A/N: Sooo… I didn't intend to make this more than a one-shot, but I'm going to give it a go. This will be interesting! haha

HGDM

The next morning, I woke first and headed to the kitchen. I had just finished making myself a piece of toast when I heard shuffling from the living area. Draco was up, apparently. I looked over to find him glancing about frantically.

"What's wrong?" I asked, surprised.

He jumped and turned to stare at me. "I thought you were gone." He said seriously. After a moment's pause, we both laughed.

"Nope. Just hungry is all." I smiled.

He stood up, and ran a hand through his hair as he walked over to join me in the kitchen. I watched him move about, making his breakfast, and wondered what would happen, now. Last night, nothing actually happened. Right..? I mean, maybe my feelings became apparent - at least to me - but nothing was said, or done purposefully to show them.

"Looks like we have about half an hour before classes start." Draco broke my train of thought as he sat next to me. He didn't look very pleased at the idea of having to go to class.

"Double Potions.." I muttered, almost as put out as he seemed to be. "At least we have the same class."

"Yeah, but that Weasel will be there." Draco growled.

"Oh.. right." I frowned, looking down at my half-eaten toast.

"Look, if we show up at the last minute, we can get that table nobody likes because it rocks. Then we'll have to sit together, and you won't have to be around him." Draco suggested, looking like he was rather proud of his idea.

"Okay, sure. But what happens when I don't have a class with you?"

"Sit with Ginny." He shrugged. "She's a seventh year, right?"

"Fair enough." I conceded.

We spent the next twenty minutes or so getting ready. Thankfully we had the same classes every day, so we had all of our books with us. It was almost time for our final exams, after all. To think we would take out N.E.W.T.S. in just a few weeks was daunting. So Draco and I had taken to studying in the back corner of the Library, near the restricted section. We had found that nobody would go back there because they were afraid of Madame Pince snooping on them, thinking they were trying to sneak in that section.

"Ready?" Draco asked, picking up his stack of books.

I nodded, gathered my materials, and we headed down to the dungeons. As planned, we were the last two to show up - Draco went in before me, as we always did when we walked to classes together. I had a feeling that Ron would have spread all kinds of rumors by now, but it didn't change the fact that we didn't want people making assumptions, or ridiculing us because we decided to get over past conflicts. People could be petty. I followed in a minute or so later to find everyone already staring at Draco. They turned and saw me and many of the girls turned and snickered to each other. I didn't even want to know what they had been told.

"Ugh." I grumbled dramatically, looking for an empty seat. As expected, Ron had left the seat next to him open. Just as I was debating how not to have to sit there, Lavender burst into the room, and hurried over to Ron's seat, as though she had beat me to it. She sneered at me, and leaned in to whisper something to him.

Rolling my eyes, I looked around, like I didn't already know that Draco's table was the only one left. I sighed audibly, and made my way over to sit next to him. The entire class was muttering things and looking between Ron and the idiot- I mean, Lavender, and the two of us at the wobbly table.

I was opening my book when Draco shoved a piece of paper over to me.

Let the rumors fly. They don't have a clue.

I nodded slowly, then wrote back, I suppose. But really, though, what could they be so amused by? Ron obviously told them he's interested in Lavender again. But where does that put us?

I heard Pansy telling Blaise that she 'saw Ron and Lavender snogging in the hallway', and that Ron had told the Gryffindors that I must be 'taking pity on you' or some bloody rubbish like that.

I frowned at the paper and glanced at him. He looked equally displeased, if not even more so. The rest of class I couldn't really focus on the students, I knew, or I'd never be prepared for the final in Potions. Every day we continued to add new items to the list of "things to remember". I had read the chapters, but notes were definitely necessary. At the end of class, everyone filed out as I took my time to get my bag together.

"You know I wouldn't do that, right?" Draco asked suddenly, making me pause and look up.

"Do what?" I asked finally, continuing to organize my papers.

"I wouldn't be your friend out of pity."

"Okay..?" I asked slowly, putting my bag's strap over my shoulder.

"I just wanted you to know. If I didn't like you, I wouldn't try so hard." He said, face completely serious.

"I don't know why it bothers you so much, Draco." I replied. "I know you don't. We get on too well for it to be any sort of fake for sport or some stupid game for you Slytherins."

"Yes, but I don't want you listening to what they might say about you." He sighed, reaching a hand out to touch my arm. "I really do like you, Hermione."

"It would explain yesterday." I smirked.

"Yes. It would." He nodded before leading the way out.

HGDM

Over the next few days, Draco and I were practically together all the time. If we weren't, we ended up being harassed by whomever we ran into in the halls. So we would study after classes, then head back to the Room of Requirement. If the other students thought anything of it, we certainly didn't care. Or I didn't anyways. I never questioned Draco. It was his idea in the first place.

One night, a little over a week after the "Ron Incident" as we called it, Draco and I were sitting on the couch, discussing what we thought would happen after graduation.

"I feel I'd be best suited to Ministry work. Maybe in Potions. I've always wanted to find new potions for healing and things like that." He was saying between bites of his sandwich.

"Really?" I asked, almost surprised. "I'm going to train to be a Healer." I grinned.

"Small world!" He laughed.

We ate in silence for a moment or two, before he turned to face me. "You know, we could always partner up, once we're out in the real world and have started our careers. For example, I could make the potions and send them to you to test in a laboratory or some such. Then if you needed something specific, maybe you could send the needs to me and I'd set it up for you."

"That sounds brilliant." I smiled, nodding.

I, too, turned towards him, and pulled my legs up on the couch between us. He seemed to be observing me for a minute - so intently that I had to look away for fear of blushing furiously. For all I know, I already was pink in the face.

"It sounds like we'll be seeing an awful lot of each other, then." He said slowly, as if afraid to said it.

"I guess so, yeah.."

"Good thing we became friends." He added.

"Yes." I said quickly. "Friends."

We both stared at each other for a minute before turning away, each of us lost in thought.