Just Go With It

She nearly screamed when she saw the green, glittering, black eyed snakes slithering about her room, winding around the four posts of her canopy bed, slipping in and out of her drawers. One drew near her foot and she nudged bravely at it with her toe. It hissed angrily but didn't bite.

She knew that there was only one person who could have done this. The stairs were charmed so that only the Head Boy and Girl could come up to this place. It was where their rooms were.

Lips drawn back in a snarl, Hermione Granger burst from her room and nearly flew down to the Prefects' common room. Heads turned in wonder as her fellow classmates looked at her in confusion, wondering why the Head Girl was so livid so early in the morning.

"Where is Malfoy?" Each word was ground out of her mouth in disgust, and when the Prefects finally saw the pure loathing in her eyes, they all quickly pointed to the exit, including the Slytherins.

Hermione nodded grimly and gripped her wand. "I am going to breakfast," she said slowly, taking swift steps to the portrait door. She glanced at every Prefect in the room. "If any of you see Malfoy…" she paused at the door and smiled wickedly, "tell him that I'm looking for him."

Every head nodded and she left, determined to get the ferret back for what he did.

The Great Hall was filled as usual, students still filing in for breakfast. Some stumbled sleepily over their robes while others were wide awake, already eating and laughing with their friends. Hermione hastily made her way over to Ron and Harry when they beckoned to her, and in a flurry of words, she recounted what had happened to her that morning.

Finding rips and tears in her clothes, cream in her shoes, itching powder in her undergarments drawer (which she easily cleaned up because, after all, she was a brilliant witch), and finally the snakes inhabiting her room.

Ron's ears turned red and he snarled, "I swear, I'll murder that ferret!"

"Hold on," Harry said, quickly trying to calm his friend before he did anything irrational. "Hermione has the decision in this, assuming you want revenge." He looked to the girl who nodded. "Do you want us to do something, or will you take care of him yourself?"

Hermione fell into silence for a moment, her brain scheming. What could she do that would piss Malfoy off? It had to be something drastic, something original. "Public humiliation," she said quietly.

Harry nodded. "But what could you do?"

"It has to be something vulgar," Hermione said, already formulating a plan. "Something that involves an object or a situation that he loathes. Something that he hates…"

"You."

Both looked to their red-headed companion whose eyes seemed to gleam suddenly.

"Well, think about it," Ron said. "You're better than him. You best him in every single class. Not to mention that you're a muggle-born, so that makes him really loath you. And I bet that every time you get a higher grade than him, his father chews him out, right? So you have to set up some situation in public with him that'll embarrass him, and that'll shame his father into oblivion!"

Hermione grinned. "That's brilliant, Ronald!" she exclaimed, Harry nodding in agreement. "Now the question is, what can I do that will embarrass him?"

"Ah, that's where my brilliance comes to an end," Ron sighed.

Hermione decided to mull over the idea for a few minutes. After she selected a bagel as her breakfast, the slightest idea came into her mind, but she didn't like it. Merlin, it's an awful thing to do, she thought as she chewed. He might even try to hex me after I…but I've got to give it a try, right?

"Boys," she said, almost a bit sadly. "I know what I'm going to do, but I don't like it, and you won't either. It's utterly degrading on my part, but at least it'll stun him in a sense."

"Just so long as it doesn't cause you bodily harm, it'll be fine," Harry chuckled.

"What about mental harm?" Ron asked.

Hermione shrugged and leaned forward. "I'll execute it right now, actually, if you'll agree with it." Her two companions also leaned forward to listen.

-.-

"Merlin, you should have seen her face!" Draco laughed, taking a swig of his drink. "She dashed out of her room scratching herself all over, shrieking that she was on fire!"

His fellow Slytherins laughed uproariously at the account of the Head Girl's dreadful morning.

Draco quieted them and continued. "And then I Transfigured a few books into snakes and let them loose into her room. Oh, but I didn't stay to see her reaction. I wish I did, though." More laughter, and then a light voice cut through their moment.

"It was more than a few snakes, you ferret."

Draco swung around and saw Granger standing in front of him, a scowl on her face. He sneered. "What's wrong, Mudblood? Can't handle a few snakes?"

"Seeing as I'm able to put up with you and you're entire house, I'd say that I can," the girl snapped back.

An "Ooooh"' rose up from his table and he smirked. "Why are you here, Granger? Need more itching powder for your clothes?"

He was stunned when a soft smile appeared on her face, but he didn't let his guard down because he could see the hatred swimming in her hazel-colored eyes. There was a drop in the noise of the Hall; people were still talking, but they all kept one eye on the Slytherin table.

Hermione reached forward then, and Draco tried to jerk back, but felt like he was bound to his seat; his arms and legs wouldn't budge an inch. In confusion and panic, he was able to twist his head back a bit and saw Potter and Weasley smirking at him. Potter's wand was out and he grinned.

Draco fumed as he looked back to Granger who had grabbed his collar. I'll kill that Scarhead! What the hell are you doing, Granger?

Soft lips covered his and his eyes widened; the students all gasped, and he gasped with them. The girl took the time to run her tongue over his bottom lip and she bit down hard. Draco was horrified when a moan escaped his own lips. A strange sensation went up his spine that he couldn't understand. With one last swipe of her tongue, Granger pulled back and licked her lips in a manner so sensual that Draco's eyes went wide.

Then the girl grinned evilly and Draco snarled. As he struggled for words, Granger said, "Want more? How sad. But mess with my room or belongings again, and I'll find another way to publicly humiliate you."

"What-?" Draco growled, still unable to move.

"Well, you did make such a delicious noise," Granger giggled darkly. "Could it be that you enjoyed it? How sad, you getting your pleasure from a mudblood like myself. What would your father say?"

And Draco realized that she had humiliated him; that spine-tingling feeling he had gotten from her kiss had been pleasure. He had enjoyed her kiss. And then he also realized that if word got around to his father that he had been caught like this, he'd probably be whipped or worse.

"Damn you," he hissed, struggling against his invisible bonds.

Granger sneered in a way that imitated him so perfectly that he found himself mesmerized. But the girl flounced away and out of the Great Hall, quickly followed by Potter and Weasly.

Draco could finally move, but it was too late. Pansy shrieked madly and made a vow to slaughter the little bitch, Blaise shook Draco by the shoulder and asked if he was alright, but Draco didn't hear them, or anyone else who was now loudly talking in the Hall. The only thing that was in his ears at the moment was the word hate.

-.-

"I can't believe that it actually worked," Hermione gasped as she downed another butterbeer. Ron and Harry were still cracking up, barely able to keep their glass bottles from spilling.

"Did you see his face?" Ron asked, nearly choking when he tried to take a swig of his drink.

"Oh, you were amazing, 'Mione!" Harry howled. "I didn't know you had it in you. You looked like one of those seductresses on television." They ignored Ron when he asked what a television was.

Hermione grinned and they all clinked their bottles together and drank. They had escaped to the lake to avoid any students, teachers, or worse, Malfoy.

"I had just better watch my back," Hermione giggled. "I don't know if he'll be coming after me or not."

"Nah, too risky," Ron assured her.

Hermione felt satisfaction well up in her heart and she leaned back against the tree. Ron was right. Malfoy couldn't hurt her. Everyone would know that it was him. Perhaps she'd have some peace and quiet for a while now, right?

-.-

Peace and quiet? Please.

Hermione fidgeted in her seat and focused on the board, but she could still feel stormy eyes boring into her back. She sighed in frustration and wrote down the notes that she needed. It had been like this all week. Any time she was in the same room or hallway with Malfoy, he was glaring at her.

She knew he loathed her, and she didn't care; the feeling was mutual. But this was ridiculous. What, was he going to stare at her for the rest of the school year?

-.-

A week passed, and then another. And another.

Strangely, she could feel his gaze changing. It had started out as one of hatred, but she had caught sight of him staring again and the feeling had changed. Now it was one of confusion. And suddenly she found him following her around.

She didn't like it, so Ron and Harry decided to accompany her to her classes. A week of this confused stare went by.

Friday arrived, and after classes were over, Hermione decided to go to the library to get some reading in. She didn't want to go to the Prefects' common room because Malfoy might be there waiting for her. She was quite content spending the rest of her day in here.

She arrived in her sanctuary and browsed the shelves, wondering if she's be able to find something that she hadn't read.

"Granger."

She whirled, wand out, but it was quickly thrown from her hand and she was slammed up against the shelves. She groaned as the wood dug into her back, but she glared angrily at the silver eyes which watched her. "What do you want, Malfoy?"

What confused her was that the boy didn't seem to have a hostile look about his face. It was that same perplexity as before.

"What did you do to me, Granger?" the blond whispered, eyes roaming over her face as though they were searching for something.

"What are you talking about, Malfoy?" Hermione spat, struggling against his strong grip on her wrists. "I didn't do a thing."

The boy seemed to sigh before finally glaring back at her. "You…kiss me in public, and give me some kind of potion that makes me notice you and watch you and…want you…"

Hermione stopped moving for a moment. "Potion?" I never gave him one…

-.-

Draco tilted his head a bit and saw that she was just as puzzled. "You mean you didn't slip me a potion?"

"No."

Draco felt his wonder subside, but anger flared up in its place. Not at the girl, oddly enough, but at himself. He was falling for her! He tightened his grip and his lips parted in a snarl. He saw the witch wince in pain at his grasp on her. Oh…

Granger made a small moaning sound and Draco watched her hazel colored eyes try to blink away rapidly forming tears. Without thinking, and more to satisfy his own curiosity, he bent towards her and kissed her softly.

The first reaction was one he had hoped for: she stiffened. Part one of my revenge, he thought smugly, though he had no real idea as to what he was doing. He then expected her to start struggling again, but what she did was the exact opposite.

With a small sigh, her lips parted and she tried to lean into him. Draco felt himself panic. This is not going how I had planned! Not that he had actually planned.

But his brain decided that he didn't have time for scheming at the moment when he could be kissing this girl. So his senses shut down and he let go of her wrists and just went with it.

-.-

Oddly enough, things didn't really change between them after that incident. The rest of the students of Hogwarts could see that they had gotten over the Great Hall "kiss" and had just gone back to insulting each other. At least, that was what it seemed like.

They still insulted each other plenty of times, even when they were alone together, which happened more often. They'd meet up in the library and spit nasty comments at each other, but that always led to the end result of them snogging in the farthest corner of the library.

Draco mused over this as he put the finishing touches on his potions essay. What was he going to do? He was in deep waters enough. This was too dangerous. What if the guys found out? What if Father found out? I was lucky enough that he understood that I was trapped by her when she kissed me in the Great Hall… But his father had warned him that if it ever happened again, there would be consequences.

He was too wrapped up in his thoughts to notice someone approach him from behind. Only when slender arms wrapped around his neck did he look up from his homework. "Hermione?" Oh, dangerous indeed. Not only had he gotten into the habit of calling the witch by her first name, but what if it wasn't her? What if it was Pansy?

He got lucky this time. "Hi," the soft voice said. The arms slid away and her body came into view. She sat down next to him and smiled. "What're you doing?"

"Nothing," Draco replied gruffly, putting away his parchment and books. "I was just leaving." He knew she could tell that he was lying; he never left the library until five minutes before curfew.

But Hermione didn't say anything. She just sat there and watched him pack up his things slowly. When he was done, he leaned back in his chair and looked at her. She smiled back and he groaned inwardly. How could she be so comfortable with him like this? They were from opposite sides, for Merlin's sake! He couldn't…he wouldn't… "Listen, Hermione," he heard himself saying. He needed to clear things up between them before anything bad happened. Something hurtful could be said, tempers would probably flair, and secrets might be exposed.

She looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

"This thing…between us…" he gestured between them hesitantly. "What…is it, exactly?" Oh, sure. Leave the decision up to her. Wait for her to say it's just a passing fancy and then she'll leave… That certainly wasn't what he wanted, despite his anxiousness at being discovered, but he couldn't be the only one.

"You're asking me?" She seemed surprised. Then she eased into an expression of thoughtfulness. "To be honest, Draco…"

Here it comes.

"I want to say it's a relationship. Even if it is a secret."

Well. That certainly was unexpected. There was a relieved feeling that washed over the boy and he almost grinned.

"I mean," the girl continued, even though Draco wasn't listening anymore, "I know that you have a reputation, and I'd hate to ruin it. To be honest, I'd never expected things to turn out like this. I know that you're not really serious about girls; you just have flings with them all the time, from what I've heard. But if it's alright with you, I'd like to pretend that you like me for a little while longer."

That's what woke him up. She thought that he didn't care for him. Well, obviously he had to if he'd been willing to meet up with her like this, right? No, not really. But still.

-.-

She was shocked when he kissed her. Normally, they didn't kiss until after an argument or a few minutes of throwing insults around. But she wasn't complaining. Draco pulled her and her chair towards him and held her, his mouth searing hot over her own.

When he pulled away, he nuzzled her neck, a thing he'd never done before, and said, "If it's alright with you, I'd like to call it a relationship too."

Her heart leapt, but he wasn't done. He kept talking even as he peppered her neck with light kisses.

"I don't think I'm quite the right guy for you. But I do…care for you. I never like to listen to my own head or heart; I'm always following society and trying to meet their standards. But this one time…I'd like to try to follow my own standards. If you'll let me, that is." He stopped and looked at her. His stormy eyes were sincere and had a trace of mischief in them.

She found herself unable to answer, but instead decided to kiss him again. Then she found her voice. "Yes. Oh, yes!"

Draco chuckled and pressed his forehead to hers. "So it's alright for me to just go with it? With my heart?"

"Absolutely," Hermione breathed, still unable to believe that this was happening. In fact, it was making her quite dizzy.

Draco pulled her from her chair and into his lap. "Good." And he kissed her soundly again.

-.-

Their meetings were more frequent now. Each had the perfect excuse to give to their friends when they wanted to go to the library: they wanted to study to beat the other, because wouldn't that cause them total shame and humiliation?

And later, they'd laugh with each other in the back of the library, each finding comfort in the other's embrace. Indeed, it was a relationship, and a secret one at that.

But Hermione still thought that Draco won this just because he'd stuck the snakes in her room that day way back then. So the next day, when she awoke to a horrified shriek from the Head Boy's room next door, she laughed quietly to herself, knowing that she'd been justified.

Then she closed her eyes and wondered how long it would take Draco to realize that his shoes were filled with glue.