Okay, I am SO TERRIBLY SORRY that this took forever and a day to post. I did actually have it started, and then my life got all crazy-tastic, and I got to the point where I couldn't focus on this. But alas, summer break has arrived and I'm ready to spend late nights writing...as I'm doing right at this very moment. It's about 2 am here now. :D

So anyways, this one sort of ends awkwardly, and there are probably a good bit of mistakes in it, because for some reason, I'm having a really hard time sticking with a certain point of view. I keep switching back and forth between first and third. -sigh-

But uhm...Yeah, I'm gonna go work on Chapter 3 now, and hopefully figure out what my original plan for this was. :p

Love,

MH

Chapter 2

Draco POV

I was angrier than usual. Even I could notice that, so certainly everyone else did too. Without the comfort of music, I couldn't clear my head of anything, not even for a little while. And even though it wasn't technically her fault, I blamed Granger for this. Her and those stupid, goody-two-shoes friends of hers, Weasel-bee and Scarhead. I sneered at them from across the room while Professor Bins went on and on and on about pointless topics that I didn't care to know about. To my dismay, only Granger noticed, and wouldn't even give me the glory of a glaring contest. Stupid Mudblood.

I rested my head on my arms and closed my eyes as Professor Bins droned on and on about something about some stupid muggle man who tried to eliminate everyone except for blond-haired, blue-eyed tall people. Why should I care? Even if I was alive then, I would have lived.

The next thing I knew, I was being nudged in the shoulder by a very persistent someone, and I opened my sleepy eyes to see Granger, again waking me from a random slumber.

"Professor Bins says to get out of his classroom, before you get detention with Trelawney. I suggest you leave," she told me in a rather matter-of-factly tone.

Understanding where the threat in that statement was, I quickly gathered my things and stood to head toward the door after Granger. We both made our way down the corridor, me walking several feet behind her, as we were both headed for lunch in the Great Hall. It wasn't long before we was approached by the King (or perhaps Prince, after Potter) of Stupidity. Weasley approached her the way a house elf approached their master after having done something wrong. Her clenched fist made me aware of her anger toward him.

Well, now, it seemed as if Weasley had finally been caught with his other 'woman'. I snorted and came to a stop. No way was I going to pass up being an audience to this. Weasley glanced at me, but didn't say anything.

"Come, on, 'mione. Why won't you talk to me anymore? What'd I do?" Weasel-bee began, the look of total innocence spreading across his freckle-face.

"What did you do?" Granger exclaimed shrilly. "Honestly, Ronald, even I didn't peg you as someone that thick."

"Honestly, Hermione, I don't have a clue as to what you're freaking out about. I haven't done anything to you!" he raised his voice a bit, losing the faux innocence.

Her voice lowered to a deadly tone (mentally I congratulated her on having mastered that tone of voice) as she spoke, "Didn't do anything to me…You listen here, Ronald Weasley, don't you ever speak to me again. Or I'll have you tossed into a cage of hungry blast-ended skrewts, got it?"

His eyes narrowed menacingly and he took a threatening step toward her. "Was that a threat?"

"So what if it was?" she replied, taking a step backwards, trying to escape but he came closer once more.

I could tell it was about to get violent by the simple fact that Weasley's face and ears matched his hair again. Seeing as I couldn't really just let it happen right in front of me (and maybe the fact that I felt secretly worried about Granger's well-being - wait, no, I don't care about her. Where the bloody hell did that come from?) I stepped forward.

"Sod off, Weasley, we both know you deserve to be swallowed whole by a blast-ended skrewt. Let's not deny it, shall we?"

His bulging eyes turned toward me, and I raised an eyebrow at him. He didn't say anything, merely glared for several moments, before I said, "Well, are you planning on leaving, or am I going to have to jinx you first?"

After another glare at Granger, he turned and stalked off with a huff. I stood there for a moment, to ascertain that he wasn't going to turn around and come back. When I saw him approached by Lavender at the other end of the corridor, I was certain that he wasn't, and I turned, and started to head in the other direction, taking a completely different route to the Great Hall than was originally planned. There was a moment of silence, then, "What the bloody hell was that, Malfoy?"

I stopped, but I didn't turn around. "What was what, Granger?"

"I mean, since when do you ever defend me, in anything? As I do recall, you're normally making my problems worse," she ranted as she caught up to my side.

I stubbornly refused to meet her irritated gaze and ran a hand through my platinum blond hair. "Honestly, Granger, I can dislike more than one person at a time. You of all people should know that. And I wasn't defending you. I was stating fact. Now, if you don't mind, I'd rather like to get to lunch," I told her, pushing past her dumbstruck form and making my way to the Great Hall, where Pansy awaited with a large and obnoxious grin on her dog face.

Hermione POV

Christmas holidays were nearing, and I couldn't say that I was all that thrilled to leave for them. At least at Hogwarts, I had my studies to distract me, and the ability to use magic when I needed to keep my problems away as much as I could. During the holidays, though, my parents wanted me home for a week and a half, and then for the other week of vacation, I was staying at the Burrow. Not for Ronald, of course. For Ginny.

I was oddly grateful to Draco for scaring Ronald enough to discontinue conversation with me for the past couple of days. Not that I was going to put myself in the deadly situation of thanking him for it in person. Besides, what would a jerk like him care anyways? And he had recently taken to ignoring more than was normal anyway.

The next problem: the Slug Club Christmas party that Professor Slughorn was hosting for his top students - and whoever their chosen guests might be. I myself, already had a date….a sad, unfortunate, annoying date that I was only taking because I knew he would be more likely to make Ronald mad at me. Oddly, though I didn't want him to talk to me, I still wanted his attention.

But it was Harry's date that we had to worry about. I knew that he was really hoping to go with Ginny (even though he wasn't willing to verbalize that wish), but everyone, and I mean everyone knew that Ginny was going out with Dean Thomas, and, as much as I love Harry, I honestly couldn't blame her. I mean, after all of the time Ginny spent liking him and him being absolutely clueless about it, she was thinking only in her best interest to move on. She just…chose the wrong time is all, I suppose.

But even after finally seeing what was in front of him for years, he still didn't have a date to the Christmas party. So, as I was a friend to the dateless, I had to help him. Which was what I was trying to do, if only he'd tell me who he had he sights set on asking. But no, he preferred to pay me back for not telling him who my surprise date was.

It was this wonder that occupied my mind as I attempted to control my mass of hair in preparation for the party. There wasn't anyone I could honestly think of him taking besides Ginny. He didn't appear to fancy anyone else. Oh, maybe it could be Cho Chang. She and Harry had had a little something going on once upon a time. Perhaps he decided that he wanted her over Ginny again. That could potentially cause problems. Especially since Ginny never did really stop liking him, she just stopped showing it.

Deciding that my hair wasn't going to look much better than it did in my current up-do, I grabbed my bag and my wand, and headed down the stairs of the girls dormitory, cleverly avoiding Harry as he moved out of the common room ahead of me. Cormac was supposed to be meeting me in the Entrance Hall before we made our way to Slughorn's office/classroom, where the party was being held. I hoped that the classroom wouldn't smell of rotten pig tails as it usually did tonight. I mean, it wasn't as if tonight wasn't bound to be unpleasant enough.

When I reached the Entrance Hall, Mclaggen wasn't there yet. I stood at the bottom of the stairs, preparing for his arrival. Surely it wouldn't be long. Fifteen minutes after Mclaggen was supposed to be there to meet me, my three least favorite people strode into the room. First, Ron and Lavender came out of the Great Hall, both giggling rather girlishly. Then, Draco Malfoy strode into the fire-lit expanse of the Entrance Hall, hands stuffed into the pockets of a nicely tailored black suit. His shoulders were slumped and his face was devoid of the arrogant smirk he usually carried about with him. He looked almost…human, and completely miserable at that.

I almost felt sorry for him. Almost. But then again, he had probably just gotten his ego bruised or something. Surely that wasn't enough to send him into such a state, though…

I decided to take my chances. "What's got you all down, Malfoy? Parkinson finally decided you were a lousy git, did she?"

He turned to face me with a flash of anger, before suddenly bursting into something along the lines of laughter. "Yeah, I wish my life were that simple," he said, and then walked away, shaking his head, without so much as a passing insult. That was almost disappointing. Now that the moment had finally come, I had no desire whatsoever to be seen with Mclaggen.

I actually managed to convince myself to leave, and just not show up at the party at all. But, unfortunately for me, just as I turned around, I found myself face to face with the aforementioned male that I did not want to see. Tonight obviously was not a night of good timing for me. And just think! said a voice within my head. It's still early!

"Well, hello there, Granger. You look very…lovely tonight."

I suddenly felt the urge to cover myself up with a giant paper bag and never be again seen by the mortal world. But instead, I followed what manners requested.

"Hello, Cormac. Shall we go?"

He nodded, and turned to make his way up the stairs with me following behind. Such manners modern-day men had. I followed behind quietly in hopes of ignoring all conversation. Luck was on my side for the time-being. Mclaggen said nothing as we made our way to the party. When we arrived, Professor Slughorn required a picture of the three of us together before releasing us to the festivities. I forced a smile onto my features, let the camera flash, and rushed away before Mclaggen had a chance to ask for a dance. It was time to find Harry.

Draco POV

My plan would have worked out perfectly. If it hadn't been for that ruddy cat of Filch's poking around the corridors with it's obnoxiously large green eyes. It wasn't like I was doing anything immoral or illegal. I had simply snuck a glimpse into the so-called 'party of the year'. Next thing I knew, I was being drawn by the collar - of a very expensive suit that ruddy Filch probably couldn't afford even in his dizziest daydreams - into a room full of my peers (most of which I loathed) that promptly stopped everything that they were doing to see what was going on.

At this point, of course, I was entirely zoned out, my mind in a completely different time and place. It was my father's eyes that captured my train of thought, so cold and merciless. Then next I saw my mother's, wide and frightened and…helpless. Because mother was practically trained to bow down to her man's feet and not to speak out of turn or contradict her husband in any way, even if it meant sitting back and watching her son forced into leagues with the most dangerous dark wizard of their time….

I was jogged from my thoughts by the sudden release of the hand on my collar. Wide-eyed, I glanced around me to try and decipher what had just happened and caught the departing glare of Filch as he hobbled from the room, where the festivities began to pick back up. Was I to assume then, that I could stay?

My eyes locked momentarily with those of Hermione Granger's, who expectantly whispered "You're welcome." before catching sight of something that seemed altogether terrifying to her and practically dashed off in the opposite direction. I turned around, confused by her words, to see Cormac McLaggen a few feet away and approaching. Ah, so Granger had finally figured it out: that McLaggen had targeted her as his next conquest. I stifled a chortle before turning to head towards a table in the corner where I could very easily witness all of the happenings of the party, including the rather flustered look on Granger's face as McLaggen finally caught up to her.

She eventually escaped him again though, apparently having sent him on a mission to get her some butterbeer. I lost sight of her in the crowd and found myself disinterested in most of the other occurrences of the hour. My eyes glazed over as my mind drifted once more, and I didn't realize that I was humming one of my songs under my breath.