Disclaimer: Second verse, same as the first. A little louder and a whole lot worse! Lol. Basically… I don't own Harry or his friends.

Chapter 2: Don't Mess With This Lioness

The next morning I woke up around the time that I usually do on the weekends: eight o' clock. It was late enough to where I felt like I'd slept in, but early enough to still get things done. Memories from last night flooded through my mind and I suddenly wished I could go back to bed. How on Earth was I going to get that git to kiss me? We didn't even have a hate relationship for me to work with. We had nothing. Well, maybe that was an advantage. I had a clean slate with him. But didn't Malfoy say that he despised me? Ugh! How dare he hate me? I'd never done anything to the prat! But then again, all the Slytherins hated me for one reason or another. And they all hated me on different levels. I knew that Parkinson and Malfoy hated me the most. And then there were the Greengrasses. And it continued from there. It was kind of funny that I'd never even thought of Zabini at all, but then again he never talked. He never sneered or smirked. He's never made himself known, but it turns out he hates me more than Malfoy. Stupid Slytherin.

I silently got up and went about my morning business, still dreading going to the Great Hall. I knew Malfoy would be watching me, smirking and waiting to see what I'd do. Then it hit me. Malfoy was going to win unless I pulled myself together. I was Hermione Granger, for Merlin's sake! I never lost, and I certainly wasn't about to start. Especially to that ferret! It was only a kiss. I could do this. Even if it was him who had to kiss me, I could do this. Sitting on my bed, brushing my impossible tangle of curls, I began to strategize. What did I know of Zabini? I thought for a moment. I knew he was a player. I knew he always chose the "hottest" girls at Hogwarts. What else? I knew he was good in Potions and Transfiguration. I thought a little harder. That was all I knew about him.

Okay. So for the next couple days, I would just research Blaise Zabini. That was, after all, what I did best. I'd study him. I'd learn his habits, schedule, and anything else I could find out about him. By the end of the week I'd know him better than his own mother. Then, the next week I'd work on the kiss. I knew how impossible it seemed that I would get him to kiss me in two weeks, but I wasn't about to give up. So, with the vision of that irritating smirk on Malfoy's face, I marched myself down to the Common Room to meet my friends.

When I got downstairs I was graced with the sight of Ginny levitating an upside down Ron. Harry was rolling on the floor laughing. And so was everyone else for that matter.

"Good morning, everyone," I giggled.

Ginny just nodded in my direction, her intense brown eyes never leaving her protesting brother. Harry got up with some difficulty and made his way towards me, laughing all the way. "Morning, Mione."

I couldn't help but giggle at all of the chaos. I figured I'd have to stop it eventually, being a prefect and all, but why rush?

"What'd he do this time?" I asked as Ginny began to bounce Ron up and down in mid-air.

"He told her that the next time he saw her and Seamus snogging that he would punish her severely. She didn't like that too much," Harry said, sobering up a little bit. I put my hand on his shoulder to comfort him. I knew how much he liked Ginny and how much it hurt to see her with Seamus. I felt the same way when I saw Lavender and Ron together. But he didn't see that Ginny wasn't all that into Seamus anyway. He didn't see how she looked at him when she thought no one was paying any attention. I did. Maybe after these next two weeks were over, I'd play matchmaker. I decided now would be a good time to let Ron out of his misery so I walked over and tapped Ginny on the shoulder.

She grinned slyly at me. "Yes, Hermione?"

I played along and asked in a sing-song voice, "What ya doin'?"

She shrugged. "Oh, nothing. Just hanging."

"Oh, yeah. I see that. Well I'm hungry. So put the oaf down and let's get something to eat."

She reluctantly put him down none-too-gently and grumbled as she left the Common Room with Seamus at her heels.

"Thanks, Mione," Ron choked out. "I thought she was going to hang me from the ceiling or something."

"Well, Ronald, you would have deserved it for butting into her business. Seamus is her boyfriend. It's none of your business what they do," I scolded him.

"The bloody hell it isn't!" he exclaimed. "That's my sister! My little sister! If anything happened to her, I'd be dead. My parents would bury me six feet under. Alive!"

I rolled my eyes at his dramatics. "Ronald, you are such a drama queen," I held my hand up when he tried to argue and continued, "Come on. I really am hungry."

We made our way down to the Great Hall and over to the Weasley twins. I sat down by George and cheerfully said, "Morning!"

But George wasn't paying any attention to me. Both Fred and George were grinning wickedly at Ron. "So, Ron, I heard your morning has been a little… upside down today," Fred snickered.

"Shut up," Ron mumbled around the bit of roll in his mouth.

I rolled my eyes. I knew they would just continue from there and I really wasn't in the mood to listen. So I decided to put Plan Study Zabini into action. Out the corner of my eye, I saw something that simply demanded my attention. Okay. First pancakes, and then put Plan Study Zabini into action. I loaded some pancakes onto my plate and drowned them in butter and syrup. May they rest in peace. I was about to stuff the first bite into my mouth, when a voice from behind suddenly made me lose my appetite.

"Ronnykins," she said in her little whiney voice, "why didn't you wait for me?" She crossed her arms over her chest in an attempt to bring attention to her breasts and pouted in what I'm sure she thought was an attractive way. It just made me want to puke. I shoved the pancakes away and Harry, Ginny, Fred, and George all looked at me apologetically.

"Well, Lav Lav, Hermione was ready to go, so we all went," Ron said through a mouthful of eggs.

Lavender glared at us both. "Oh, I see," she huffed. "So Hermione is more important than me?" I wasn't too keen on the way she sneered my name.

"Oh, of course I'm not, Lavender. Ron is all too happy to drop his friend since first year for such an imprudent girl like you," I sneered. I picked up my belongings and left Ron and Lavender gaping after me as the other four barely contained their grins.

As I started to storm off, I heard Lavender huff indignantly, "What did she just say to me?" I rolled my eyes. Of course she wouldn't know what I said had actually meant. I glanced over to the Slytherin table and saw Malfoy smirking wickedly at me while Zabini just sat there eating. That was when I decided that studying Zabini first wasn't going to work well with me. I was going to get him to kiss me. And Ron would feel what I felt every day when I saw him snuggled up to "Lav Lav." Oh yes. Zabini was going to kiss me. Malfoy was going to lose. And Ron was going to realize that I was perfect for him.

I shot Malfoy a glare as I walked out of the Great Hall. They are all going to see that you do not mess with this lioness, I thought as I ran to the library to begin planning.

Draco's POV

I watched with deep satisfaction as Granger stormed out of the Great Hall. I could feel the pure, unadulterated hate in the glare she had shot me before she left. I knew she was angry with the Weasel. Hell, everybody knew she was head over heels for the boy. Everybody except the animal himself. I knew he wasn't observant, but honestly, you'd have to be blind not to see the adoring looks Granger sent him, or the way she seemed to cling to his words, or the way she lit up when he was around. Sickening and unhealthy as it was, she loved him. But I didn't care about that. I cared about my bet with Blaise….

Blaise's POV

Stupid Draco with his stupid bets and that stupid Mudblood. How dare he think that I could ever have feelings for that little know-it-all? I mean, everyone knew she had grown into herself. She wasn't that awkward little girl she had been five years ago. She was a woman now, with a woman's body. And a nice body at that. Her curves had filled out in all the right places and her bushy hair had been tamed a little bit since she was eleven. She was short, petite, but it was cute. It went well with her features. And I have to admit, she was damn sexy when she got all haughty with Malfoy. That fire burned in her eyes and her body got all tight with tension. Granger was a vixen. Every guy had noticed it. Well, maybe except for Weasel, but he didn't look much farther than his plate to see what was right in front of him, pining for his attention. He didn't notice those plump lips of hers pouting when he ignored her. Or her eyes, staring with such passion that it could melt the stars. He didn't see that. But every other male in Hogwarts did. Including me.

But that hardly meant I had feelings for her. She was sexy as hell and I wanted her. End of discussion. But Malfoy didn't believe me. And when I had tried to argue my point, he just shoved off my excuses and offered me a bet. And damn if I didn't take it. Draco and I had been friends for years, always making bets. He usually won, though, because he always pulled strings, making his puppets do whatever he wanted. But this was one bet that I was going to win. I was going to be in control this time. And I'd be damned if Malfoy took this victory away from me.