingered my hair.

"Erm, yeah. A bit." I admitted sheepishly.

He frowned at my answer. "I like your hair better without it."

I looked down to my toes as I felt my cheeks flush. "Really? You're probably the only person who thinks that," I laughed softly.

"I was going to ask you to dance," Adrian murmured, and I only realized how close he was now.

My heart thumped faster than normal. "Well, why didn't you?"

"You were surrounded by your...admirers." He said the last word as if it were a curse.

I rolled my eyes. "They probably only noticed me because I was wearing a dress."

"It does look lovely on you," Adrian complimented and I closed my eyes as I tried not to explode. Merlin, my cheeks were probably darker than Ginny's hair.

"I was supposed to ask you to be my date yesterday," Adrian admitted, caressing my cheek with his warm breath.

My eyes widened. "What?" I asked in astonishment.

Adrian Pucey, the Adrian Pucey, was going to ask me to be his date when he had tons of girls more than willing to go with him?

"Adrian, is that you?" Christine Jones opened the curtains heading to the balcony, clad in a little red dress.

I pulled back from his touch and looked to the side.

Of course, you come running along now when we're HAVING A MOMENT. The snarky person inside me ranted, while I remained silent on the outside.

Christine giggled. "I've been looking for you all night! Care to dance?" She asked brazenly.

Adrian opened his mouth to reply but something snapped inside me as I shushed him, sick of the fact that I always ended up being the one that was watching as some other girl asked Adrian out.

"Actually, we were in the middle of something important before you so rudely interrupted," I practically snarled, "And I was going to ask him to dance as well," I glared at her defiantly, grabbing Adrian by his sleeve towards the centre hall.

"Well," Adrian started when we had begun to dance, "I certainly know what they mean now by Gryffindor Courage," He smirked slyly.

I narrowed my eyes at the Hufflepuff who was still by the balcony. "She's a stupid bint anyway," I murmured, but a blush still stained my cheeks as I couldn't believe I had actually done that.

Adrian chuckled. "Not as stupid as you might think though," He whispered in my ear.

I tried to stop the shiver than ran through my spine. "Are you defending her?" I asked, slightly affronted.

"Of course not!" He said, wrinkling his nose at the thought. "But I...err...might've paid her to make you jealous," He said in a rush, looking anywhere but at me.

I gasped and glared at him. "I can't believe you! You dirty, sneaky Slytheri—"

In one swift movement, Adrian cupped my cheek and pressed his lips to mine, silencing me in seconds.

My eyes fluttered shut at once, threading my fingers through his soft hair.

He wrapped an arm around my waist, bringing me closer and nibbling on my lip.

I pulled back later, lips kiss swollen and face flushed as I stared at his twinkling eyes.

Ginny cleared her throat a few feet away from us, smirking and wearing an I-told-you-so expression, and I suddenly realized most of the people—if not everyone—were staring at us.

I turned bright red in embarrassment and hid my face against Adrian's chest.

"I'm bringing you to my place," Adrian finally said a little breathily, lacing his fingers with mine and apparating us to his flat.

X~X

"Would you stop staring at me like that?" I said, pretending to be angry at Ginny but not finding the energy in me.

Ginny still didn't stop smirking. "No, I can't."

I sighed and ignored the looks I was still getting from other people ever since I got together with Adrian; apparently, Gryffindors and Slytherins were supposed to be at each other's throats.

In the bad way, mind you. Not the...oh never mind.

Harry, Ron and Neville approached our table after training and settled in their seats.

"Where were you last night? I tried to floo in to ask you something but you weren't there," Harry asked me curiously.

My cheeks turned rosy as I fiddled with the loose thread on the tablecloth. "I, err, spent the night at Adrian's."

"What?" Neville asked, looking shocked while Harry and Ron almost choked on their soup. "Did you—I mean—"

"Err—"Ginny began, even her looking nervous. "Hermione, don't you think this is going too fast?"

"She's right; I mean you just got together last night!" Ron said, looking alarmed.

"Ginny and I have been together for almost a year and even then we've never—" Harry trailed off, suddenly turning red as he realized what he had said.

"Okay, I do not want to hear about that!" Ron said, covering his ears.

"Calm down!" I said, trying to dispel the panic that had settled in my friends. "We didn't do anything, you perverts," I laughed.

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

"What did I miss?" Adrian finally settled in the seat beside me, chuckling as Ron's expression turned to one of disgust when he planted a kiss on my cheek.

"You win the bet," I sighed resignedly, handing Adrian three Sickles.

"Excellent," He smirked, accepting it.

At my friend's curious looks, I explained. "We had a bet on what your reactions would be when I tell you I spent the night at his place." I huffed and crossed my arms. "I said you wouldn't jump to that conclusion but Adrian said you guys would."

"Neville started it," Ron said, pointing to the poor brunette.

"No I didn't!" He said, glaring at Ron.

It seems some things will never change, I thought as I watched my friends bicker, smiling as I rested my head on Adrian's shoulder. He wrapped an arm around my waist and chuckled.

I added to my mental list of reasons not to fall for a Slytherin:

1. Screw all the reasons above; I've already fallen anyway.

FIN.

So, the text in the T-shirt Ginny gave to Hermione is actually real, I think, because I saw it in the Internet so it's not my idea.