Hermione walked into the Great Hall grinning. The NEWTs were not half as bad as she had expected. Still with an aura of happiness around her, she sat down at her usual place at the table, in between Harry and Ron with Ginny right next to Harry. She pulled a rather large book out of her bag and started to read.
"What the bloody hell Hermione," Ron said angrily. Hermione chose to ignore his rude outburst and continued to read.
Harry gently removed the book from her hands and said, "It's time for dinner and we haven't seen you all day, mate. We missed you! How were your NEWTs?"
Hermione grinned, "Not too bad. They were actually quite easy. Maybe I didn't need to do all that studying." Ron snorted. He had been trying to get her to hang out with him and Harry for the past few weeks, but all she had wanted to do was study. Once again Hermione chose to ignore Ron's bad behavior.
The food appeared and they all started to dig in. Ron was shoveling it in like there was no tomorrow. It was just too much for Hermione. Her happy aura had started to fade when she first sat down. Now, there was nothing left of it. "Ron, your atrocious behavior tonight has caused me to lose my appetite. I'm sick and tired of it."
She then proceeded to leave the Great Hall with all eyes on her, especially those belonging to a certain blond-haired Slytherin. He had been watching her ever since this morning when she ran into him. She was so delicious, so irresistible, but also so unattainable. But that was okay. He liked a challenge, and now he saw his chance. Quietly, he got up out of his seat and followed Hermione.
Still in a huff, Hermione speed walked to her safe haven, the library. She thought she felt someone staring at her and turned around quickly. Draco cast a wandless and wordless invisibility spell and held his breath. She raised an eyebrow, but saw no one, so she walked in. Draco let out his breath and ran in behind her.
She was pulled out the thick book from her bag and plopped herself down in her favorite chair. Draco was in awe of her beauty as she sat there, her hair cascading down her back and her chocolate eyes shining as they skimmed the pages.
Hermione heard him take in a breath and quickly looked around, sensing the spell used by using wandless and wordless magic. "I don't know who you are, but please take off the invisibility spell" she whispered.
Draco, startled out of his trance, was amazed that she had realized he was there. He contemplated lifting the spell. Her voice urged him on, but he was afraid of her rejection at even seeing him. Then, thinking back to earlier in the day, he decided she might not hold a grudge.
He took off the spell and Hermione looked up at him. She looked almost unreal, staring at him with her gorgeous eyes, and he was taken aback. Hermione just looked at him with a hint of a smile in her eyes.
"I thought it was you, but I didn't want to get my hopes up," she whispered.
He was surprised, but tried not to show it. Acting suave on impulse, he replied, "So, where were we earlier?"
She just shook her head and turned her smiling eyes to him. "Is that all you boys think of?"
He was, once again, surprised by how open she was. "No," he replied, "but it is true that the only thing I think of is you."
"You don't even know me," she replied with a twinge of anger in her voice.
"But I would like to know you better," he replied, his silver eyes staring straight at her. With that he strolled out of the library.
A piece of paper was sitting where he had been just seconds ago. Hermione, still stunned, picked it up. "Room of Requirement at 8 tomorrow?" it said. She wasn't sure whether to trust him or not, but she decided that he had been sincere.
"Okay," she whispered to herself.
"Hermione, are you alright?" Harry's voice cut through her moment.
"Uh, yeah. I'm fine," she said, smiling happily for the first time since dinner.
"But I'm not," an angry Ron interrupted as he stormed angrily into the library. "Ridiculing me, ignoring me, that's all fine. But I know the real reason you're here. It's to meet up with your 'secret' lover, even though you have me."
"Ron we are not a thing, we never were. I just want to be your friend. And I don't know what you're talking about," Hermione responded, seeping with anger.
"Then what were you doing snogging Malfoy this morning?" Ron stated, staring at her expectedly.
