The sorting was complete and students were lounging about in their seats after the scrumptious dinner.

"Welcome back to Hogwarts for another year. I trust that you all have had an eventful summer. I am your Headmistress and also Head of Gryffindor House, Professor McGonagall. The Head of Slytherin, Professor Snape; Head of Ravenclaw, Professor Flitwick; Head of Hufflepuff, Professor Sprout. This year, our Head Girl is Hermione Granger-" the hall erupted with cheers from the Gryffindor table "-and our Head Boy is Draco Malfoy."

"What?"

"Malfoy?"

"What are they playing at, having him as Head Boy?"

"Silence! You are to abide by the rules, classes start in the morning at 8 sharp. You have all received your respective timetables and there should be absolutely no students late for their classes. Mr. Filch has reminded me for the fortieth time today, that there is a revised list of objects that is banned and you can find a list on your common room's notice board. Lastly, the Forbidden Forest is out of bounds to all students. Off to bed now. Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy, I would like to have a word with you both now."

The sleepy students shuffled out their seats and made their way to their dorms. The Gryffindors, on the other hand were quite lively and tried to protest the appointment of Draco Malfoy. It was only after McGonagall threatened to disqualify the Gryffindor Quidditch team, did they subdue themselves. Glaring at Malfoy, they exited the Great Hall.

"Congratulations, both of you. You both have the highest grades recorded in Hogwarts history, and many of your professors vouched in your abilities to be the Heads. Do not disappoint them. Mr. Malfoy, as you can see, many of the students do not trust you so it is your duty to be fair and uphold the school rules. Also, both of you will not be staying in your respective dorms. In a bid to achieve house unity, you will have a separate dorm where you both will be living. It is on the 4th floor, near to a landscape painting, there is a suit of armor. The password is 'Dalmatian Spots'. That will be all. Good Night." McGonagall left them standing there in silence; they exited after her and walked towards their new dorm.

"Dalmatian Spots." The armor sprang to life and revealed the door behind it. Hermione grasped the handle and pushed. Her jaw dropped.

The dorm was astonishing and exquisite. The floors were a rich purple plush carpet, the walls, lilac, adorn with gold lamps that held white flames. The dining area held a polished mahogany table that could at least seat twelve. There was a large fireplace with a clock and other little objects on the mantelpiece above it. Two staircases adorn with gold carvings lead up to their sleeping quarters. Large chandeliers hung from the ceiling, making the dorm seem like a regal hotel instead of housing for students. There were four golden doors; two were their bedrooms and the other two, a mystery that she was dying to find out. Hermione sighed in happiness, a huge grin forming on her face, she ran to the closest door and flung it open, she shrieked in happiness when she realized that they had their own personal library. The other door however, could not be opened.

"Gah!" Hermione sighed as she gave up on wringing the handle, tapping it with her wand and murmuring spells. "I wonder what's in here," she pondered.

After 5 more minutes of watching her struggle, Malfoy stated that he was going to bed early and retired to the left door at the top of the staircase. Frustrated, Hermione gave in soon after and went to her room. As she pulled the golden handle, she stood shocked at her door. Her room was as red as rubies with gold embellishments. A roaring fireplace warmed her new home, twin armchairs were placed by the fire, perfect for doing light reading. A huge king-sized four poster bed occupied the center of the room, on its other side, two dainty looking doors were present; one was her closet, the other, a splendid bathroom. Feeling the waves of tiredness wash over her, she took a quick shower and climbed into her bed.

While sleep captured Hermione easily, it waged a war with the Head Boy in the other room. As Malfoy lay on his bed, he thought of the day's odd happenings. "This year's gonna be really different," he thought, "Granger has surely changed." With that thought, he surrendered to sleep.

Gentle rays of sunshine scattered across Malfoy's face caused him to wake up groggily, he checked the time; it was 7:15. "Mmmmm maybe five more minutes… Wait… 7:15? Merlin's beard! I'll be late!" After a hurried bath, he threw his books into his bag "7:50? Already?" and bolted down the stairs with every intention of getting to class on time. He dashed across the room, flung open the door and then abruptly stopped. He turned around and looked at Hermione who was sitting at the table, who looked quite startled with a piece of toast in her hand. "Aren't you going to class?" he inquired. He looked at the toast in her hand and he realized how hungry he was. He glanced at the sink, no dirty dishes. "Where did you get that? Did you make breakfast?"

"What? No, it seems this table is connected to the kitchen, the same way the tables were in the Yule Ball. As for class, Flitwick sent word with one of the ghosts that class will start at 9. Apparently the first years had a school tour, so he was in charge."

"Oh. That's great," he dropped his bag on the table. He sat down and looked tentatively at his golden plate, "Bacon, eggs and French toast?" Immediately, the food appeared, he grinned and began to eat.

"What're you reading, Granger?"

"Hogwarts: A History."

"You know, I've never read that. Is it interesting?

"Yes, it's fascinating."

Unsure if she was being sarcastic, Malfoy ate in silence after. It wasn't an uncomfortable silence to him; on the contrary, he quite liked it. He noticed the way her lips moved ever so slightly when she read. She looked around suddenly at the clock on the mantelpiece and said, "It's 8:45, let's go."

"Hermione! Over here!"

Hermione smiled and went to sit with Ginny in the first row, while Malfoy slumped away to an empty seat in the back.

"Merlin, Malfoy's gotten so hot! How did you manage to stay in the same dorms with him?" Ginny giggled. Hermione gave her an exasperated look and didn't bother to answer her as Professor Flitwick began calling out the register. After writing notes, they were trying out a particularly difficult non verbal charm. The whole room was filled with witches and wizards flailing their arms with strained looks on their faces. Hermione smirked at her ink pot with her wand ready. She flicked it upward and did a few complicated jabs, instantly, her ink pot disappeared. "Ten points each to Gryffindor and Slytherin," Flitwick proclaimed, "Gather around everyone, both Miss Granger and Mr Malfoy have successfully turned their ink pots invisible with the non-verbal spell. Splendid!"

After Charms, she headed back to her dorm as Ginny went down to the Quidditch pitch to 'check conditions'. She expected to be alone in the dorms but surprisingly, Malfoy was lounging near the fire. He appeared to be writing a letter and didn't notice her when she came in. His impressive eagle-owl was perched on the window's ledge waiting for him to finish. She dropped her bag next to his by the door and made her way to the table for lunch. She stared at the plate and contemplated on what she should ask for. After a few minutes, she murmured, "Lasagna" and instantaneously it appeared on her plate. Smacking her lips, she attacked it mercilessly, enjoying the richness of it. When she finished, Malfoy walked in, and plopped himself on the chair opposite her "Mashed potatoes and lamb chops." He ate slowly and savored his food and while making small talk with her. As his plate was replaced with a clean one, he smirked, "Chocolate gateau." Instantly, a large slice of the most delicious cake Hermione had ever seen appeared on his plate. She couldn't contain herself; she took her fork and casually cut a piece off and began to savor its richness. Malfoy could not be more shocked. Hermione Granger just stole a piece of his gateau. It was obvious that she did not think much of it since she carried on reading like nothing had happened, Malfoy smirked to himself "Granger, that move was worthy of a Slytherin." After he had finished his cake, Hermione had long been gone.

It was about 2 o'clock, when McGonagall strode in. She noticed Malfoy lounging by the window in an effort to keep himself cool, but Hermione was nowhere to be seen.

"Do you know where Ms Granger is, Mr Malfoy?" she asked.

"The library probably, but I'm not sure. She could be with that Weasley girl in the Gryffindor common room, but as I said before, I'm not particularly sure."

McGonagall pursed her lips, "Well, we must find her, it's a matter of utmost importance. You check the library; I'll visit the Gryffindor common room."

With that, she left the room. Malfoy sighed. "Where are you, Granger?"

Glancing through the library, he didn't see her but he did see her bag. Looking through the aisles of books, he searched for her. He couldn't seem to find her but just when he was going to give up, he heard someone mention his name. He walked towards the sound of the voice and stood on the other side of the bookcase.

"Malfoy's so hot. Did you see how muscular and tall he got? And he actually is pretty smart, did you see him make that inkpot invisible? He seems much nicer now; he doesn't pick on muggleborns and first years anymore. He's totally mature now. He's- Hermione? Are you listening to me?"

Malfoy smirked. The Weaselette thinks I'm hot. Granger, what contributions are you gonna make?

"Yes Ginny, I'm listening. Argh! This is so frustrating! I can't find the book anywhere," she groaned as she continued to pull books off the shelf.

"What was the last thing I said, 'Mione?"

"Huh? Umm… You were telling me that umm…. Malfoy? What are you doing?"

Crap. She spotted me.

"I was looking for you," he replied smoothly, "I thought I heard you around here but then I spotted this book that I was looking for since the summer-" he randomly pulled a book off the shelf and held it up "-umm… McGonagall asked me to find you. Apparently she has important news for us, so we should be going now. Weasley," he winked "I'll be taking her now."

Blushing furiously, Ginny nodded. Hermione grabbed her bag and left with Malfoy. While walking up the stairs, Hermione asked, "How come you didn't get the book?"

"Wha- Oh. Umm… I bought it by owl order already."

"Then why were you still looking for it? Malfoy, were you spying on Ginny and me?" she teased.

"What? No! Why would I do that? I was- It- Umm… We should hurry back, McGonagall's probably waiting." With that he quickened his pace to avoid further questions.

"Dalmatian Spots."

The armor jumped aside, and they strode in quickly.

"You wanted to see us, Professor?"

"Yes, Ms Granger, why don't we discuss the issue in your library?"

"Sure."

Hermione and Malfoy sat together while McGonagall sat opposite them. She noticed the looks of confusion on their faces and smiled.

"Well, let's not beat around the bush, this year, we're hoping to have a Christmas ball. It's going to be grand with all the fineries-"

"But Professor, what does that have to do with us?"

"I was now getting to that, Mr Malfoy. As I was saying, this ball is going to be one of the largest events in Hogwarts history and I want you both to plan it and ensure its success."

"What? You want us? To plan a ball? Really? This will be so much fun. I'm definitely looking forward to it! Right Malfoy?"

"Wha- Sure, but I don't understand why we have to do it. Why can't you get an event planner?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.

"Don't be rude," she chided. But he shrugged her off and looked intently at McGonagall.

"This success of this ball will be graded, you see, over the years, many previous Head Boys and Girls of Hogwarts have been placed into situations where they had to plan events for their respective jobs, their success would usually be minimal to average and they all expressed their regret that they did not learn how to plan events. So this year, as a test run we'll be helping you along. There will be a number of judges, let's see, we'll have Professor Flitwick judging the strength and effectiveness of your charms, Professor Sprout judging the dishes and beverages, I will be judging the quality of your transfiguration and the students and guests attending will all be able to rank the success of the ball. Also, Professor Snape has volunteered"-both Hermione and Malfoy knew she forced him into doing it- "to aide you in brewing any potions you may need. The total score will be out of 100. You can plan it using your discretion and will be allocated a budget to get necessities. You must both, at all times remember that this project is showcasing your various magical skill set and everyone is eager to see what you will come up with. This is a compulsory assignment, but since you both are excellent students, I'm sure you won't have any problems organizing this and preparing for your NEWTs. If you have any questions, feel free to visit my office, but for now, there are matters that I must attend."

McGonagall strode out leaving Hermione and Malfoy sitting shocked in their library. Hermione sighed.

"Granger. Do you have any ideas?"

"Hmm…? Not really, I'll try to think about it. Maybe tomorrow we can brainstorm? I'm going down to the Quidditch pitch now to watch the Gryffindor tryouts, I'll see you later."

"Take an umbrella, Granger."

"Wha-"

"It's pouring. If you got sick, I'd have to plan this damn thing alone," he smirked. She rolled her eyes at him as she left.

:3 I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as enjoyed writing it. Please review! :3