Hey, ya'll. I know I haven't been on in awhile. I've been grownded. Sorry.
(and just because I say 'ya'll' doesn't mean that I'm country. Just that I'm Southern. GO PAULA DEAN!)
((just for all those guys out there who don't know who she is, she's a Southern Cook who's very rooound, and uses, like, three sticks of butter in everything she cooks. Even steak. I'm not kidding. Butter makes it all better.))

Hermione was walking down the long corridors of the Hogwarts school. These halls were empty, all of the other children had left for their common rooms quite a whiles ago. It was now three minutes to curfew and she carried four thick and heavy books in her arms, just barely touching her chin, and she was hurrying to make it to the Gryffindor common rooms before curfew. She'd just made it to the stairs when the pesky little stairs decided it was time to move, and, catching her off guard, tossed her books onto the floor and her feet to slip from under her and land loudly and painfully on her bum. She slipped down three stairs before stopping herself by grabbing a pole on the railing. Only then did she hear the quick steps behind her.

"You okay, Granger?" A strong hand took hers and the other's elbow and helped her onto her feet.

"Oh, yes. My bum hurts, though. Thank you." The boy chuckled and Hermione looked up to find a pair of icy blue eyes and pale blonde hair. Her eyes widened and her mouth formed a little 'o'.

"Oh, come off it, Granger. I was only making sure you didn't break anything. I'd hate to have to drag you all the way to the infirmary." There was still humor in his voice, and Hermione couldn't help but smile that him.

"Yes, I'd hate to burden you with my silly broken leg and dead weight." She rolled her eyes and started to travel down the stairs to pick up her books.

"Please. You probably don't weigh anything more than Crookshanks soaking wet." He picked up one of her books and added it to the pile as they stepped off the stairs.

"My, my, Malfoy. Was that a compliment?" They shared one more flirtatious smirk and he turned down one hallway as she continued down her own.

"Malfoy?" He turned around and looked at her, a look of curiosity on both faces.

"Yes, Granger?"

"We…we go back to normal tomorrow?" A moment of silence passed as they looked one another in the eye. He looked away before answering.

"Yes."

Hermione nodded. "Maybe if things were different?"

He looked back up at her, right in the eye for a moment. He shrugged. "Maybe."

She nodded again and turned to leave, making her way farther down the halls, both of their shoes slapping softly against the stone.

"Granger?" She turned around and their eyes met again.

"Yes?"

"Do you wish things were different?"

She looked at the floor, giving the question some through thought, and eventually nodded, looking back up at him. They both looked so old in that moment. He nodded after a moment. "Me, too, Granger."

They stood in silence for moment longer. "Goodbye, Hermione."

Hermione didn't say anything for a moment longer and she nodded again. "Goodbye, Draco."

And they turned away from each other for the final time that night.

Hermione was walking along the corridors with her friends Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley. Both looked like they'd just crawled from bed and chosen whichever dirty robes didn't smell the worst. Hermione was talking animatedly about their Charms class that day when she was shoved apart from a sleepy Harry.

"Move it, Potter; Mudblood." Hermione's eyes met the ice blue eyes of one Draco Malfoy for a moment too long, and he was gone. A bubbling anger stirred in her stomach but quickly passed as she continued on to the Gryffindor table. She soon picked up her excitement for the Charms lessons and the boys stuffed their faces as normal.

Draco inserted himself back into the boisterous conversation they were having about the house elves ruining the eggs once again.

Draco felt a pair of eyes on him and he turned to find them, seeing a pair of brown ones from across the room. They clicked together and didn't leave for a long moment, until both eyes were ripped away from each other and drawn back into their friend's conversations.

If things could've been different.

Who could guess what would've happened?

If only things could have been different….

Tell me what choo think, please?!