Where is he, Hermione's mind whirred like a cine film in front of her eyes, she was sure he was scheduled to be in her care of magical creatures class, the only reason she had agreed to squeeze it into her already packed timetable was that she knew he was in it.

She was hardly in the mood to stand in the cold down by Hagrids run down little shack he liked to call a house and let the rain seep through her robes and down the back of her school blouse making her freezing cold and irritable, she was still reeling from Ron's unnecessary attack on her- it wasn't her fault Trewelany is a brainless hag, Who needs to be able to read minds? Not Hermione for sure who had enough on her plate already.

At least Divination was one subject down, care of magical creatures was another she could definitely do with out and she was beginning to go back on her snap decision, he might not even be taking it, although she was sure she had seen it when he dropped his timetable at her feet in the hall.

She took one step at a time down to the edge of the forbidden forest, following Ron's red head bobbing up and down a few paces in front of her, the clear pale grey sky was cloudless and dull and there was rain clinging to each grass stem, seeming unwilling to let go and let the day brighten. This day, it seemed, was deemed to be as dull and lifeless as her current mood.

She willed Ron to speed up so she could crane her neck to see if he was already down, waiting for the class to begin, without a doubt leaning with ease on the fence, robes cascading over his muscular frame and those piercing grey eyes searching. Searching for her?

Move your head, Ronald.

Harry made a noise from behind her, looking past Ron's head with a look of pure disgust in his bottle green eyes. Oh how she wished for a few more inches in height so she could see the only thing that could invoke such hatred in Harry. It had to be him.

Ron reached the bottom of the grassy verge and stuffed his hands in his pockets moodily, still without saying a word of apology to Hermione, and so thoroughly deserved the glare she threw him and then she saw.

There he was, commanding the attention of those two idiots crabbe and goyle, standing in a triangle laughing and nudging each other boyishly. He had his hands on his hips, his white blonde hair blowing in the wind over his pale face and those eyes.

They weren't searching, they were sparkling.

Why did nobody else see that sparkle? Harry called them dead, said they had about as much life in them as nearly headless nick. Ron just called them evil and cold. They were seeing it all wrong, they were deep, they were intimate. They were sharp and piercing, sure, scary too- but fantastic.

Suddenly his eyes snapped from his friends, and locked with Hermione's and she felt her heart skip a beat, was he actually looking at her without throwing an insult? The dull lifeless day around her swum in front of her eyes and it suddenly didn't seem quite so bad after all, it wasn't dull, it was vivacious. It wasn't lifeless, it was fantastic.

Because Draco Malfoy acknowledged her existence, not as a mud blood, or a pathetic kiss up, but as a human being.

And that was enough.

'C'mon, now get a move on!' Hagrid's voice broke into Hermione's thoughts like a piercing knife and she suddenly looked around. Hargrid was leading the class towards the forest into the shadows and Harry had already started walking. She didn't dare look back at him, but followed after Harry and caught up, when she was about to tug on his sleeve and whisper, hagrid's voice boomed out again.

'Everyone gather round the fence here, That's it' she leant on the fence in exhaustion and put her head in her hand.

'Now, firs' yeh'll want ter do is open yer books-'

'How?' said a sneering voice from the back of the clump of students and she didn't have to look round to know it was him.

Hermione had to admit, pulling the copy of The Monster Book of Monsters out of her bag which she had clamped together with a bull clip, that she hadn't been able to fathom this either.

'Hasn' anyone bin able ter open their books?' said Hagrid looking crestfallen.

'Yeh've got ter stroke 'em,' he said eventually with exasperation, 'Look'

He snatched Hermione's copy out of her outstretched hand and stroked it down the spine, the quivering book seemed to immediately calm and flopped open, leaving Hagrid with an endearing lopsided grin on his face and watched as the other students attempted to run their fingers along the spines of their own and sigh relieved when the book would sink into their hands.

Hermione dared to look round at Draco, he was rubbing his left hand angrily after throwing his now stationary book on the floor in anguish and grumbling to himself.

'Oh, tremendously funny!' he cried in abhorrence narrowing his eyes past her and focusing on Hagrid, 'Really witty! Giving us books that try to rip our hands off!'

'Shut up Malfoy' said Harry's voice from beside her, and she felt him stiffen in loyalty to the professor. Hermione's already clammy hands shook with worry- her best friend and Draco Malfoy. Something inside her screamed Don't-Get-Involved and she backed away from Harry and mixed in with the crowd, and craning her neck to watch.

'God this place is going to the dogs, That oaf teaching classes, my father'll have a fit when I tell him-'

He was striding angrily towards Harry and Hermione felt a mix of emotions she didn't even know existed, Fear, loyalty to Harry, anger at Malfoy, Loyalty to Malfoy, Anger at Hagrid, while still feeling sorry for him. She rubbed her head with worry and screwed up her eyes, she could here Harry arguing back but blocked it out.

What did she do to deserve this?

'Are you ok, Hermione?' said lavender brown peering at her in confusion.

'Fine.' she snapped shortly.

'I was only asking, no need to get cross,' Lavender sneered giving Parvati Patil a look out of the corner of her eye and smirking superciliously.

'And I'm only telling,' Hermione said angrily turning away from them, they were toffee nosed snobby cows and she didn't have a clue why after three years they had decided to be nice to her now. They must be up to something.

'Oooooooooh!' squealed Lavender again and Hermione put her hand to her ear, nursing her new headache she'd acquired, and was about to turn round and tell them to be quiet when she realised Lavenders outburst hadn't been directed at her at all.

Hippogriffs? Was Hagrid totally mental? He could get them all killed! She'd read about them and they definatly weren't third year material, a seventh year case study at the most but third years? And especially this third year class…this confirmed it in Hermione's mind that Hagrid had lost it.

The next thing she knew Harry had lifted his hand and volunteered himself to go off for the slaughter.

No.

'Harry!' she hissed after him urgently, 'Harry! You daft idiot, its too dangerous!'

He just tossed her a glare over his shoulder and climbed over the fence to join Hagrid, Lavender brown was whispering excitedly with Parvati about tea leaves and Harry's death and Hermione put her head in her hands.

What an idiot.

'That's it, now bow…' Hagrid was mumbling from the fence as Harry edge towards this winged beast. Oh come on, Hippogriff- bow!

Bow!

Oh my life, Hermione thought rubbing her temples nervously.

'Back away!' she hissed. Hagrid seemed to have caught on and echoed her loudly as Harry did as he was told, putting one foot after another slowly backing towards the fence and to safety, but suddenly the hippogriffs legs seemed to buckle and it put its head to the floor, slowly but surely.

A bow.

Hagrids face broke into a wide smile and he let out a heavy breath of relief, 'I reckon he might let yeh ride him!' he boomed over to harry.

What?!

'R-Ride him?' said Harry nervously ruffling his hair and stiffening but Hagrid just strided over and hoistered him up onto the Hippogriffs back, which seemed to shake and toss its head angrily at hagrid.

'Go on then!' Hagrid roared slapping its hindquarters and it reared up, throwing Harry worryingly near the edge and he just caught it round the next as it sped towards the edge of the forest and stretched its wide breadth wings and took off into the grey sky.

The class was screaming and cheering, clapping loudly and talking animatedly amongst one another and Hermione felt her worry ebb away, he was ok, he was alive. He was perfectly safe flying with a hippogriff. She grinned to herself, now there's a sentence you don't say everyday.

Suddenly something pushed her to the side and she hit Ron square in the chest, who stumbled backwards and apologised to the girl behind him awkwardly. Draco had pushed past her angrily watching Harry soar around the castle, the figure of him getting smaller and smaller as he flew away from the clearing.

'I bet you think he's fantastic, don't you Granger?' He spat angrily at her. Her cheeks reddened, she didn't like his tone.

'Actually I do!' she said indignantly.

'I'll have you know,' He said flicking his hair back out of his eyes and focusing them on hers, 'I could do anything scar-head could do, but better.'

'Like I care' she spat angrily.

'I bet he looks brilliant to you, you've never seen a real wizard in the flesh, have you granger?'

'I hope your not referring to yourself!' said Hermione putting her bag on the floor and striding towards him.

'Who else? Weasel-spawn? Of course I'm referring to myself. I could do that 10 times better than Potter' He smirked looking up at the sky in which you couldn't even see Harry or Buck beak anymore.

'Yeah, right' She wore a smirk almost identical to his own, which seemed to put him off slightly and he cocked his head slightly to the side in confusion.

Hermione smiled sweetly and watched the look in his eyes turn from superiority to surprise.

Draco Malfoy, Hermione thought happily, You have met your match.

Once Harry had returned to the ground and climbed off Buck beaks ruffled back, his hair windblown and red in the face, it seemed everyone wanted to have a go at taming the feathery beast. Hermione stood back as Ron bowed slowly to the Hippogriff they were practicing with but instead of watching her friend she had her eyes on Draco.

He strode confidently up to Buck beak and bowed tastefully, his hair flopping over his face, and it flicked back over onto the back of his robes once the Hippogriff had bowed back. He grinned and stroked its hard beak.

His eyes found Hermione's, someone he knew she had been watching and nodded as if to say told you so.

'This is very easy,' he called loudly so she could hear, 'I knew it must have been, if Potter could do it…I bet you're not dangerous at all, are you?' he said to the hippogriff, 'Eh? You ugly great brute?'

In one quick flurry of claws and talons, she heard the yells and the yelps, the roar of the hippogriff and she whipped round in time to see Draco fly through the air and hit the ground with force, blood proceeding from his arm and shoulder and his face white with terror.

After a few silent moments, where Hermione shook with terror, he seemed to come to and realise everyone was looking at him and starting whining, 'I'm dying !' he cried over and over.

He's ok.

He's alive.

Hermione instinctively dropped her bag and made to run to his side, but Hagrid beat her to it, very white in the face, his tiny black beady eyes darting around with apprehension.

Hagrid scooped him up in his gigantic arms and holstered him into the air, Hermione ran to the gate and unlocked it, pulling it open she stood, shaking- as she watched Hagrid pass with Draco in his arms.

He'd stopped crying out in pain, but she could see the deep gash in his arm, and the blood which had seeped all over him. His face was drained of colour and he caught her eye as they past.

She attempted, what she hoped was a sympathetic smile but she could feel tears prickling behind her eyes and willed herself not to cry.

And she swore, to the day she died, that he smiled back.