You're welcome for the lime. I had Mr. Pants read it and he said it was realistic. Haha! As you may now see, I'm an insomniac. So... 3rd chapter in less than 10-ish hours.

Sorry my chapters are short, J.K. Rowling did most the work for me you see. ;-) She owns these people. Credit for title/motivation goes to Buno Mars and credit for the song in this chapter goes to Paramore.

Tuck in!


As days and weeks passed, Draco and Hermione kept their mild flirting and general friendliness. He never really hated her, he was merely motivated to ridicule her based on her once believed "blood impurity". It all seemed so foolish now. She was brilliant, sexy. What was there to make fun of? Draco felt that he basically owed her his life, so he tried to be the the most helpful Head Boy he could be. He was generally on time and was pretty fair at docking points from students who broke curfew, no matter what house they were in. However on this Thursday, he was a little late for his Head Boy duties, after practicing Quidditch drills. He ran upstairs to the Heads' quarters, hoping Hermione wouldn't be angry with him and stifle what progress they had made in their friendship. He rounded corners as quickly as possible, finally reaching where Hermione was standing, right outside their common room.

"Malfoy! We're going to be late for patrols! I don't want to run into another dung bomb."

"Granger, what is my name?" He asked her as the started walking down the halls.

"Uh-uh Mr. Malfoy, I reserve that for when you're not being a twit. Otherwise known as late."

"But I had Quidditch practice." The name Mr. Malfoy could grow on him though, it sounded kind of hot.

"I'll never understand why boys love that sport so much."

"Well it's only THE best sport ever."

"Are there many other wizarding sports?" She challenged.

"Well not really."

"Exactly."

"C'mon Hermione, I bet I could find a sport you like." Why did her name sound so delicious coming from his mouth?

"Hmm... thinking... dancing! Dancing is a sport." Hermione laughed pleasantly.

"Well, even though I don't consider that a sport, I'll have you know, us Malfoy's are well versed at all forms of fine dancing. And perhaps a couple unrefined ones." Draco smiled widely. "How about a dance, right here?"

"Now? In this hallway? And besides, there's no music."

"Well, you know how I have to listen to the wireless at least an hour a week for muggle education? I happen to have it on me..." he offered.

"I guess a dance won't hurt. It won't put our patrols off by much."

"Woah-ho-ho. Rebellious Granger!" He teased as he pulled out the radio. "Let's see what's on. I can lead no matter what it is." He winked as he played with the station knobs to find something to dance to. The tune started with a light acoustic guitar strumming.

"When I was younger I saw my daddy cry..."

"Ready? Slow dance or Waltz?" He wanted to see how skilled she was.

"And curse at the wind,"

"Waltz." She smiled nervously as her cheeks flushed. Which would be more embarrassing? To former enemies slow dancing close together? Or Waltzing erm, professionally. Yeah, that's it.

"He broke his own heart and I watched as he tried to reassemble it."

Draco framed his arms perfectly and waited for her to take his hand. Hermione gently held his left hand and placed her left hand on his shoulder. Her touch was soft, and made his chest feel warm, like being happily suffocated.

"And my mama swore that she would never let herself forget,

And that was the day that I promised that I'd never sing of love, if it does not exist."

"Ready?" She nodded. "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6..." Hermione felt like she was touching lightning, but it was the best feeling she'd ever had.

"But Darlin' you are the only exception,

You are the only exception,

You are the only exception,

You are the only exception."

As they glided together in the hall, Hermione was in awe of how graceful and gentle Draco could be, all the while leading her with strength and confidence. She'd never felt this safe and relaxed with him before. She trusted his movements like she trusted her heart to beat.

"Maybe I know somewhere, deep in my soul, that love never lasts,

And we've got to find other ways, to make it alone or keep a straight face.

And I've always lived like this, keeping a comfortable distance,

And up until now I had sworn to myself that I'm content with loneliness.

Cause none of it was ever worth the risk."

As Draco looked at her, he knew he was in trouble. Every word that had be sung applied to how he'd always felt about her. Even as a kid, he knew she was a remarkable witch. He admired and hated how brilliant she was, while still being so kind and caring. But now he knew, that that hatred and admiration had crumbled and become infatuation, maybe even love.

"Well you are the only exception,

You are the only exception,

You are the only exception,

You are the only exception,

You are the only exception."

"Hermione, I..." Draco gently grazed his hand across her cheek, and tucked her hair behind her ear. He rested his forehead on hers. Hermione could feel the intimate warmth of his breath on her face and could barely keep her eyes open. Draco took a deep breath and rested his nose just to the side of hers, his lips mere millimeters away from hers.

"I've got a tight grip on reality but I can't, let go of what's in front of me here,

I know you're leaving in the morning when you wake up,

Leave me with some kind of proof it's not a dream."

He couldn't restrain himself any longer and caressed his lips against hers. A happy sigh escaped her lips, which caused blood to flow away from Draco's brain and down to his groin. He gently increased the pressure of the kiss, then pulled away with a quick, soft peck.

"You are the only exception,

You are the only exception,

You are the only exception,

You are the only exception,

You are the only exception,

You are the only exception,

You are the only exception,

You are the only exception,"

"I better patrol the dungeons... erm, keep the radio with you, I'll get it later." Hermione watched him walk away and touched her lips with her fingertips, her face was completely flushed. Shocked that they kissed, shocked that he left her stupefied without even casting the spell. She stared blankly down the hall until he was out of sight.

"And I'm on my way to believing

Oh, and I'm on my way to believing."


After Hermione had climbed in bed, she couldn't sleep. That kiss had made her mind go a million miles (or kilometers if you prefer) per minute, which, believe it or not was much more than usual. She had never felt that way before with just a kiss. She had kissed a few boys, Krum, Cormac, and Ron. None had stirred her emotions as Draco had. Oh dear, she had to tell Ginny.


Again, sorry they're all so short. So... opinions... I have some ideas, but how long until I should get to the bit that I teased you with at the beginning of the story?

Love you all,

Pantalones