A/N: Hello everyone. This plot attacked my mind last night and I just had to write it. It's a little rough right now, but I'll get around to fixing it later. It was originally supposed to be a one-shot, but I have a feeling it's going to be mulit-chapter.

Thanks for reading! Let me know if you think I should continue.

If you're the type who likes music along with a fic, I'm quite partial to "Long Shot" by Kelly Clarkson. The lyrics are actually pretty relevant.


Hermione Granger was well-known for her rationality and her stubborn nature. But on this night, both traits had failed her.

She glanced around at her surroundings. A king-sized canopy bed swathed in dark green linens and silver pillows, an adjoining door leading to a private bathroom, and the platinum blond hair and molten silver eyes of one Draco Malfoy.

'How did she get here?' You may ask. Well, it all had to do with one simple phrase.

"Live in the moment for once, Granger," he had said huskily before leaning forward and capturing her lips with his own in a searing kiss.

And that one kiss had led to an intense snogging session. And that snogging session had led to a quick shag. Which led to a second. And then a third. And then a fourth which occurred in the shower, if Hermione remembers correctly. And honestly, Hermione had never felt so satiated in her life. But she was feeling so guilty and embarrassed and ashamed at the same time.

What if Harry or Ron found out? What if Malfoy bragged about it to the Slytherins? She was Head Girl for goodness' sake! She couldn't have something like this getting out to the entire school! She might lose her position! Where had her rationality been when she so desperately needed it last night?

Yesterday Afternoon:

Hermione was smoothing down her yellow dress and attempting to flatten her stubborn, wild curls. She had no idea why she had agreed to go to the stupid dance in the first place. It's not as if she had a date or anything. But Ginny could be quite persuasive when she really tried, and so now Hermione found herself descending the stairs of her common room and making her way into the arms of her pre-arranged date for the night, Draco Malfoy.

Since Hermione and Draco had both been appointed the Heads for their seventh grade year, they were forced to attend all school functions together "to promote inter-house unity," as Dumbledore's portrait and McGonagall were so fond of saying.

They had tried their best to put their hostility for each other aside during such events, and had so far done a pretty good job of it. The first ball had been the most awkward. Hermione chuckled mirthlessly as she remembered the train wreck that had been Hogwarts' Hallows Eve Ball. She had actually lowered herself into transforming him into a ferret in front of the entire school. Let's just say McGonagall was not pleased. The Christmas ball hadn't been much better, but neither required a visit to the Hospital Wing by the end of the night so it was considered a success.

And now Hermione found herself walking to her doom yet again for the Spring Ball that was to be held the weekend before the students were released for Easter holidays. Although yellow probably wasn't the best choice for such a theme, Hermione refused to wear green and seeing as how she had already worn black and red, she was left with either yellow or blue. Blue reminded her too much of the Yule Ball during the Triwizard Tournament, so yellow was the color she had chosen.

She reached the bottom of the staircase and, as expected, there stood an immaculately dressed Draco Malfoy with an indifferent expression on his features. Over the months Hermione had been stuck with the boy, she had learned to tell the difference between his sneers, smirks, and snarls. This particular look meant he wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible. Hermione couldn't blame him.

"Ready to go, Malfoy?" she inquired as she took the few strides necessary to close the distance between them.

He looked up then, only just now acknowledging her presence. His eyes widened in surprise for a split second, but the look was gone as quickly as it had come. His indifferent façade quickly returned and he replied with a silent nod. He offered her his arm and she reluctantly looped her arm through his. She grabbed her clutch off the table, just in case she may find use for her wand once they reached the Great Hall.

They walked down the corridors in silence, both lost in their own world of thought. Hermione couldn't help but wonder why Dumbledore had chosen Malfoy to be Head Boy to her Head Girl. She had posed the exact question to him multiple times, but each time he had merely replied with a wink and the commonplace twinkle in his light blue eyes behind his trademark half-moon spectacles. What did that even mean?

Draco, on the other hand, couldn't stop himself from taking subtle glances at Hermione. When had he ever had a problem controlling his urges? And with a muggle-born of all people? What was happening to him? It had to be the fact that Granger didn't allow him to take conquests into his bedroom, which meant he had effectively been without a witch to satisfy his urges since their return from winter holidays. She was worse than his mother! And he had to admit, albeit grudgingly, that she looked pretty ravishing in that dress. The yellow color did wonders for her complexion as well as bringing out the sparse streaks of blonde that naturally highlighted her chocolate brown locks. The fit of the dress wasn't half bad either, considering how conservative Granger was with the way she dressed. Draco shook the traitorous thoughts from his mind and focused on moving one foot in front of the other.

In no time at all they had reached the Great Hall. The couple shared a look and nodded at each other. Draco pulled the door open and Hermione walked in before him. As Draco stepped in after her and once again offered his arm, intermittent gasps sounded around the hall. Hermione groaned internally. This was the third time she had made an official entrance with Malfoy and some people still made a big deal of it. Draco smirked confidently, pulling Hermione along with him to the front of the hall. As Heads, they had to give a quick speech before opening the ball with the first dance, as was customary.

They reached the podium much more quickly than Hermione would have liked. McGonagall called the attention of the students and then gave the floor to her Head students.

"Good evening everyone," Draco stated majestically. "We hope you'll enjoy the ball tonight."

"We thank you all for attending. Please keep your behavior to a respectable level and we should have no problems. Thank you and be sure to have fun tonight." With her part done, Hermione walked down the stairs of the stage and walked over to the refreshments table where she spotted two of her best friends, Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley.

Harry was dressed impeccably in a muggle tuxedo while Ginny dazzled with a beautiful white cocktail dress. They smiled and waved as they noticed Hermione making her way toward them. She approached the couple and greeted them with a hug each before reaching behind them and grabbing herself a drink off the table.

"Hey guys," she greeted cheerfully.

"Hey, Mione," they replied in unison.

"So, how's Malfoy acting tonight?" Harry asked, grasping her hand and giving it an affectionate squeeze. No matter how often Hermione assured him that she could take care of Malfoy herself, Harry always took it upon himself to ask how she was being treated in the confines of the Heads dorm.

"I'm fine, Harry. And so is Malfoy. For now, at least."

"Harry, could you go check on my idiot brother?" Ginny requested of her boyfriend. "I don't want him getting overly drunk again like last time," she added with a frown.

"Sure, Gin," Harry replied. With a quick kiss, he was gone. Once he was out of sight, Ginny turned to Hermione eagerly.

"So?" she asked, looking for all the world as if she had just seen one of her favorite Quidditch players.

"So what?" Hermione asked, bemused.

"How's it really going between you and Malfoy? Did you snog him yet?" she asked eagerly.

"Ginny!" Hermione scolded, her voice aghast. "Why would you even insinuate such a thing?"

"Because he's bloody hot, that's why." Ginny giggled at the look of horror on Hermione's face. "Oh, come off it Mione. I know as well as you do that despite his horrible personality Malfoy is quite a hunk."

Hermione shook her head aggressively. "Never in a million years would I describe Draco bloody Malfoy as attractive."

"Sure Mione," Ginny teased. "If that's what you want to believe."

Hermione scowled at her best female friend and looked around the hall for an escape. She found one in the sighting of Luna Lovegood.

"Well, Gin, as nice as it's been talking to you about how wonderful you think Malfoy is, I'm off to say hello to Luna. Tell Harry I'll save him a dance." And before Ginny could respond, Hermione was off and heading in the direction of a girl clothed in a neon green dress.

"She's in such denial," Ginny muttered under her breath once Hermione was out of earshot. Harry chose that moment to return to Ginny's side.

"What was that, love?"

"Oh, nothing," Ginny replied. "Just admiring the way Hermione's dress flows about her when she walks."

Harry nodded. "She's definitely grown up, hasn't she?"

"Indeed."


"Hello, Luna," Hermione addressed once she was in hearing range of the girl who had unknowingly saved Hermione from a very interesting epiphany.

Luna turned from her conversation with Neville Longbottom to return Hermione's greeting. "Hello, Hermione," she replied in her usual dreamy tone.

"How are you enjoying the night so far?" Hermione asked politely.

"Neville and I were just discussing the pros and cons of having Nargles around, weren't we Neville?"

The once shy boy confidently stepped to Luna's side and smiled in Hermione's direction. "That we were," he agreed. Hermione had to admit he looked quite dashing in his black dress robes. He even wore a neon green tie to match Luna's odd choice of dress. But regardless of the abnormal dress color, Luna looked absolutely stunning. She always pulled off any outfit she chose to don, something Hermione was internally quite envious of.

"Where's Malfoy?" Neville asked suspiciously.

"Oh, around," Hermione replied with a flippant wave of her hand. She knew she'd have to find him soon for the opening dance, but she was enjoying stalling for as long as possible by talking to her friends.

"Shouldn't you find him?" Luna inquired. "Headmistress McGonagall is giving you a look."

Hermione turned toward the podium centered at the head of the hall and noticed that Luna was indeed correct. The Headmistress was staring at Hermione sternly, silently requesting her presence in the middle of the dance floor along with that of her partner.

Hermione sighed and gave Luna and Neville a quick hug goodbye before making her way to the middle of the makeshift dance floor. She looked around for Malfoy, but he was yet to be seen. She huffed internally; it was just like him to make a big entrance. He was such a drama queen in Hermione's opinion.

"Ahem." The entire hall went quiet as the Headmistress cleared her throat. She had obviously amplified her voice with a Sonorous charm. "Thank you," she said once the students had settled down. "Now that I have your attention, I'd like to announce that our Head students this year, Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy, will officially open the ball with the customary first dance."

Out of the crowd Draco emerged, looking toward Hermione with a look she couldn't quite place. He strode to stand before her and offered his hand. Hermione took it with a small curtsey and placed her other hand on his shoulder as his other hand found its place on her waist.

Soft waltzing music began to play in the background. Draco tightened his grip and led Hermione gracefully across the floor in a dance they had already performed twice before. They danced together seamlessly, Draco leading confidently and Hermione following effortlessly. Considering the two were always at odds, they danced quite beautifully together. Some people, mostly Lavender Brown and Padma Patil (the gossip queens of Hogwarts), said it was fate, that the two obviously had sexual tension that they chose to deny. But Hermione refused to believe in such rumors.

Before either of the pair was quite expecting it the music ended and the hall applauded as Draco bowed and left the floor, leaving Hermione to stand awkwardly as she watched his disappearing back. The awkwardness didn't last long though since another song began floating through the air and Hermione found herself being asked to dance by Harry. She smiled and they settled into each other's arms comfortably. Swaying, the two best friends conversed about what had just occurred.

"I've never seen Malfoy look so… respectful before," Harry commented thoughtfully as he twirled Hermione out and then back in.

Hermione nodded her agreement. She was still going over the dance in her head. Sure, the bowing and curtseying were part of the custom, but never had Malfoy been so reverent to the tradition. In fact, now that Hermione thought of it, his mind had seemed occupied throughout their entire dance.

"He was awfully quiet the whole time," Hermione remarked.

"Do you think he's planning something?"

"Harry, the war is over. I have no idea what he would possibly need to plan."

"I'm just concerned for your safety, Hermione. You do have to room with him, after all."

"Everything is just fine, Harry. Stop worrying and just enjoy the ball for once."


What in the bloody hell just happened? Draco paced the bathroom he now occupied as the same thoughts repeated over and over in his mind. Had he actually felt something while he was dancing with Granger? And if so, what could it possibly have been? He was a Malfoy, for Slytherin's sake! Malfoys didn't feel anything. Or so his father had often reiterated. Merlin, what was going on? Granger was a Mudblood. He was supposed to despise her! Not feel things about her.

Draco blamed it all on the confined space he had been forced to share with the bookworm. Over the past months since term had begun, he had learned more about the girl than he had ever wanted to know. He knew the type of soap and shampoo she used after seeing it multiple times in their shared bathroom. He knew her favorite sweets. He knew what time she liked to wake up and what time she often went to bed. He knew her studying habits and tidbits about her stupid friends. He knew what she looked like when she woke up in the morning and he knew what color eyes she had. Those dark brown eyes that a person could just drown in… And now he was daydreaming about her qualities!

Draco hit his head against the mirror hanging over the nearest sink, hoping to bash the traitorous thoughts from his mind permanently. He could not feel this way about Granger. He shouldn't even be thinking about her in the first place! She was below him. She was a measly muggle-born and nothing more. He would not allow his mind to get away from him like it had during the waltz he had just completed with her in his arms.

Despite every fiber of his upbringing rallying against it, Draco had thought the girl to be quite pretty when he first saw her at King's Cross at the beginning of the year. It had started off as just a general appreciation of a female body that had grown into its shape, but soon after he had begun to think her to be beautiful. And then he had begun to have dreams about her. Not just the typical hormone-driven dreams of a teenage boy, but dreams that included a future with her. The two of them being married. The two of them having children. The two of them seeing said children off to their first day at Hogwarts. And honestly, those thoughts scared him more than he'd like to admit.

He splashed his face with water, trying in vain to wipe the thoughts from his mind. But it was of no use; Hermione Granger was now an undeviating fixture of his imagination, of his mentality, and of his world.

Draco allowed himself to accept it all. He liked her. Hell, he might even come to love her if he continued to let his feelings run rampant like this. But the scariest thing of all was that a part of him, a part much larger than he ever would have liked, wanted to fall in love with her and wanted her to love him too. He wanted to hold her in his arms at night, soothe her fears, and be able to just sit in her company without either of them threatening to hex the other. He wanted to have what his mother and father used to have at the beginning of their marriage. He wanted someone he could spend the rest of his life with.

It was time to settle this. These thoughts had been plaguing him all night long. Longer than that, if he was being honest. He remembered the dance they had shared at the Christmas ball only a few months ago. He had felt a twinge of these feelings then too, but had pushed them aside. But he was going to settle this now. It had to be a passing infatuation, a longing to have what he hadn't yet had. That was the only logical reasoning Draco could come up with. So he would get Granger into his bed tonight and settle the question of these feelings once and for all.

Satisfied with his plan, Draco left the boy's bathroom he had taken solace in and strutted back into the Great Hall, his eyes searching for only one person: Hermione Granger.


Hermione sat at one of the multiple tables that littered the hall, resting her tired and overworked feet. What was she thinking wearing five inch heels to a dance? Oh, right, it was Ginny's idea. She said it would make Hermione's legs look "miles longer." Hermione had sighed grudgingly but allowed the redhead to purchase the shoes. After six dances, Hermione was starting to regret that decision. Not that she hadn't had fun dancing with Harry, Neville, Dean, Seamus, Ron, and Draco, but her feet were seriously killing her at the moment.

Wait, did she just say she had had fun dancing with Malfoy? And did she just call him Draco in her mind? When did that start happening?

Hermione shook the thought from her mind and instead focused on watching the slowly swaying couples currently occupying the dance floor as a slow song played in the background. She smiled as she saw her two favorite couples. Harry and Ginny and Neville and Luna, share adoring glances with their partner. She was a bit jealous, if she was honest, as she watched Ron and Lavender in a similar embrace a few feet away. Everyone had always thought she and Ron were meant to be together, but it just hadn't worked out that way. They had given it a try after the war was over, but being in a romantic relationship only led to more fights, more drama, and more unwanted tension between the two. So they had mutually agreed to remain friends.

Hermione may not have been the prettiest, or the most outgoing or romantic, but she wanted love just as much as the next girl. She wanted someone she could rely on and love unconditionally who would return the favor. She wanted someone to hold at night and be able to kiss when she felt the urge. She wanted to have someone to come home to and talk about her day with. But she knew it was a long shot. After all, who would ever be interested in her? She was merely a nerdy girl with a passion for defending house elves.

As Hermione was wrapped up in her thoughts, she was unaware of the blonde approaching her from across the room. He walked toward her purposefully, completely ignoring the looks he was receiving from other students. He was determined to dance with her one more time before he decided for certain whether or not he would go through with his plan.

"Granger?" Hermione looked up to see deep gray eyes looking intensely at her. She had to admit that he was looking quite handsome this evening as she noticed the hair and ensemble that accompanied aforementioned orbs of mercury.

"Yes, Malfoy?"

"Dance with me."

Hermione was taken aback. He hadn't asked her, he had demanded it more than anything. And as much as Hermione hated to inflate his ego even more by complying with his will without a single rebuttal, she felt an odd urge overcome her to just dance with him. She couldn't explain where it came from or what on Earth the inclination was doing there in the first place, but she couldn't resist.

"Sure."

And if Hermione had been surprised when Draco commanded her to dance with him, Draco was twice as surprised when she actually agreed without a fight. Was it possible she was having the same feelings he was? Was it possible that she too was curious as to how two rivals could feel that way for one another?

He stood there for a minute, just looking down at her while she looked up at him. He broke out of his shock momentarily and held out his hand for her to take. She took it and he assisted her in rising from her seat. Amidst loud whispers and surprised murmurs, they made their way back to the dance floor as another slow song began to play.

Holding her in his arms was awkward at first as he was so used to keeping his distance from her as much as possible. To willingly hold her close took a bit of silent encouraging from the part of him that felt those annoying feelings for her. But once he relented, he admitted to himself that it felt quite nice to hold her so close.

Hermione was having similar thoughts as she allowed herself to melt into his chest. It was a bit surreal to be in the arms of none other than Draco Malfoy and actually take contentment in it. And were those butterflies she felt fluttering about in her lower stomach? Where did those come from?

As the song progressed, the duo found themselves deeper and deeper in thought. Before they knew it, the song was over.

They stood awkwardly looking at each other. Fuck it, Draco thought. He pulled Hermione with him as he walked quickly out of the hall and out into the corridor.

"Malfoy, what are you doing?" Hermione spluttered as she tried to wrench her wrist from his grasp.

"Shut up, Granger." Draco didn't really know where he was going, but he knew he had to be sure they were in a place where they wouldn't be interrupted. There was no way he was going to talk to her in the corridors where anyone else could see. He had a reputation to keep up, and he wouldn't be surprised if Parkinson was following him around just waiting for him to screw up so she could report the news to his father. Lucius Malfoy would definitely not be happy to hear word of his son having relations with a muggle-born.

Hermione struggled in vain and eventually went slack in his grip, allowing him to drag her to whatever mystery location he had in mind. She could feel adrenaline pumping through her veins as she considered what he could possibly be thinking. Was he going to kill her? Was he going to turn her in to the remaining Death Eaters and watch as they tortured her? Had Harry been right in being suspicious and paranoid? No, it can't be. Hermione had spent the last six months being in close quarters with Draco Malfoy. And while he was still a prick, he was much less sinister than he had been in previous years.

Draco pulled them into an alcove behind a tapestry on the fifth floor, the same floor the Heads dorm was on. He had originally planned on going straight to his bedroom, but he didn't want to scare her by being so forward. Wait. When did he ever take a girl's feelings into account? Gah, Granger was ruining him!

Hermione pulled her wrist out of Malfoy's strong grasp while he was distracted by his thoughts. She was displeased to see the beginnings of a bruise underneath where his fingers had previously laid. "What in Merlin's name are you doing, Malfoy? What is going on here?"

"Do you always have to be so irritating?" he replied as he rubbed the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger.

"Irritating?" Hermione retorted incredulously. "You are the one who asked me to dance and then pulled me out of the Great Hall and into our current location. And when I try to ask what in blazes you're doing with me, which I believe I have the right to know considering it's my body you're dragging around after you, you tell me to shut up. If anyone is being irritating, it would be you."

Draco sighed loudly. "What the hell is wrong with me?" he muttered.

"I'll tell you what's wrong with you," Hermione started. But she quickly ceased her rant as she looked up into Malfoy's eyes. They were showing his emotions for once, and he seemed to be … confused? Scared? What did he possibly have to be scared about? "Malfoy?" she asked tentatively. "Are you alright?"

The vulnerability that had been visible disappeared in a millisecond. "I'm fine."

"No, you're not," Hermione countered. "You can deny it all you'd like, but I saw that look in your eyes a second ago."

He groaned in exasperation. The witch was too observant for her own good. But, Draco assumed, being in life-or-death situations with Scarhead all the time probably required such a trait. Only Merlin knew how often the Boy-Who-Just-Won't-Die had been saved by Granger's cunning alone.

"Fine, then I'm not alright. Are you happy now?"

"What's wrong?"

"Are you seriously going to ask me that?"

Hermione furrowed her brows. "Yes. Why wouldn't I?"

"Because I'm Draco Malfoy. I'm a Death Eater. My father hates your kind. My fanatical aunt tortured you in my home. I've insulted you and your little friends since the first day we met." Draco seethed. "Need I go on?"

"Yes, you're Draco Malfoy. Yes, your aunt tortured me and your father hates my kind. Yes, you've enjoyed taunting the majority of the school since we began all those years ago. But you did not choose to be a Death Eater. You did not choose to be raised with blood prejudices. You didn't murder Dumbledore."

Draco turned from her, torn between feeling vulnerable and angry. Vulnerable because Hermione Granger of all people had seen through his walls, the defenses he had taken years to build and perfect. Angry because she made it all sound so simple, but it wasn't. No one would ever be able to comprehend what he had gone through during Voldemort's reign.

"That all sounds very nice," he replied sardonically, "But what makes you think I care about your opinion of me? And how does any of that make you want to know what's wrong with my fucked up life?"

"Malfoy, look. I know the other Slytherins abandoned you due to how your family name was ruined after the war. You barely have Blaise as it is, so I can only assume you don't ever talk about how you're feeling. I … I guess I thought that you could use someone to talk to." Hermione didn't know why she was showing Malfoy so much compassion, but she went with it. "Besides, I'm a Gryffindor. It's part of my job to care about others."

Draco chuckled. "I suppose I should have seen this coming."

Hermione marveled in how quickly he went from brooding to laughing. She'd never seen or heard of Malfoy laughing genuinely before. It was a rather nice sound, she had to admit.

"Look, Granger. I appreciate the concern and all, but it's just not my style to share my feelings," he said lightly. "Don't take it personally, that's just how it is."

She's glad to notice his voice is light, rather than the snarky tone she's gotten used to over the years. Perhaps he's not as evil as everyone says. Perhaps she had been right when she doubted Harry all those years ago.

"You can talk to me, Draco. I swear I won't tell anyone, if that's what you're worried about."

He turns to face her at the sound of his name falling from her lips. "Are you feeling alright, Granger?"

"Yes," she replied slowly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

And in that moment he lets himself go. He gives in to the strange desire he has to taste the lips that had just spoken his name.

In two quick strides, he's standing directly in front of her and staring into her eyes. He leans down, slowly, and stops mere millimeters before their lips connect. He waits for her to slap him, push him away, anything, but nothing happens so he closes the remaining distance and joins his lips with hers.

It's heavenly.


A/N: I swear this thing just wrote itself. It was not at all what I was expecting. I stopped it there because if I hadn't I'm pretty sure it would have ended up being around 9,000 words or something insane like that.

Hope it was enjoyable. Don't forget to review!

Also, I noticed I switched a bit between past and present tense. I'm kind of leaning toward present tense, but seeing as it's a flashback that doesn't really makes sense… what do you guys think?