Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except what I do. I own the plot and Kimi. I think that's it. :P

Hope you guys like this chapter! And much thanks to Holly, my beta :)

And I do finally have a plot all set up! Yaaaay! xD

Sorry this chapter took so long...I've been overwhelmed with school and tennis.. :/

I could not believe it. I really never thought she, of all people, would ever have tame hair. Yet here she was, her hair somewhat straight, and shiny. Granger started toward her seat, whispering to me as she passed.

"I took your advice, by the way. You know, about brushing my hair." she said softly in a taunting kind of voice.

I merely glared at her, bewildered. She had taken my advice? Well, of course she had, seeing what she had done to her hair. But it was still hard to believe. I mean, why would she? Had she finally realized that she was an eyesore? I had never taken her for the self-conscious type. All I saw in her was an annoying mudblood know-it-all.

Draco leaned forward in his seat, and said to me, "Can you believe it? The mudblood actually looks kind of pretty."

I turned in my seat and glanced at him, in a skeptical sort of way. "You're kidding, right?" I said, "I see no difference. She just straightened her hair. Poorly, I might add. I still see waves."

At this point, Professor Snape swept into the room, and everyone quieted down. He summoned all our essays from the previous day, and looked down to make sure all of them were there. Apparently they were, because he put them on his desk and proceeded to teach today's lesson.

"Miss Granger, your new hairstyle does not give you the privilege of talking while I am trying to teach." He scolded, "Ten points from Gryffindor."

"I-I'm sorry Professor, I was just a—"

"Everyone turn your books to page seventy-two." The Professor interrupted, clearly not caring about the mudblood's excuses.

I opened my book, and saw the page was on Confusing and Befuddlement Draughts. Professor Snape started to outline what the book said, and knowing he would not care if Draco and I talked while he was doing this, as long as it was quiet, I turned around in my seat. Draco looked as bored as I did.

He saw me turn. "I never said I'd go out with the filthy mudblood," he scorned.

"If you insist."

The rest of Potions class was spent studying effects of the ingredients of confusing draughts. I had decided to finish working out the finer details of the plan I had thought of before Granger walked into the class, and I decided to put it into action straight away. When the bell rang, I packed up my stuff and walked out of the class without a backward glance.

Later in the day, after dinner and while I was sitting in the common room, Draco came up to me and sat down. Wow, this was a first.

"Kimi, what's up? You've been all strange. Is it something about Granger?" he asked, seeming genuinely concerned.

"Nothing. Really." I said firmly. I had told him this many times throughout the day. Ever since I had put my plan into action. A plan to answer him, but seem uninterested. I was stealing his attitude, in my own way. Let him see how it feels to me to be left out like that. The part I had overlooked was that I had never acted like that. I had always fawned over him, but he had never done that to me. So there was no change in him, just his normal, arrogant attitude. But it was still working, in a way, so I kept it up.

The ultimate goal of this plan was to make him see that he likes me more than he admits, even to himself. I know, it sounds farfetched, but it's worked before, with other people.

"Though, I was really surprised about what Granger had done with her hair today." I admitted, and added, "Especially because I suggested it, after I hexed her."

"You suggested that?" he asked, in the tone I used when he said Granger looked halfway decent.

"I didn't think she would even consider using it," I said defensively, and shrugged. "I just said it to tick her off, maybe make her think, lower her self esteem a bit. But actually use my advice? I didn't think she would, not in a million years."

"Really? If you say so." He sounded not entirely convinced, but I would deal with that.

I suddenly remembered I was supposed to be acting uninterested, so I returned to the homework I still hadn't started, continuing the conversation with 'Hm's and 'Ah's at the right points.

I think it actually was working, because even though he wasn't receiving a proper response, he kept talking. However, as most people would, he got bored and eventually left to go hang out with his goons. Crabbe and Goyle, in case you didn't already know that.

By the next potions lesson, a few days later, we had progressed. Draco and I were actively exchanging conversation, and he was inviting me to sit by him—In the classes we had together. In potions once, we even got a warning from Professor Snape, which is a first, really.

Seeing this drastic change, I finally worked up the courage to ask Draco that fateful question. We were walking on the grounds after classes, and it was just starting to get chilly. The ground wasn't so much green grass now, but more dead grass, leaves that had fallen off trees, and frost, in the early hours.

"Draco, do you want to.." I paused, thinking of the right way to phrase it, "..Do you wanna be my boyfriend?" The words ran together slightly, but that didn't matter right now.

He kind of looked at me, in an indiscernible expression. At the moment, I would give almost anything to know exactly what he was thinking.

But he blushed. The one time I've seen Draco blush, and it's because of me. Wow, here's a sight. A few seconds later, the blush was replaced by a smile—a real, live smile. The one I've been trying to get for a long time. of course, though, it was replaced with the smirk again after he said, "Sure, why not?"

I was delighted. I smiled, gave a teensy squeal, and threw myself onto him. He jumped, obviously not entirely expecting this, but clearly expecting something similar, and the next second he was halfheartedly pushing me away.

"Hey, hey, not so fast. You've gotta earn that privilege." He said, all traces of arrogance in his voice.

I rolled my eyes, pulled myself away, and settled for holding hands. We walked toward the castle and Slytherin common room like that. When we got inside, he said goodnight, and we went to our separate dormitories. He said I still hadn't earned that hug privilege, so I'd just have to wait. I sighed when I heard that, but I've accepted the fact.

I smiled to myself walking up the stairs, which had serpent engravings on them, of course. This was the beginning of what I was sure would be a long and happy relationship.

The next day, walking through the corridors with Draco, I noticed there were many whispers about Granger and her new look, mostly from the guys. They flaunted toward her like she was a magnet, and she had, amazingly, adapted to the part. Of course, she was still an unwaveringly annoying know-it-all, but she 'wears the look' differently now, strutting around the castle. Kind of like I used to do, before I realized I didn't need to. An elegant, light, smooth step was all I needed.

And, to tell the truth, a strut looked horrible on Granger. It made her look like she thought she was all that, and that all the guys loved her, made her look conceited. Which, she was. I mean, you can't get a new hairstyle and, all of a sudden, start acting like that. You know? Maybe not.

Pondering all this, I had let the hand holding Draco's clench into a fist, and Draco had stopped, looking at me kind of oddly.

"Sorry," I said, relaxing my hand, then continued in a more menacing voice, "Just thinking about the newly self-conceited mudblood."

"Oh, yeah. It's really annoying. After all, they only like her because she's somewhat pretty now," Draco scorned, "It's really low, both for them to be doing that and for the mudblood to be encouraging it."

"I know! She needs a wake-up call." I said maliciously.

"Now, don't go getting yourself another detention. We wouldn't want that."

"No…of course not," I said, knowing he was right and hating it. Then an idea sparked. "But I don't have to do anything that will get me a detention. I could just sabotage one of her potions…Professor Snape won't give me a detention. He'll say it was her own incompetence."

"True, true," he mused.

We walked down the corridor to the Great Hall for dinner, hand in hand. When we got to the Entrance Hall, we saw Granger there, acting like she was all that, yet again. We made to move into the Great Hall, but she spotted us first, and came up to me.

"I guess I never properly thanked you for the advice," she said, trying to keep a somewhat pleasant tone, though she couldn't help but add, "Not that you'd care if I did or not, but thanks anyway."

I rolled my eyes. "At least I'm not encouraging the fact that people like me just because I'm pretty." I retaliated, and turned on my heel, sweeping into the Great Hall, dragging Draco with me, before she could figure out what I had meant.

This was going to be a long year…

Well? I hope it was worth the wait :) Let me know what you thought! The next chapter will be submitted in a week or so, depending on the amount of time I have.