Thanks for the reviews and hits, guys! I got this in as quick as I could without making it utter crap, so yeah. I've got a pretty good grasp on updating once a week, so this will go a lot smoother than my other stories. Nothing much to say, so here you go!

Enjoy!

Draco slipped into the library as quickly as he could, stalking past the rows and trying to get to his back corner so he could concentrate. Blaise's words were still echoing through his head, and it kept bringing him back to his earlier statement. He would love to ruin Granger. He would love to rip her off of her pedestal, and he wanted to be the one to accomplish that. He wanted to be the one to say that he was the reason she was no longer little miss high and mighty mudblood, favorite of Dumbledore, whore of St. Potter-

He shook his head and spread his stuff onto his desk in the back, immediately turning around to go through the rows and rows of books where one would help him. He had the power, did he not? He had the magic, and he had the cunning; somewhere in this school, there had to be a spell that would let him achieve his goal. Now that Blaise and Theo had mentioned it… why shouldn't he? He could show Theo just how wrong he was, and show Granger just how low she was. Blaise would shut up about Pansy, and Draco would be back on top again. Just like things should be.

But where to start?

He went through the dark arts section, scanning the different topics, and then through the potions, but there were none worth anything that would achieve what he wanted. The charms section wasn't worth looking through, and he didn't have an idea for transfiguring anything, and slowly Draco became frustrated. Finally, as he scanned the History section, he found what he was looking for. An old tomb, rebound at least three different times, rested on a desolate shelf, the name almost completely faded. A Thousand and One Nights was written across the side in a long and curling script, the letters peeling. Curious, and a little wary, he pulled the tomb off of the shelf, surprised when a small jolt of magic raced through the spine of the book and into his fingers. So it was old magic? He could use that.

Settling down onto his chair, Draco flipped through the book, trying not to crush any of the pages by pulling on them too harshly. The book was everything to do with old history curses, past battles with unfound curses, and the rise and fall of old powers. Draco saw old ancestors of his that his father idolized, and it was in their records that he found exactly what he was looking for.

"Oh, this will be all too good." Draco smirked to himself as he leaned back. Now all he needed was the perfect set-up to launch his attack.

Hermione reached the library in record speed. Anger was pumping fresh in her veins, and the desire to hit something was still fresh. It wasn't becoming of the Head Girl to resort to slapping her now ex-boyfriend, but damn… it had felt good. How dare he bring up Viktor Krum? How dare he try and tell her she expected too much? It was Ron who wanted too much, always asking her if she'd ever be ready to take the next step in their relationship, always asking her if she ever wanted to be closer to him than she already was…

As if having morals these days were a sin! Hermione gritted her teeth and stalked the rows of the library, taking in their scent of old manuscripts and parchment. It had always been soothing to come to the library after an argument with Ron, but now was different. She could see the way he had looked at Lavender, even though he was sitting there, verbally backhanding Hermione with every word he spoke. Like that whore deserved any attention? But maybe she did; maybe Ron and her deserved each other. Hermione felt like something was in order, something less responsible than what was expected of her…

"Penny for your thoughts, mudblood?" Hermione whirled around, her temper spiking as she took in Draco Malfoy's smirk, his eyes taking in her clenched fists and bristling hair. His books were stacked in disarray around him, a long stretch of parchment in front of him like he had been working on something. Hermione closed her eyes and pinched her nose, wondering why in the world God had decided that she'd not only have to deal with one obnoxious and overbearing boy, but another who also had the tendency to pick fights.

"Sod off, Malfoy." She snapped, turning back around to leave. She could find another place in the library to vent, right? She didn't have to be where the amazing bouncing ferret resided. It would probably be good for her blood pressure to walk away, and act like an adult. She was the head girl, and she had a reputation to uphold.

"Oh, that's all? I thought the clever bookworm would have something smarter to say in reply." Draco drawled, and Hermione whirled around, ready to injure him with any curse that popped into mind. Her wand itching to be used, she was reaching for it when he laughed cruelly, shaking his head.

"You wouldn't want to do that, mudblood. You curse me and the headmaster will have your badge, and then what? They place another Slytherin as a head of the houses? According to you, one is bad enough." Draco leaned back, hands behind his head, smirking cockily up at her.

"There's no way the headmaster would place another Slytherin in charge. Nott is an exception to the rules, and that's because all in all, he's nothing like-"

"Nothing like what, a Slytherin? Oh, but he is… he really is. Not like you could conceive the truth beyond the bridge of your nose. You never could look past your books, Granger." Hermione gritted her teeth as Ron's words coincided with what Malfoy, was telling her. It wasn't just from his mouth, it was from her own ex's too! There had to be something off with that. There was no way it could be true, could it? The need to do something, to act was fresh in her mind, but she had no idea how to act. What could she do?

"He's obviously a lot more mature than you. Why are you even bothering me?" Hermione snapped, unable to keep the fury from filtering in her tones.

"Why, because I can. You were the one to intrude on my peace, mudblood, so it's you who is bothering me." Draco looked down at the book in front of him, and a frown crossed his face as he looked back at her. What was his deal? Rolling her eyes, she turned to leave when he accosted her once again.

"I didn't say for you to leave." He commented in his smug drawl, talking down to her like she was a servant, like she was his to command. What was with guys having that misconception today?! Whirling around, Hermione advanced on him, hand itching for her wand.

"I'm not like one of your Slytherin whores that you can command with the drop of a hat, ferret." She snarled. Malfoy looked surprised at her actions, but altogether amused. What was she going to do, curse him? Sure, slapping him would probably do the trick, but she shook her head. She was the head girl, and she wouldn't allow Malfoy to be the one to make her give up her standards because he was a jackass. Realizing this, he stood up as well, his towering height leaning over her.

"No, you're lower on the rank structure than that." He sneered, making her blood boil.

"As if you're one to talk. Not everyone here bows down to you and your father's money." She retorted evenly, despite how angry she felt. Raising an eyebrow, he stepped around her and began nonchalantly skimming the rows of books, ignoring her statement altogether. Hermione would have thought that it hadn't bothered him, but seeing his back rigid with anger and his fists clenched, she knew otherwise. Why was he holding back? He'd never done that before.

"Besides," She continued, feeling that since he wasn't talking, she would, "If being at the bottom means I'm not in the group with your mindless slaves, I'm much happier where I am. Anything's better than where you are." Draco looked back at her, lips curled in a snarl. If she didn't know any better, Hermione would have said that he was close to hitting her.

"And where do you think I am, mudblood?" He hissed, eyes glinting in a way she hadn't seen before. Something was up.

"You're an outcast to the Slytherin, you're an idiot to the rest of the student body, the headmaster can't trust you, and you're a failure to the Dark Lord, the very guy you were trying to impress." She said each word slowly, distinctly, and before she had the time to fully blink, he had rushed her, pushing her against the wall, a soundless snarl on his lips. Shock rocked her system, and blindly she reached for her wand. Pulling it out and pushing it against his stomach, she was close to spitting out a hex when she saw the murderous look in his eyes. It was a look that said quite clearly, he would do everything in his power to destroy her. She'd never felt more afraid.

"Let her go, Draco." A voice from behind Malfoy caught Hermione's attention, and she looked around the steaming youth to see Nott standing near the shelves, arms folded, and face blank. Malfoy didn't bother to turn and see who it was, almost like he already knew. Hermione dug her wand farther into his gut, glaring up at him challengingly, but all he did was stare back, fingers digging into her shoulders as he seemed to be internally battling against something. What was he about to do? Hermione resisted the impulse to bite her lip.

"I don't think I will." Draco finally said, voice arrogant and droll, silver eyed glare making her dig her wand farther into his stomach. If he noticed, he didn't show it.

"I need her for our meeting this evening. I'm not going to explain to the headmaster about the murder in his school." Nott didn't seem bothered by her being thrown against the wall, and angrily, Hermione pushed at Malfoy, but it was like pushing a rock; he didn't budge. Something she had said snapped at him, and now she felt like she was royally screwed. Draco's mouth tightened into a thin line as his breathing grew a little harsher.

"And, you don't need any more trouble. Let the girl go." Nott was indifferent to the situation, much to Hermione's dismay, but maybe it was his lack of care in the matter that fixed things? Draco snarled something under his breath, cocking a fist back and punched the wall next to Hermione's head. Scrambling out of the way, Hermione stumbled away from him, wand pointing straight at his heart. His gaze followed her, face still screwed up in anger and disgust. He didn't seem daunted by the wand pointed at him.

"That's not necessary, Granger." Nott informed her, and looking back at him, she saw his eyebrow raised in question. Looking back at Malfoy, Hermione was surprised to see no emotion on his face, as if something had wiped the rage off of his features. The only thing that showed the inferno within was his eyes. They watched her like a predator.

"He attacked a student." She finally managed to spit out, surprise still showing. Underneath it, Hermione hated the fact that she felt fear, an underlying film on the roof of her mouth as she warily observed the pale boy before her. She decidedly ignored the dent in the wall where her head had been inches from.

"If you planned on hexing him, you would have done it already." Nott dismissed her words, and grabbing her wand, he pushed it down slowly. "I'll take care of him." He finally said, a tinge of exasperation in his tone. Finally relenting, Hermione put her wand back into her robe pocket, stepping back. Adjusting her robes, Hermione turned and glanced at Nott before pivoting to leave.

"You'll pay for that, mudblood." Malfoy suddenly said, and Hermione picked up her pace, not wanting to look back at the situation she'd just narrowly avoided. "Just remember… you'll pay." Hermione race walked down the aisles, and when she reached the door of the library, she didn't glance back to see if Nott had followed.

"That was close." Nott remained where he was, eyes trained on Draco as the steaming Slytherin threw his books into his bag unceremoniously. "I almost believed I'd have a death on my hands." Turning to give Theodore a withering glare, Draco's lip curled and he jabbed a finger in the general direction where the mudblood had fled.

"She'll pay for that." He hissed, staring right back into Theodore's patronizing gaze. He didn't care that he'd been caught almost hitting the Head Girl; it didn't matter to him! How dare that insolent, ignorant, low life speak like she knew what she was talking about?! She was just like the know-it-all mudblood he'd pinned her for. What did she know of anything, of life? She didn't. Well, he'd teach her. He'd show her what it meant to be scared. There'd been a flicker of it in her eyes, and he was going to be the one to fully rip it out of her.

"So you told her. You're going to fix the dent in the wall." Theodore nodded his head in the direction of the wall, and with a flick of his wand, Draco fixed the cracks in the wood. Swinging his bag up, he faced Theo head on, waiting for his punishment. What would it be, detention? He could handle points off; he could handle a stern talking to from a professor… what could Theo possibly do?

"Also," Theo continued, unabashed, "whether she pays for it or not… it shouldn't matter to you if you're a failure in his eyes. Your mother's alive, yes? That's the price of failing the Dark Lord; you keep what actually matters to you." Shaking his head, he walked off, leaving Draco feeling like he'd just gotten the worst punishment he could have ever received.

He'd gotten pity.

Hermione couldn't concentrate as she made her way down the halls to the office she shared with Nott. It was back behind the teacher's eating tables, a small door to the left of the headmaster's chair, and it was where she generally met with professors to sort anything out that needed sorting out. It was a simple room with a fireplace, two medium sized desks, and it held silver and red furnishings.

Her shoulders ached right where Malfoy had dug his fingers in, and she was sure she'd have a bruise, but it was better than what could have been. Something had snapped in her, frozen her mind from reacting when he'd come to close to hitting her, all from just one simple statement-

"You're not going to tell the Headmaster of this." Jumping out of her daze, Hermione jerked her head around to see Nott right behind her, following at a slow and leisurely pace. His face was the same unemotional mask that it always was, save the slight tightening around his mouth like he was frustrated.

"Why not? He attacked-"

"A student, I know. But his actions weighed the same as the words that provoked them." Glaring at a ghost that glided past, Hermione shook her head. What was Nott blathering about? She'd done nothing but speak the truth; he'd asked for it!

"I told him the truth. I didn't do anything wrong." Hermione said crossly, glancing at her watch to see that it was close to dinner time. They'd have to have a quick meeting in order to get to eat a decent meal. Then, the idea of having to see Ron at dinner weighed down on her, and she groaned out loud at the thought of having to see him. Anger was still fresh for what he'd done. Glancing at her with a question in his eyes, Theo shook his head.

"You know a lot of things, Granger, but one thing you don't know is about his past." Startled at his comment, she looked up at him, about to speak, but he shook his head and held a hand up. "And you shouldn't pry into it either. If you've any self preservation, you'll leave him to his past, and let this situation go." Reaching the office, he opened the door politely and gestured to enter. Numbed by his words, Hermione followed the direction of his arm and walked inside.

About ten minutes passed with nothing but silence until Hermione couldn't help but speak up.

"I'm not a Slytherin; I've no big tie to self preservation." She blurted out, and Theo glanced up from his desk, startled that she'd spoken. He had been under the impression that he'd shut her up for awhile.

"Any human has self preservation in mind; a Slytherin just has the cunning to use it to his or her advantage. But a Gryffindor is smart, and knows when to stop pushing something. Sometimes." Giving her a pointed look, he changed the subject, holding up the paper from Hogsmeade and asking if she was ready to plan a specific date.

Sighing, Hermione threw herself into her work, letting the matter drop.

For now.

By the time they had finished, Hermione was sure she was going to blow. Students complaints, detentions that went unserved, pranks that had been pulled, disputes to settle, trips to plan, requests to submit or deny… the list went on. With the war with Lord Voldemort going on, Dumbledore wanted the students to be able to branch out and have fun, but he wanted safety first. The Hogsmeade trip would be tricky to maneuver while being safe at the same time, but looking at the eager faces, Hermione knew they'd have to find a way. After that had been pushed aside and the winter formal discussed, they were able to tackle the letters and small offences people had brought up to them.

Half way through though, Theo had interrupted their work to voice a question.

"Have you and Ron broken up?" Hermione couldn't help but flinch at the question, though she kept her face clear of annoyance or-God forbid- pain. Nodding curtly, she looked up at him to see that he seemed somewhat bothered by that, like it was a surprise or he wasn't sure how to respond.

"You can ask why, you know." Hermione informed him, grabbing another letter complaint to skim through. Theo let out a dry chuckle, and she could imagine him shaking his head. She wouldn't look up at him though, not wanting him to read her face like he could. Nott had the uncanny ability to be able to tell what someone really meant, or how they really felt, just by studying their face.

"Oh, I know I could. I've already come to that conclusion though; there's no need to ask." He didn't seem perturbed by her snort of disbelief, and after a few moments of silence, Hermione sighed.

"How could you come to that conclusion?" She gave in, looking up to see him slightly smirking. Leave it to a Slytherin to be smug at a Gryffindor relenting to their curiosity.

"He wanted something you weren't willing to give." Hermione's jaw dropped, and she stared at him, not wanting to believe that he'd actually guess correctly. How'd he know?! At her shocked face, he elaborated, knowing she was about to ask anyway.

"The way he looks at you; it's obvious." Shrugging in an indifferent way, he looked straight into her eyes, his tone a little less emotionless. "You'd do well to avoid him in that kind of way. He's not got your best intentions." Hermione pursed her lips, but after opening her mouth earlier, she had the feeling it wouldn't be appreciated again.

And the silence dragged on.

When they finally stepped out of the back room, the tables were laden with food and students were eating and talking, a cacophony rising from the din of glassware on tabletops.

"We'll discuss safety precautions with Dumbledore tomorrow after classes?" Hermione suggested to Nott before he took off to sit with his friends. Looking at her with his studious gaze, he gave a slight nod before glancing at his watch and tapping it.

"Six o'clock should be fine?" He said, glancing around the room before looking back at her. Nodding, Hermione stepped down the stairs and walked towards her house table, ignoring the looks and whispers. The moment she'd stepped out of the back room, she'd seen their glances, and could imagine their words.

"I heard she slapped him-"

"She's such a prude…"

"He's dating someone else now..."

"He's not a player, you're-"

"There they are now!" Hermione ignored them as best as she could, but when she spotted Ron and Lavender sitting closely together, she gritted her teeth and had to fight the urge to say something. Pretend they don't exist, she advised herself. Spotting Harry sitting away from them and with Ginny, Hermione made a bee-line for what allies she felt she had.

"Oh, Mione, I'm sorry my brother's an idiot!" Ginny gave her a hug immediately as she sat down, but she shrugged it off, trying to be brave. She couldn't show weakness; she was the Head Girl!

"It's alright Ginny, it's not a problem." Hermione looked over at Harry to see him studying her, possibly trying to see if she was telling the truth or not. Studiously avoiding his gaze, Hermione began loading her plate, forgetting the fact that she wasn't going to eat all of it.

"I mean, I know he's a bloody git… you want me to give him the bat bogey curse?" Ginny suggested, eyes bright as she pushed her side swept bangs from her face. Her pale features stood out against her blue eyes and red hair, and Hermione did a double take when she realized just how grown up Ginny had become. She wasn't just the little first year that had a crush on Harry… she was a young woman. When did that happen? Looking over at Harry, she saw the way he was looking at her, and a strange feeling took over her. Harry was looking at her with adoration in his eyes… something Ron didn't do.

"No, he's not worth it. No offense." She tacked on hastily, but Ginny flicked her hand in the general direction of her brother, rolling her eyes.

"He's not. What was he thinking?" She asked more to herself than the people around her. Down the table, Ron kept stealing glances over to Hermione, but she didn't return his glances. She kept her eyes pinned on either Ginny or Harry, refusing to look where he sat with Lavender. He wasn't worth her getting upset.

Was he?

"What's got the Head Girl all in a knot?" Blaise asked, voice maliciously indifferent as he ate. Theo glanced up from his food, studying Hermione for a second before clearing his throat. Draco didn't say or do anything; his glare was beginning to burn holes into his plate.

"Her and Ron broke up." Theo informed Blaise and Draco, tone uncaring. Blaise snorted and jabbed his fork over to where the red headed boy was leaning in towards the Gryffindor whore, not bothering to smother a laugh. He didn't notice how Draco's head snapped up in the direction of their table, nor did he notice the concentrated look he was giving the Head Girl, but Theo saw. Frowning ever so slightly, he placed his elbows on the table, resting his chin on his hands to study Draco's reaction.

"And you can see quite clearly which was the one to break it off." Blaise chuckled, shaking his head. "He's sure as hell moved on."

"Does it matter what the blood traitor decides to do with his pathetic life?" Draco snapped, but there was a hint of something flickering in his eyes that Theo didn't like. There was a plan forming, but what?

"No, but it's entertaining to see the golden trio having trouble in paradise." Blaise replied evenly, shrugging off Draco's sour mood. Theo gave an appreciative shake of his head, and he glanced up at the mudblood before looking back at Draco, alarmed to see the gleam aimed in her direction.

"Then let's keep their business to themselves." Theo pointed out, nudging Draco with his shoulder. Draco jerked as if he'd been struck, and looking between his two friends, he stood up suddenly, a smirk drifting over his face that Theo didn't like. If he knew better, he would have grabbed Draco and restrained him before anything could get worse, but he merely gave his friend a skeptical glance before pursing his lips.

"Remember what I said about destroying yourself in the process." Theo reminded his friend, knowing the warning would fall on deaf ears. Blaise looked at Draco in slight confusion before shrugging and tucking back into his food.

"Trust me; self preservation is what I do best." Draco drawled before dropping his napkin and walking away with a flourish Theo only remembered from Draco's paltry attempts at doing the Dark Lord's service the year before.

"Don't worry about him Theo, Draco knows what he's doing." Blaise consoled, clapping Theo on the back. Theo shook his head, glancing back at the Gryffindor table where the head girl was putting up an effort to seem unaffected by her ex's actions.

"That's what I'm afraid of."

Hermione herded her house down the hall to the common room, keeping the first years from straying too far, and making sure the returning years kept themselves in check. She trusted Nott to keep the Slytherins under some semblance of control, and the prefects from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw were really good about keeping things quiet, but something felt wrong. It wasn't how Ron purposefully walked past her without a backward glance, and it wasn't the high pitched giggle Lavender made. It was something that made her get goose bumps, and when someone ran past from behind, she nearly jumped.

Rolling her eyes as the hallways slowly cleared, Hermione looked to the left and the right, wand out as she began patrolling the hallways. Since the threat of attacks was frequent with Lord Voldemort on the loose, the patrols started earlier, and being out in the halls was prohibited.

Groaning, Hermione recalled that they also lasted longer, too.

After an hour of going through the top parts of the school and making sure the students weren't hiding out to screw around, Hermione began the slow descent to the floor with the library, hoping that she could go in and check out a few books before she went back on duty. Checking her watch, she glanced around before ducking into the library, vowing to be just five minutes.

Stepping past the librarian, Hermione went to her favorite section to check out her favorite historical tome, A Thousand and One Nights, but upon reaching the slightly vacant shelf, it was to her dismay when she realized it wasn't there. Who else in this school would check out ancient magic like that? It wasn't like any of the other students knew the relevance of old magic like that.

"Looking for something?" Hermione whirled around at the sound of his voice, heart pounding when he let out an amused, sick laugh.

"Put that down, mudblood, I'm not going to hurt you." He was up to something; she could see it in the gleam in his eyes and the set of his mouth. He was lounging against the wall like he had been earlier that day, except now there was only one book in front of him, and a long stretch of parchment. A freshly used quill sat to the side with a vial of ink.

"What are you doing, Malfoy?" Hermione asked suspiciously, recognizing the tome anywhere; it was A Thousand and One Nights. His smirk widening, he gestured to his work, raising an eyebrow at her paranoia.

"Just reading; what's it to you?" He challenged, folding his arms. Straightening her back, Hermione rolled her eyes; what was she worried about? Turning around, she shook her head.

"Absolutely nothing, ferret boy." Stepping off to leave, Hermione was almost out of earshot when he spoke.

"I heard you and ickleronnikins broke up." Whirling around, Hermione felt anger that the truth had spread that fast. Why would Malfoy care anyway? Was it even any of his business? No, it wasn't! She felt suspicion rear its ugly head in her face.

"What's it to you?" She mimicked, folding her arms, wand still in hand. She wouldn't give him the chance to get close to her again; this time she'd hex and ask questions later. Slightly on edge when he laughed mockingly, Hermione faced him head on, ready to pounce.

"Just thought that maybe you'd taken a bit too much from him, that's all." His words shocked her, and slightly dumbfounded, Hermione pursed her lips to keep her jaw from dropping to the ground. Now what was he on about? It wasn't like he cared or anything, she could see that by his stare. Something was amusing him to no end though, and she wanted to get to the bottom of it. She couldn't trust him enough.

"Like I said, what's it to you?" Hermione snapped unintentionally. Talking about Ron with her worst enemy wasn't something she'd ever considered really doing, but now that she was, she felt a stir of anger at Ron, something she hadn't expected to feel. It was the desire to get even, something she'd felt earlier in the library. Was it something in the air?

"I'd be angry if I were you. I would want revenge." Malfoy pointed out, positioning himself so that he had her full attention.

"It's a relief I was made of more than anger and spite like you were, Malfoy." Hermione replied, not liking the way the events were turning out. What was he playing at? She should be on rounds, not talking to Malfoy! Instead of getting angry and having a temper tantrum though, Malfoy merely smirked at her.

"Yet you do feel anger and spite. Aren't you interested in my offer, mudblood?" Malfoy held up the paper, the ink still fresh on the page. Hermione peered at the page in slight confusion before shaking her head, annoyed.

"What the hell are you babbling on about, Malfoy? I don't have time for this!" Hermione turned to leave, but at his laugh she paused, uncertain.

"I'm talking about helping you get revenge on your ickleronnikins for ever breaking up with you."

Hit or miss? Only you can tell!