Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns the world...Of Harry Potter anyway.

Paper Airplanes

Chapter 4

Draco tossed and turned most of the night, racking his brain to figure out who it was Hermione could be sleeping with. It had to be someone at the school, or she wouldn't have needed that damn potion. His first thought was that maybe she was actually with the weasel in some way or another, but he realized that was highly unlikely. He had just watched their interactions on the train and she was definitely not letting that bozo anywhere near her knickers. Several options ran through his head; each more unlikely than the next.

Finally throwing the blankets off of himself, he made his way to the bathroom and turned the water to the hottest setting. He climbed in and continued to try and figure out the identity of his new enemy; the man who was getting what should be his. His thoughts left him with one conclusion; he was going to have to keep a close eye on her if he was going to discover who it was.

After a long shower, he went back to his room to dress for the day. He stared at himself in the mirror for a bit before heading back to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He had obviously spent longer in his room than he thought, because Hermione was just coming out of the bathroom from getting ready for the day herself; and he ran right into her. Her forehead hit his chin which made him bite his tongue; so hard that he could taste blood.

"Watch where you're going you filthy little mudblood whore!" Draco spat in his anger. Although he was already inwardly groaning at his momentary lapse in judgement.

Her mouth gaped and her face got heated. She had no idea what had caused him to do a 180 from the evening before; but she took a deep breath to calm herself and closed her mouth. "I'm not sure what's got you in a mood, but you are taking it out on the wrong person. Get your head out of your own arse Malfoy! You might just discover there are other people who live on this planet as well." She grabbed her bag and left for breakfast, slamming the painting shut on her way out.

He yelled and clapped his head to his forehead. She had called him Malfoy instead of Draco, and he knew what he had said caused her to take a step back with him. That was the opposite of what he was trying to do, and he knew he would have to do something pretty spectacular to make up for his cruel words. He checked the time and realized he needed to finish getting ready for the day. The heads were needed at breakfast early to help pass out class schedules to everyone.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Draco's first class turned out to be Care of Magical Creatures with Professor Weasley. He was actually thankful that Hermione had dropped this class after OWL year. He didn't think he could stand a class with her giving him the cold shoulder. While they had helped pass out schedules that morning he tried to catch her eye and apologize, but she avoided him like the plague. He knew he had messed up from the second that sentence escaped his lips, but the damage had already been done. She hadn't even glanced his way the entire morning and had left the Great Hall early to go to her first class.

Why he had reacted that way to her that morning, he still wasn't quite sure. Yes she was sleeping with someone that wasn't him, but he knew that she wouldn't just stay single for the rest of her life. He also knew that she was unaware of how he felt about her. But finding out her affections lay elsewhere had hit a nerve. If he was going to get her to marry him someday he had a lot of work to do. If he wanted to get her to join him for Christmas at The Manor he needed to stay calm when there was conflict. Draco knew just what he needed to do to get back on the right track, but he would have to get her to talk to him first.

He had finally made his way down to Quidditch pitch where they were required to meet for class that morning. He was quite curious as to why they would be meeting there for the first lesson. It seemed each Care of Magical Creatures Professor was going to be weirder than the last. Hagrid had brought dangerous and ugly creatures, which was at least entertaining even if he couldn't stand the half-giant oaf. And Professor Grubbly Plank had been boring and favored the women. Now he was going to be taught by a Weasley who was having them meet at the Quidditch pitch.

Blaise suddenly appeared next to him, dragging him out of his thoughts. "Wonder what kind of creature likes to play Quidditch?"

"Probably a creature with wings." Draco replied dully.

"I'm sure whatever it is has to be better than anything Hagrid or Plank ever brought. I swear if I see one more animal that makes the girls squeal I'm going to hurl." Blaise fake gagged.

"Well the Professor is a Weasley so I'm sure it will be dull and drab. Their father is obsessed with muggles, so I'm sure it's probably house sparrows or something equally as lame." He seemed quite uninterested.

"I doubt it will be lame if what's in those crates is what I think it is." Blaise smirked as they could now see Charlie and an unknown wizard coming across the pitch. There were four large crates levitating behind them.

"And what do you thinks in there?" Draco asked, slightly more intrigued.

"Well our new professor may be a Weasley, but it's Charlie Weasley."

"You say that like his name is supposed to mean something to me."

"Charlie Weasley; the guy who brought the dragon into the final battle and took out all of the giants and trolls. He used to be a dragon tamer in Romania until his leg got injured in the war." Blaise said as if it was the most obvious thing. "There was a whole story on him in the Prophet back in June. Didn't you see it?"

"Obviously not, I avoided the papers during my father's trial, so I must have missed it." Draco yawned. "So you think he brought dragons here for our first class?"

"For our class anyway." Blaise responded. "I mean our class is only seventh and eighth years. It's not like any of us are inexperienced..."

He was cut off by the arrival of their professor. "Gather around everyone, I have something quite special to kick off the year with." Charlie said with a large smile.

Draco and Blaise noticed all of the females in the class were practically drooling over the new Professor and his charming smile. They inwardly groaned and Blaise whispered about how long the year was going to be if the professor was going to be getting all of the action from the ladies.

"This is Alex, my old flat mate from the dragon reserve I used to work at in Romania." Charlie continued. "And he has brought us a once in a lifetime opportunity with him. Two of these crates contain Romanian Longhorns, and the one on the end is a Swedish Short-Snout. They are all still practically babies and only started flying last week. They do not have full range of their fire yet, but if they get scared they can breathe small flames up to two feet at this point."

A seventh year Ravenclaw girl Draco did not know adjusted her top before flirtingly asking a question. "What's in the last crate professor?"

Draco rolled his eyes while Blaise whispered, "See what I told you, all the action."

"Brooms." Charlie answered, clearly uninterested in the girl. "Enough brooms for all of us in fact. I figured you wouldn't want to risk any of your own personal broomsticks...even if their flames are still quite small."

Dean Thomas raised his hand at this point, "Brooms?...does that mean we are going to get to fly with the dragons?"

"It does." Their professor said as if it was the greatest thing in the world. "I won't force you if you don't like flying, but this is literally a once in a lifetime opportunity...unless any of you plan on working on a dragon reserve yourselves one day."

As Charlie started to pass out the brooms, even Draco had to admit that this was going to be extremely wicked. Grabbing a Cleansweep 7 for himself, he headed over closer toward the crates with everyone else. Charlie and Alex opened the first crate and a small green dragon climbed out, stretching its wings and blowing smoke through its nostrils.

"This is Mandy, one of the Romanian Longhorns. She's eight weeks old." He said as she took off into the sky.

They started to open the next crate, a smaller dragon mainly dark brown, with a tan tummy crawled out. It hissed and a small flame made all of the students step back several steps. Charlie and Alex chuckled at the group as it took off into the sky. "That was Pike, the Swedish Short-Snout. He is only six weeks but packs more heat and already flies faster."

They opened the final crate and an identical dragon to Mandy erupted and chased after her, not giving the group a second glace. "And that was Morty, Mandy's twin. He is slightly bigger and has darker markings around his eyes."

The group stared in wonder as the three dragons chased each other around the pitch, breathing their still small embers at each other; it was obvious they were playing. Most of them hadn't seen a live dragon since the Triwizard tournament four years ago, and hardly any of them had seen a baby dragon period.

Charlie and Alex mounted their own brooms. "Everyone knows the Aguamenti charm just in case right?" Alex asked with a chuckle.

"We have cast protective barriers around the pitch so the dragons can't wander past the stadium. Everyone who wants to fly with Mandy, Morty and Pike should mount their brooms now. Everyone who does not wish to fly please make your way to the stands to observe their flight patterns and movements." Charlie said.

No one went to the stands; not even Daphne Greengrass, the most feminine girl in the group. They all mounted their brooms, and he heard Blaise snigger in his excitement.

"This is going to be the fucking sweetest. The rest of the school is going to be so jealous when they hear what we got to do."

Draco shook his head and laughed; he had to admit that this was the coolest thing any of the professors had ever done for a class. And the rest of the school would definitely be jealous. If Charlie had done stuff like this for fun, maybe he was the one good seed in the clan of Weasley's.

"Don't get too close and under no circumstances should you attempt to touch one of them." Charlie explained. "Alex and I will take off first; everyone else can follow at your leisure."

"3...2...1" The two older wizards took off into the sky. Blaise was the first of the students to follow, screaming like he was having the time of his life. Dean Thomas yelled that this was better than a roller coaster; whatever that was.

Draco took off himself; the Swedish Short-Snout immediately following him. Pike was close on his tail and he could feel heat behind him; he laughed and sped up. He surprisingly didn't feel threatened; it was perhaps one of the funnest things he had ever done in his life. It was thrilling to be chased by a playful baby dragon, and for the first time that day he forgot about his spat with Hermione.

A few minutes later Blaise sped past them, and Pike went after him instead; Draco rose higher into the air to watch the commotion. Everyone was having the time of their lives; they all seemed so happy to be chased by baby dragons.

After over an hour Professor Weasley called for them to come back down. Draco and the rest of the class landed while he and Alex wrestled the dragons into their crates.

"I know that was fun and you're probably thinking that this class is going to be all fun and games." Charlie said. "But this is still a class, and unfortunately I have to give you an assignment. Due next Tuesday, I want a fourteen inch essay on the flight patterns and markings of both dragon breeds you saw here today and the differences between the two breeds."

Everyone left, chatting about how that was the best class any of them had ever had.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

None of his other classes had been quite as enjoyable as Care of Magical Creatures though; Double potions with the Gryffindor's had been a nightmare. Hermione still wouldn't look at him; she had rushed off before he had even finished cleaning his station. Also the new potions master was more dull and drab than even his late Godfather. Charms had been okay, but he didn't share that class with Hermione. His mind kept going over his plan to get her to forgive him for his outburst that morning, and he almost missed what the homework assignment was.

As he sat down next to Blaise at the Slytherin table for dinner, he rested his chin on his fist and sighed.

"Who kicked your puppy?" Blaise asked as he loaded mashed potatoes onto his plate. "You've been in a foul mood since Potions."

He groaned and rubbed his forehead with his fingers. "I fucked up. I found out something I didn't like, and I took it out on Hermione this morning."

"What was it..., and what in Merlin's name did you do to the poor girl?"

"I may have gone through her bag." Blaise cringed at Draco's words. "And I discovered an empty contraceptive potion bottle in it."

"So you thought she was already in a relationship with someone, and you got pissed right?"

Draco nodded.

"What happened? What did you say to her?" Blaise sighed.

Draco cringed at the memory. "I ran into her as she was coming out of the bathroom this morning and….I may have told her to…. Watch where you're going you filthy little mudblood whore."

Blaise dropped his fork and rubbed his face with his hands. "Are you kidding me Draco? You know for a smart guy who also happens to be one of the most attractive men in this school, you really are an idiot when it comes to women."

"I know." He said through gritted teeth. "I regretted it the moment the words came out, but... she ran off before I could apologize. She's been avoiding me all day, and won't even look at me."

"You do realize there could be many explanations for that bottle right?" Blaise said. "Hell, it could have been Weaselette's and ended up in Granger's bag by mistake. Potter, and she-weasel have been together forever now; no doubt she takes the potion."

"I never even thought of that." Draco groaned. "I might be pissed for nothing."

"Not to mention." Blaise continued. "You said there was a nice moment between you and her in Diagon Alley last week. You agreed to put the past behind you and move forward."

"Yes...what's your point?"

"Well she knew you would be sharing a dorm...what if she just wanted to be prepared if things became heated in your own private dorm."

A smirk appeared on Draco's face at the thought, and he finally started to pile some food on his plate. "I guess it's possible." His mood improved at the possibility that she wasn't having sex with anyone, and might be interested in it with him.

As he was close to finishing his dinner, he decided to glance up at her; he wanted to see her beautiful face as he planned on how to make things right with her. She was chatting animatedly at something Potter said as she took polite bites of roast chicken.

As he continued to watch her though, he saw something that changed his mood back to brooding. She was looking down the length of the Gryffindor table and smiled at something. His mood soured even more when he saw her bite her lip in a seductive grin and give someone a flirty wink. He looked frantically; trying to spot the identity of the man receiving such a look from her. He threw his fork down as he realized he must have missed whoever it was. As far as he could tell no one was looking at her or even smiling in her direction. If only he had looked a little farther down; to the heads table specifically. If he had, he would have seen the hungry look his favorite new professor was giving her.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

After dinner that evening, Hermione decided to take the long way back to the heads dorms; she wasn't ready to go face her roommate yet. She had thought that maybe her nemesis of seven years had grown up, but after his outburst that morning she wasn't so sure. It was Malfoy after all, and what he did this morning was exactly what she had expected him to do when she received her letter that summer. What was odd was the way he had pretended to be nice for two days before reverting back to his old self. So much for wishing for a drama free year, she thought to herself as she walked.

She was passing through a deserted hallway when two arms grabbed her. One hand covered her mouth while the other snaked around her waist and dragged her backwards into a nearby classroom. She thrashed and kicked trying to get free until she heard the familiar chuckle of the man she loved. As she relaxed into his embrace, he finally let her go.

"Charlie!" She whispered angrily as she turned to face him. "What if someone saw? It's only the first day and you can't …"

He cut her off with a passionate kiss. Pulling her body as close as possible against his own. His tongue entered her mouth and she melted into him.

"I missed you too love." He whispered, finally pulling back. "Don't worry no one saw."

"How do you know no one saw?" She breathed as she leaned into him; her knees having gone weak from his touch.

"I asked Harry to borrow this for a couple of hours tonight..." He held up the Marauder's map. "I watched your dot on the map, and when I saw you were coming down this hallway I put a silencing charm on this room and waited for you to pass."

"As much as I am dying for you to throw me on that desk and have your way with me...this is a very bad idea."

He kissed her again, running one hand through her hair while gripping her back with the other. She kissed back, not able to resist the temptation anymore; she had missed him terribly after all.

"I promise not to make this a habit." He breathed. "I just wanted to let you know that there is a hollow tree by the black lake. It's the largest one on the east side. Every day I am going to leave you a note in the hollow. I wanted you to know so we can communicate with little risk."

"That's perfect Charlie!" She smiled and leaned up to kiss him again. He immediately deepened it and pulled her hips into him; he wanted her to feel what she was doing to him. He had missed her even more than he imagined, and was so happy she was in his arms again; even if it was only for a few minutes.

She pulled away slowly, clearly out of breath.

"Have you thought anymore about meeting me at The Three Broomsticks in Hogsmeade?" He asked, leaning his forehead against hers. "The first trip lands on your birthday."

She nodded, "Yes...I want to, I'm nervous about it, but I'm going crazy without you. I'll be there."

He grinned before claiming her lips again.

"Are you absolutely positively no one is around?" She asked between kisses.

Charlie checked the map again. "One-hundred percent. We are completely alone and the room is silenced."

She jumped up into his arms and wrapped her legs around his waist with a seductive smile.

He moaned into the kiss and pressed her body against the wall. "Act like that and I won't be able to last until Hogsmeade." He growled.

Hermione slid her wand from her pocket and cast a confundus charm on the door. "Now you don't have to." She whispered into the kiss. "You'll have to be fast, but I want you to take me right here against this wall."

Charlie didn't have to be told twice. He reached a hand up her skirt and ripped her panties off, tucking them into his pocket. He crushed his lips against hers again while sliding his hand slowly up her thigh; slipping his fingers between her folds. "Fuck." He cursed, "How did you get so wet so fast?"

Her arms were wrapped tightly around his neck to hold herself up as she continued to kiss him. "It's always my reaction to you. Now we can save the foreplay for Hogsmeade, please just fuck me already." She pleaded.

He used his chest to brace her against the wall while he removed his hardened length from his pants. Positioning himself at her entrance; he gripped her hips before pushing into her. She moaned loudly and tightened her arms and legs around him, forcing him even deeper inside of her. It was a good thing he had placed a silencing charm earlier because neither of them were being quiet.

Charlie walked her over to the desk and laid her back against it before thrusting in and out of her slowly. "Touch yourself while I fuck you." He commanded.

Biting her lip while trying to keep quiet she did as he said, rubbing herself in circles. He gripped her hips tightly; pulling her into his every thrust. "Harder." She cried.

He hit her hand out of the way and started rubbing her clit with his thumb, fucking her as hard and fast as he physically could.

Moments later she screamed as he brought her to her first orgasm since the morning he left. It only took him a few more thrusts before he joined her, collapsing on top of her.

"I love you Charlie." She whispered as she kissed his face, holding him against her.

He chuckled as he pulled out, "Gods I love you too Hermione….more than you know."

They adjusted their clothes and kissed a few more times before heading toward the door. He had refused to give her back her panties; stating that he needed them more than she did while throwing her a devilish grin.

"I'll head out first." He said. "Wait five minutes and then go straight to your dorm okay?"

She nodded and stole one more slow passionate kiss.

"Don't forget to check our tree tomorrow okay?" He smiled, forcing himself to pull away.

"I won't" She promised before he closed the door behind him, leaving her alone again.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Draco kept pacing in front of the fireplace; he didn't understand why she hadn't come back after dinner yet. Knowing her she had probably just gone to the library, but he couldn't shake the awful feeling that she met up with whomever she had been winking at during dinner.

He was just about to head to the library to look for her when the portrait door finally swung open. Hermione's hair and clothing seemed slightly ruffled and she looked like she was in a very good mood. The sight of her let Draco know his suspicions on her whereabouts had been correct; she had just been thoroughly ravished. He got nauseous at the thought and wanted to go throw her against the wall and punish her for sleeping with someone else, but he had a job to do if he was going to win her over. He pushed the thoughts of her screaming in pleasure under another man out of his head, and stepped forward trying to block her path to her room.

Her mood immediately soured, and she turned away from him; trying to go the long way around the furniture. He spoke up before she got very far.

"Hermione can you please wait and let me explain!" He pleaded.

She turned to look at him, disappointment and disgust written on her face. "There's nothing to explain Malfoy, you did what you always do. You called me vile names and acted like you are better than me because of your status...You did exactly what I expected you to do."

He stepped closer toward her; she even smelled of sex and sandalwood. He cringed at both her words and the discovery of her evening activities. "I'm not like that anymore...I'm sorry for what I said this morning. I was pissed about something and I took it out on you. I was vile, stupid and I'm sorry." He finished.

She rolled her eyes. "Fine, you're sorry. Goodnight." She huffed and tried to get around him again.

He ran in front of her, not wanting to end the night with her still hating him. "I regretted what I said the moment that sentence slipped out. I am truly sorry for my outburst Hermione...please let me make it up to you."

She sighed "Look, can we just try to get through this year as effectively as possible without ripping each other's throats out?"

"I want more than that." He said honestly. "I want us to get along and be a team...I want us to be-" He cut himself off knowing now was not the time to tell her the truth of how he felt about her.

"You want us to be what?" She asked impatiently

"I want us to friends." He claimed. "I don't have many...mostly because I don't know how to treat people... But I'm working on it. I didn't show it today, but I am. Please give me a chance. I know I don't deserve it, but you're one of the only people at this school who won't judge me for my past."

Hermione sighed again. She really wanted to take another hot bath to wash all of the stickiness from between her legs off, but knew she needed to deal with the situation in front of her. She only hoped he couldn't smell Charlie on her. "I don't know...there is a lot of bad blood between us. I wanted to turn over a new leaf and put the past behind us...but I don't trust you."

He huffed in defeat. "I get it, I'm not worth the trouble." He stepped aside to let her go back to her room.

"Look Malfoy...I really just want to get a bath and go to bed right now. It's been a long first day back. Tomorrow night after dinner…" She took a deep breath to prepare herself for what she was about to offer him. "We can talk and get to know each other better. And if you want you can tell me about what's really bothering you."

He stepped forward and hugged her gently, trying not to scare her off again. "You're the first person other than Blaise who has ever asked me about what's bothering me," He said faking sadness. "You're the best person I know Hermione Granger...that's why I want you as a friend. I could use people in my life who actually care about me."

She patted his back, slightly shocked by his admissions. "I forgive you Draco. We just need time to get used to each other."

He grinned over her shoulder, knowing he had tricked her into forgiving him.