Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or any of the characters or places in the books.

Rated M for adult themes/mature content.

October 16, 1996

"Harry, why would you tie your shoelaces together when you know you have to get up in the next two minutes?" Hermione face palmed as the wizarding world's last hope tripped and collapsed onto the ground in a dramatic heap. He muttered something unintelligible about the elasticity of shoelaces before attempting to right himself by grabbing onto Ron. Unfortunately, this resulted in taking Harry's red headed comrade down with him. Hermione didn't bother to hide it when she rolled her eyes and let out an over exaggerated sigh.

"Quickly now, we have much to do!" Slughorn crowed from the front of the room. The potions class shuffled reluctantly up to where their professor was hopping excitedly from foot to foot in front of a small black cauldron. When Hermione got close enough, she tilted her chin upwards a bit in order to see the contents.

The potion was Persian blue and had a glassy surface. It was oddly alluring, and she felt herself being drawn towards it- a strange temptation for such an innocent looking potion.

The potions master cut into her thoughts. "Gather round, gather round. Don't be shy! Mister Finnigan, please do watch your footing, we don't want this spilling now."

Once everyone was situated, Slughorn began. "Now, can anyone tell me what this potion is?" he gestured towards the cauldron. As expected, no one said anything. His unkept eyebrow rose high on his forehead, resembling an agile caterpillar. When his gaze rested on Hermione in surprise, she blushed in shame. "Very well," he cleared his throat, obviously not expecting to have to explain. He really was too reliant on the intelligent Gryffindor.

"This," he shook his hand in what he thought was a grand manner (it looked more like a flailing hippopotamus, but best not to burst his bubble) "Is the Acamara Lotus potion."

"Why haven't I heard of it before?" Hermione blurted out before she could stop herself. She could feel the eyes of her classmates on her, and heard a few sniggers-mainly originating from the Slytherin half of the room.

"What a wonderful question! Five points to Gryffindor!" Harry clapped Hermione on the back, causing her to almost go toppling forward. "You have never heard of it because it has been outlawed globally and carries heavy fines such as imprisonment and execution for possession!" Throughout his spiel his voice never lost its upbeat tone.

Ron crinkled his forehead. "Is it legal for it to be in here?"

"Details, details," Slughorn waved his hand dismissively. "Anyways, the Acamara Lotus potion is a form of love potion. It does not create false love, and cannot create any form of infatuation," there was a chorus of sighs of disappointment sounding from the girls. "Acamara Lotus is closely related to Amortentia. It gives off a distinct scent to each person. Two people in love with each other will smell the same thing. In old times, it was used to determine matches and loyalty in marriages. As you can suspect, this ended in many tragedies..."

Lavender raised her hand, shocking everyone in the room when she asked a valid question. "What if the person smelling it isn't in love with anyone?"

"What a wonderful question! Five points to Gryffindor!" Slughorn rewarded, not hearing the threatening grumbles from the Slytherins. "If a person is not in love with someone, they still catch a scent from the potion. It takes on the smell of the person destined for you. This could be someone you haven't met yet, or someone you have been around your entire life." His eyes took on a wistful look for a couple of seconds while Parvati sighed in merriment at the idea of true love written in the stars.

Dean Thomas threw his arm in the air, catching Lavender in the nose and causing her to fall to the floor. "Why is it banned, then? It doesn't sound dangerous," he asked curiously.

"It is because of the results of the side affects of the potion. Nothing major-" Slughorn began, but he was interrupted by Hermione,

"Not to be rude, professor, but I think the side affects might be a bit dangerous if it has been outlawed in 196 countries."

"It's because of the mere properties of the potion, and what it has caused the 'sniffers', if you will, to do. Highly addictive stuff. Unfortunately, it has resulted in several divorced couples and murders. But, that's a history lesson for another time." Slughorn clapped his hands together. "So, whose going to smell it first?"

Unsurprisingly, no one stepped forward.

"I suppose I'll go, break the ice," Slughorn chuckled to himself as he stooped down and inhaled deeply. A wide smile spread across his mouth and a relaxed expression crossed his face. Harry, Ron and Hermione exchanged weary looks. "I smell lemons and fresh rat droppings."

"So that's why he's single," Harry breathed in Hermione's ear, and she had to clutch her throat in the universal "I'm dying" gesture in order to keep from laughing out loud.

Slughorn straightened up after a moment and decided it would be a good time to address the class.

"Be careful not to get too close, this potion can create mild hallucinations of a sort, so don't hang about it for too long," Slughorn explained as he inhaled deeply, going a bit cross eyed before shaking his head as if in denial.

"What kind of hallucinations, professor?" Pansy Parkinson piped up.

"Oh, I once had a friend who saw Hungarian Horntails flying about his house in search of a magical cheese that only Merlin himself possessed."

"How long did it last?" concern marred the dark haired girl's brow.

"Just long enough for him to demolish his house and move to France. He still resides there today, actually. So twenty five and two thirds of an hour, I believe."

"Moral of the story, smell it, then get out," Ron muttered, whilst Harry shuddered at the thought of Hungarian Horntails following him around.

"Let's try this again, anyone want to volunteer?" More silence. "Looks like I'lll choose a victim! Ah, Mr. Weasely!" Ron slouched down as Slughorn grabbed him and practically shoved him towards the potion. "Have at it!"

Ron's red head tentatively dipped downwards and ever so slowly, his nostrils flared, signifying that he had sniffed. The Head of Slytherin bounced up and down in anticipation. "Well? What do you smell?"

The young Weasley scratched his head and frowned as he said, "Fresh dirt and the air after a rainstorm."

"Artsy," Dean commented.

"Thank you," Ron returned back to his spot next to Hermione, who gave him a reassuring look.

"Harry, my boy, you next!"

The Boy-Who-Lived slunk up to the potion, giving it a weary look before saying, "I smell…is that mango vanilla body butter? And moisturizer, of the advanced variety."

"Looks like your lover has got dry skin," Seamus said, and Harry shrugged before retreating back.

Hermione listened with interest as her classmates went up one by one and smelled the glossy potion. Seamus smelled chocolate chip cookies fresh out of the oven, accompanied with sea salt. Lavender apparently smelled hot coca "without the marshmallows" she claimed, and new blankets.

As Hermione nervously approached the potion, she caught Harry's eye, who gave her an encouraging thumbs up. Smiling at him, she inhaled deeply, and was immediately overwhelmed by a pleasant scent.

The sweet smell of honeysuckle tickled her nose. She sniffed again, catching a deeper, woodsy scent. Pine, she decided, fresh and green and clean. The unmistakable smell of parchment also caught her attention. Hermione frowned slightly at the distinct mixture of scents. Sighing, she reluctantly pulled herself away from the surprisingly comforting smell and dutifully reported back to the class, "There's honeysuckle, pine and parchment."

It was onto the Slytherin side of the room now. Crabbe was thunking his way up to the cauldron right now. "Bumble bees," he grunted, before making the long and difficult trek back to his spot less than a meter away. He nearly bent over to catch his breath when Seamus asked in bewilderment, "How do you know what bumble bees smell like?"

"I had a friend who had a pet bumble once. It was rather soft. I could pet it with a single finger."

"You're completely ruining the Slytherin image," Draco Malfoy groaned from the side, but the rest of the class was in shock that Crabbe had managed to piece together a coherent and fluent sentence.

Theodore Nott, a weedy boy who was too skinny and too tall, slid his way up to the cauldron. Closing his dark eyes, he inhaled deeply, before opening his eyes and staring at the wall.

"Well?" Slughorn prompted. Theodore blinked once before stating, "Blood, O negative" he deadpanned, and walked out of the room in a solemn silence, leaving an even creepier silence behind him.

"Er,"

"Anywho!"

"Let's keep this moving," Slughorn decided, before he picked out Neville, who was hiding behind Seamus' wide shoulders. The poor boy stumbled his way to the front of the group, and sniffed eagerly for a few seconds.

"Nuts. Or balls. It's a toss up between the two, really. Whichever you prefer."

…

"Er…what kind of nuts, Neville?" Seamus bravely asked.

"Walnuts…and a dash of peanuts. Or perhaps a hint of almonds. Why do you ask?"

"And the balls?"

"The rubber ones. Not the material that quaffles are made out of, slightly softer. Less leathery. Why do you ask?" Neville repeated himself.

The Irish boy looked at the ceiling in a supposedly innocent manner. "Oh, no reason."

"Really, why?"

"Nothing to worry about, no worries. Just clarifying."

"What are you-" Neville was left spluttering in confusion, his face a few shades darker than Ron's hair.

The rest of the class went quickly, and before they knew it, Slytherin's prince was next. He leisurely stepped up to the potion and inhaled quickly. "Some sort of tree, pine I think, and er, honeysuckle and parchment." Slughorn nodded in approval and Draco was on his way back to his seat when Harry's eyes widened.

"Waiittttt a second."

"Oh merlin oh merlin oh merlin."

Meanwhile, Hermione was frozen.

Honeysuckle, pine and parchment.

The rest of the class slowly began catching on.

"The apocalypse has come, kids."

"Did what happened really just happen?"

Honeysuckle, pine and parchment.

"There has to be some mistake. Are you sure you brewed that potion correctly, old man?" Ron poked a finger at Slughorn, who quivered and cowered under it, making Ron puff out his chest proudly.

"There are no faults in it, Mr. Weasley."

Honeysuckle, pine and parchment.

"But…But!" Harry began to desperately search for a response, but found he was tongue tied.

Honeysuckle, pine and parchment.

On the other side of the room, Draco wasn't doing any better.

"Hermione can't love Malfoy!" Ron finally exploded.

Parvati squealed. "He's right! This is too good to be true!"

"It's beautiful!" Lavender crooned.

"It is not! It's a tragedy! A disaster! A catastrophe and a calamity!" the angry red head shouted.

"I didn't know you knew words that big," Harry said with a dazed expression.

"Neither did I," Ron responded.

"Malfoy must have poisoned her, or has Hermione under some sort of spell!" Seamus accused, and Pansy put a protective hand on Draco's arm.

"You've got it backwards, Finnigan! Draco wouldn't lower himself to such scum!" she all but screeched.

"Hermione, how could you do this to us! We thought you were our friend!" Dean clawed at his eyes. Hermione slammed her hands down on the table in front of her, effectively getting everyones attention.

"Has no one thought to ask me, or Malfoy, about any of this? No! For all of your information, I do not love Malfoy. I never have and I never will. And I can guarantee you that the feeling is mutual."

"Couldn't have said it better myself," Draco said dryly.

"Watch it Malfoy, that almost sounded like a compliment," growled Hermione.

"It's love!" Harry cried, covering his eyes.

"NO IT'S NOT!" the brunette witch yelled, face flushing slightly.

Lavender raised her hands in a calming motion. "Now I think everyone should calm down, love doesn't have laws, and it can happen between anyone-"

"There has to be a logical explanation to all of this," Dean said, adjusting his head lock on Ron to better suit him. All eyes turned to Slughorn for guidance.

"There could be something wrong with the potion…perhaps I'll look into it, in the safety of my office…" Slughorn all but ran- as fast as his weight could allow him at least- to his office door, and bolted it before anyone could breathe a single word of protest.

The bell had long since rung, and the next class began filing in the dungeon door. Finally, someone decided to see logically. "Guys, we are being ridiculous. I mean really, Hermione and the ferret? Never going to happen," Harry laughed nervously, wiping sweat from his brow. A few other people gave some awkward chuckles.

"Finally someone with some sense!" Hermione cried in exasperation, throwing her hands in the air. Everyone breathed a collective sigh of relief. "What are we waiting here for? We have to get to class!" Hermione suddenly cried, and began rushing about to gather her things. Her friends had no choice but to run after her, leaving the curious and suspicious whispers about the recent events behind them.

Following potions class, Hermione had dragged Ginny Weasley to the kitchens the first chance she got. It was the only place in the castle that she could talk in peace without receiving weird looks from gossiping classmates. Not to mention Hermione had a knack for stress-eating.

She sighed loudly and said for what must have been for the hundredth time, "I don't get it. How can you be in love with someone and not know it?" Hermione rested her chin on her hands, kicking the table leg moodily. Ginny poured some tea into a cup for her before setting the pot down and sitting across from the distressed witch.

"I don't know. You tell me. You're the one who's experiencing it," she shrugged wisely. Hermione blew her hair out of her eyes in frustration.

"I mean, I can't be in love with him. He's Malfoy," the older witch said, as if this were explanation enough. Ginny looked unconvinced.

"Uh huh. So what would Ron and Harry say if you really were in love with him?"

That was an easy one. "That it is an abomination to human nature and that I'm a traitor," Hermione explained with ease.

"And what would you say?"

"Er…ew?"

Ginny's eyebrow arched. "Now what would you really say?"

Hermione sighed in defeat and dropped her eyes to the floor. "Well," she began softly, "He is sort of attractive, for a sub-human I suppose," Hermione buried her face into her arms. Ginny patted her arm and pushed the tea cup towards her.

"Do you know what I think you should do?" Ginny asked after a moment had past. Expectantly, Hermione lifted her head and met Ginny's blue gaze.

"What?"

"I think you should think, and I mean really think, about how you feel about all of this. Not about how others feel, not about how Ron and Harry feel, about how you feel,"

"Disgust and endless dismay?" she tried.

"Stop lying to yourself." Ginny snorted, waving her hand about as if to shoo away the lies.

Eyes widening in exasperation, Hermione immediately bolted upright, her back straighter than a spine of a book. "What?! I'm not lying! Malfoy is an evil, foul little git who gets joy in life from making other people's lives miserable."

"So if you're so certain about that, then why are you here?" Ginny swirled in some more milk into her tea, blowing on it unconcernedly.

"Huh?" Hermione asked dumbly.

"If you really do believe what you just said about Malfoy being a foul evil little git and all, then why are you allowing yourself to stress over this? If you know for a fact that you don't have any feelings for him, then you shouldn't be fretting," Ginny said patiently. The girl picked up a biscuit and tore it in half, eyeing each part hungrily. "Besides, little boy Malfoy was a rude cockroach and all those things you said before. But big boy Malfoy is more mature, responsible, hot, and he's got a great ass." To accent her point, she bit into the biscuit bun aggressively. Hermione finally understood the imagery Ginny was trying to get across.

Hermione mulled the words over in her mind as she took a sip of Ginny's tea. She most definitely did not think about Malfoy's shapely ass. Or the way his pants always seemed to grip it just right. Dammit, that boy needed to stop wearing tight pants.

Or just stop wearing pants all together.

Bad, bad, bad Hermione! Quick, take your mind off of Malfoy and think of something Earth-shattering.

Snape washing his hair with shampoo?

There we go.

"You have a point, I suppose," Hermione stated glumly, before pushing the cup away again. Thoughts firmly gathered away from Malfoy's firm ass, she continued, "But the potion-"

"Magic can make mistakes, Hermione. It's not always perfect, everything has flaws…and everyone has flaws," Ginny finished the last part quietly, which made Hermione look at her oddly over her teacup. There was something in the way she said it, as if there was something she wasn't letting out.

"What are you saying?" Hermione asked slowly.

The younger girl sighed and ran a hand through her glossy red hair. "I'm just saying that…it's okay if you have feelings for Malfoy. It's not a sin, you know,"

"The way everyone reacted today, you would think it was," the brunette pointed out matter-of-factly, but Ginny shook her head.

"But you should be the judge of that."

The two sat in silence for a little bit more before Hermione pushed her chair backwards and stretched. "I should get going, if I want to make it to the Prefects meeting in time," she said. "But thank you for meeting me here on such short notice," Hermione gestured around the kitchen, where the house elves had gladly welcomed them in. The youngest Weasely gave a 'Don't mention it' wave of her hand, accompanied with,

"That's what friends are for. Besides, you can't really have girl talk with Harry and Ron," she giggled slightly at the thought.

As Hermione opened the door, a thought crossed her head, causing her to turn around.

"Hey, Ginny?"

"Hmm?"

"Out of curiosity, what do you think of all of this?"

"I think you'd be crazy to let a love like this go," Ginny said plainly and simply. But this situation could be described as anything but those two words. Hermione frowned pensively.

"But I know for a fact that I don't love him."

"Do you?"

Word had spread fast about the dreaded Potions incident and many students were already staring and pointing at Draco openly, as if he were some sort of walking, festering disease. He supposed he was, seeing as he was apparently in love with Gryffindor's muggle-born extraordinaire, bookworm and best friend of the Boy-That-Just-Won't-Die.

And, going back to the staring and pointing, it wasn't as if people didn't already do that. The blond was used to it by now and relished in the attention. He was Draco Malfoy, after all. He was godly. The mortals worshipped the ground he walked upon.

In theory, of course.

"I think it is safe to say that this was unexpected."

"Shut up, Blaise." Draco's threat was ignored as the two stalked through the corridor to their next class. Their robes billowed out behind them in a threatening manner, but it was nothing compared to Snape's bat-like cape. One could only try. Temporarily side tracked, Draco queried,

"How do you think Snape does that robe swishing thing?"

The two paused in thought. "Blower under the robes?"

"Hmm."

"Do you want to check under his robes to confirm? Oh yeah, I forgot, the only robes you want to look under are Granger's."

"Blaise-"

"What are you going to do, date me? Oh, the horror."

"Blaise-"

"Oh right, you've already got yours eyes set on a certain someone."

"I'd love to agree with you, but then we'd both be wrong."

"You're hilarious," Blaise simpered.

Draco smirked. "It makes up for your lack of personality."

"And he's charming, too," the put out Italian stalked ahead of his friend. Grinning in triumph, Draco stretched his arms out in front of him, relaxing the previously tense muscles. It felt good to unwind a bit despite the odd events the day had thrown at him.

A series of giggles sounded from beside Draco. He looked at a group of fifth years girls who were blushing and staring at the muscles of his arms and shoulders that he had purposefully put on display during his stretching exercise. He threw them a playful wink and carded his fingers through his silky hair, non-too subtly flexing his bicep. The girls collapsed in puddles of goo, making Draco smirk contently.

Blaise rolled his eyes at the blond's vanity. Eager to pull Draco's attention back to the entertaining subject matter at hand, he thumped Draco on the back.

"Hey, you know what man, I support you and Granger. You're better for her than that meat head Viktor Krum," Blaise's eye twitched as he recalled their fourth year. It had been a particularly rough year- the girls who usually swooned over him had transferred their interest to Krum. It still stung his pride. "I hope the snitch takes out his eyeball," he said menacingly.

"I'll borrow a bludger up his arse," Draco grinned and Blaise cackled.

"You can try, snowflake."

"You doubt me?"

"I'm worried you'll be too distracted by Granger to do anything," a smirk snaked onto Blaise's features, and Draco all but growled.

Blaise must've had a death wish because he continued on, blissfully ignorant of Draco's clenching fists. "I mean, a forbidden, illicit, torrid love affair blossoming between my best mate and the Hermione Granger. Whose attention wouldn't be shot?" A low whistle followed this statement. Malfoy tried to speed up his pace to put distance between him and the nuisance he somehow called a friend, but he was matched step for step.

"Blaise, shut the hell up," Draco groaned, his irritation quickly swelling. He pinched the bridge of his nose and breathed deeply, trying to control the annoyance that had only continued to grow as the day carried on.

"Maybe we should have seen this coming. All of that sexual tension, so thick you can cut it with a knife-"

"Blaise!" Draco spun around and gripped the front of his fellow Slytherin's robes. Blaise made a choking sound and his eyes bugged slightly as he stared at the angry blond before him.

"You can't deny it, Drake!" His eyes were bulging now as he clawed at Draco's hands. The other boy growled,

"Don't call me that. And drop this subject, now." Passing students were starting to stare, and Draco was sure it wasn't because of his radiant beauty. He bared his teeth at anyone who dared look in his direction. They scurried along quickly, fear piercing through their hearts. No one would dare cross the Slytherin Prince.

"Okay, okay!" Blaise rasped in defeat, throwing his arms up in a flailing fashion in order to get his point across. Draco narrowed his eyes at him before he loosened his grip- but only slightly. Blaise's leather shoes barely grazed the ground as Draco lowered him some more.

"You getting so defensive about this will make people suspicious, Draco," Blaise croaked, rubbing at his neck and collar bone. Draco growled, but Blaise continued. "I'm just saying, mate, you might want to keep your emotions in check, or people will assume the worst."

The blond blinked several times. That thought hadn't dawned on him. He dropped Blaise to the floor with a thud and ran his hands through his hair, effectively disheveling it in a way that would make most females coo.

Blaise, not being a female, grunted loudly in displeasure from his spot on the floor. He quickly stood and brushed himself off, wildly looking this way and that to make sure no one saw his moment of ungracefulness. Unfortunately for him, there was a still a gaggle of fifth year girls standing nearby, all of whom giggled loudly as they watched him. The Italian's cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

After growling some colorful words which Draco pointedly ignored, the two parted ways. But Blaise's warning was still ringing through his head. He'd have to stay away from Granger from now on, no exceptions.

To say that Hermione avoided Malfoy like the plague for the rest of the day would be an understatement.

She was ducking behind bookshelves, peering around corners in the corridors before she walked around them, and checking her surroundings constantly.

Because you see, discovering that you are apparently in love with Malfoy does that kind of thing to you.

"You know, I really didn't think he was your type," Fay Dunbar spread marmalade on her roll, causing Hermione to cringe slightly as the girl shoved it in her mouth.

"My type?" Hermione asked, subtly shuffling away from her dorm mate. Fay nodded, but her mouth was full of roll, so Lavender took over for her.

"Yeah, you're type. The kind of guy you'd go for. I guess we were always picturing a more down to earth guy, nerdy, glasses, with a passion for books and learning and…whatever it is that you are passionate about." Lavender explained, and Fay bobbed her head up and down in agreement.

"Then again," Lavender started again, tapping her chin with a manicured finger. "I could totally picture you going for your polar opposite. Tall, dark and dangerous. Add a bit of spice to your life, you feel?"

"Not really," Hermione sighed. "And Malfoy doesn't really fit that description. Tall, maybe, dangerous, it certainly depends on the situation. I bet you if he had to deal with a hippogriff he'd run the other way before you could say Buckbeak. And dark? He's a bit pale and…colorless. He lack's pigment. And don't get me started on his hair. It's a beacon," Hermione shuddered.

"He's dark in a figurative sense," Fay offered, her eyes resting on the Slytherin across the room. "It's pretty attractive," her eyes lingered for a bit longer before she pulled them back to Hermione.

"I bet he'd bring out the wild side in you."

"My wild side," Hermione restated dumbly.

"Yeah! You know, the animalistic part that comes out when you're in the sack!" Fay exclaimed a bit too loudly for Hermione's tastes. Red tinged her cheeks as several people looked her way and started whispering amongst themselves.

As expected, news of the 'Hermione and Draco love fest' had spread like wild fire. Officially dubbed as 'Dramione' by the evening edition of the Hogwarts Rattler, Hermione was on the receiving end of many odd reactions from her fellow classmates. She had gotten an array of death threats from Malfoy's Fan Club, accusations of slipping him love potions and other treasonous actions of the sort, whilst at the same time she was a damsel in distress who was suffering under Malfoy's reign. Others fully embraced the idea of the couple being together, which had come as a shock to Hermione. That particular group used a certain word to describe the relationship- "Finally" said in an exasperated tone, or "So much sexual tension" in another.

"He's so…dramatic," Hermione decided as she cautiously stole a glance at the platinum blond seated in the middle of a sea of green.

"Well, life would never get boring with him by your side then," Fay winked. Shuddering, Hermione glanced over at Malfoy again, and almost fell out of her chair when she saw that he was already looking at her. The stormy grey gaze was held for a couple of seconds before he mouthed "Library, now" and gave her a very pointed look. Her throat suddenly restricted and the air seemed too hot. Hermione tore her eyes away, trying to ignore the fact that she could still feel his own eyes resting on her.

"What are we talking about here?" Harry slid into the seat next to Hermione, Ron taking the spot across from them.

"Hermione's type," Lavender said, and Hermione began choking on her pumpkin juice. They were not going to have this conversation now, in front of two boys she thought of as brothers.

"And her animalistic tendencies," Fay supplied, causing Harry to scratch his head in confusion and Ron to turn a few shades darker than his hair again.

Ah, so he understood.

"Anyways!" Hermione cut in before things could get worse, but Harry-stupid Harry- decided that the subject needed further discussion.

"What do you mean her-"

"Not important, mate," Ron was now very red, and Hermione felt herself coloring.

"I think I'm going to go back to the common room, I'm a bit tired," Hermione gave an over exaggerated yawn, all the while watching the blond head as it slipped out of the Great Hall.

"But it's dinner…you can't miss dinner," Ron argued, not able to wrap his head around the fact that Hermione didn't think eating was as essential at the moment as he did.

"Are you feeling okay, Hermione? I know it's been a weird day for you, maybe I should walk you back to the common room to make sure you get there alright," Harry began to stand up, but Hermione pressed down on his shoulders roughly, causing him to fall back into his seat with a startled look on his face.

"I feel fine, I think I can manage the walk by myself. See you later, alright?" She wasn't sure what caused that sudden wave of irritation, but before either party could argue, Hermione bolted out of the Great Hall and in the direction of the library.

He was at the very back table, in the dimly lit corner that Hermione loved to study in. The library was empty except for the two of them, everyone else was at dinner. She tried to ignore her racing heart and the blood thundering in her ears as she approached him, and instead focused on why he could have called her here.

Well, despite the very obvious reason of them apparently being in love.

"You're late."

The surprise of his voice was almost enough to make Hermione stop walking. "I didn't know we were on a schedule," she muttered, pulling out a chair and plopping down in it in a rather unladylike fashion.

Malfoy smirked at her. "You certainly kept me waiting. Twenty minutes is hardly fashionably late. You know, I was starting to worry that you hadn't picked up on my basic social cues that you should meet me here."

"You're hardly a social butterfly, Malfoy. Now let's get to some more of your social cues so I can get out of here and away from you." Her arms crossed over her chest in a defensive manner. He sneered.

"Have you finished listening to yourself talk?"

With a growing fury, Hermione snapped, "Look, I don't know what happened today, but it would be best to forget it."

Instead of answering like a normal human being would, Malfoy's eyes narrowed accusingly. "Don't you dare go spreading around lies that I love you, because I don't."

Hermione clutched her heart. "You don't?" the blond looked shocked for a moment until her blatant sarcasm registered.

"Is that clear?" he growled at her, and Hermione had to wonder if he could actually hold a regular conversation.

"Crystal," she smiled sweetly at him.

His hand slammed around her wrist like an iron cuff link, the slap against her skin loud in the tense silence. Her skin burned and Hermione tried to wrench her arm back, but his fingers dug into her skin. "Don't patronize me," Malfoy hissed, and her false grin immediately slipped off her face as an incredible anger bubbled inside of her and threatened to surface. Releasing her arm, Malfoy swept past her, ignoring her sudden rage. Hermione stood up as well, fists clenched at her sides and her wrist throbbing. As she watched his retreating back and tried to quash her overwhelming resentment, she couldn't help but think Acamara Lotus was faulty. He was a cruel, cruel boy, who hid behind insults and mean words to conceal his own insecurities.

The potion was wrong. No one could ever love Draco Malfoy.

"Hey Herms, where've you been?" Harry chirped when Hermione entered the Gryffindor common room.

Ron frowned in suspicion. "Yeah, I thought you said you were coming back here. But when we came up to check on you, you weren't here…"

Hermione smiled in what she hoped look like a sheepish expression. "I got side-tracked and swung by the library to see if Madam Pince had a book on hold for me. I've been dying to read it," There, squash all suspicion. She wasn't being entirely untruthful. The strict librarian did indeed have a book on hold for her, as soon as the person who currently had it returned it.

As expected, the two boy's face crunched into repulsion at the mention of the library, which by extension was a mention of books, which by extension was a mention of classes, which meant learning, by extension homework, extend some more and you get Slytherins, which by extension led to Snape. And they hated Snape. So naturally, Harry and Ron hated the library. It only made sense.

Harry scooted over from his spot on the sofa to give her a place to sit, and Hermione happily obliged, sinking into the comfortable cushions. Harry looked on with sympathy. "Rough day, huh? I'm surprised we haven't had to bring you to the hospital wing yet. It's not everyday you find out you're in love with Malfoy," he teased her lightly, and Hermione actually shuddered.

"Not going to lie, I thought you'd be in a state of comatose right now. I surely would be," Ron trailed off in thought. "Well, I would be after I made sure to kill him. Painfully. And slowly. Then I would be able to relax in a calm state of mind."

"You gave us quite the scare, Hermione," Harry continued on, not at all affected by the dreamy look that had now taken over Ron's face as he imagined fun ways to kill Malfoy. At one point, Hermione thought she heard Ron mutter "shish-kabob" but she couldn't be sure.

"The potion was obviously faulty," she leaned backwards and let the warmth of the fire wash over her.

"Obviously," Harry agreed empathetically, patting her on the knee.

"The day you love Malfoy is the day I eat my shirt!" Ron exclaimed exuberantly.

Oh Ronald, you shouldn't have said that.