Disclaimer: Plot: mine. Characters: Rowling's.

A/N:Thanks a lot to all my reviewers. Oh btw, I have slightly edited the story and put in finer details but I could not put the segment breaks yet. Could you please put up with that for now? And also, I want more and more people to read this story. Help?

Chapter 7: A Closer Look at You

Draco stared blankly at the shimmering water of the lake. These emotions...all bottled up in him...he needed to release them. But where?

So all that Granger said was true. Why didn't anyone tell him before? Did they not trust him? Did they think he wasn't strong enough to handle it?

For the first time in his life, Draco felt incompetent.

Lila was a Muggleborn. All these years, Draco thought Muggles were the worst class of being who harboured barbaric qualities and Granger and the other Muggleborns were under the administration of a potion to conceal them. Now he knew that Purebloods actually could be more barbaric than Muggleborns. And Muggleborns were nothing but a normal breed of people without inborn magic, but an effort to make magic themselves.

Granger's parents were innocent.

Voldemort's ideas were just to create anarchy. Nothing to deal with order. Well, there was no need for order now that he knew the truth about Muggles. Everything was in a perfect state. Except for his life.

All that he believed in. All the causes he worked for. They had dissolved into thin air. Everything was a fake illusion.

Tears flowed freely down Draco's cheeks. The blank stare in his eyes stood still at the shimmering water as a tornado of thoughts whirled through his pensive mind.

And from the background, someone was watching this carefully.

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Hermione Granger carefully watched as the fresh tears flowed down Draco Malfoy's cheeks. She never knew Malfoy was capable of such a thing as display of emotions. She faltered whether or not to, but finally she coughed to let her presence be known.

Draco got startled. He quickly made a vain attempt to effectively wipe away all the tears, but Hermione softly pressed his hand down.

"It's okay Malfoy. People cry at times," Hermione said.

"Err...Granger...you think you can forgive me for all the years? When I used to make your life a hell by calling you Mudblood?"

A surprised Hermione replied, "Sure, as long as you don't do it again."

A melodious silence fell between them. The winds whooshed past them and Hermione frizzy hair got ruffled over her face. She made a crazy effort to fix it but ended up beating around all over her face. Draco started chuckling.

"What?" Hermione asked in an annoyed and frustrated tone.

"Nothing."

"No...WHAT??"

"You look so silly!!" And with that, Draco started laughing his head off. A real laugh, Hermione thought. He almost looks normal. And adorable. Wait...what am I saying?! Stupid me!

"Well, don't I look silly all the time? With the bushy head and nerdy image and all?"

"Huh? What are you saying Granger?" Draco looked slightly confused and hit by a club on the head.

"Nothing." Hermione felt like killing herself for disclosing her insecurities to her enemy. Whoever would ever do that?

"Look Granger, if Pothead ever said something like that and you're whining because of that, forget it. He's a born loser."

"That was a very hollow try Malfoy. Not helping at all." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"I never said I wanted to make you feel better, did I?"

"Gosh, you're weird."

"I'm sophisticated. And regal. Sophisticated people aren't weird."

"Riiiiiiiiiight. As if. Flatter yourself, Malfoy."

"I will, 'cause I know I am."

"You're blind. And you need a mirror."

"Firstly, I'm not the one calling myself ugly. Secondly, sophisticated isn't related to mirrors. IT comes from the inside. Not something you can see in mirrors."

"So you just agreed you're ugly?"

"Huh? Oh wait...NO! You're evil!"

"Coming from the mouth of Malfoy, whew didn't that sound weird!"

In their process of duelling, none of them realized they were making each other feel better. Draco had slowly been distracted from his depression and Hermione from her self-lowering session.

"Now...why did you say that about yourself Granger? I thought you had a very high self-esteem. Stuck-up, should I say."

"I do have a high self-esteem! And I'm not stuck-up!" Hermione huffed and said at the two-way insult. He had insulted and offended her in both ways, so that whichever one she defended, the other insult still applied.

"Doesn't seem like you do," Draco replied.

Hermione, even though feeling a little let down, simply asked,

"Why am I telling you all this, Malfoy?"

Draco shrugged.

"Sometimes we just harbour our trust into the most unlikely person, hoping for an unlikely result of him or her keeping it secret."

"So do I expect an unlikely result form you or not."

"Normally I wouldn't (Hermione grunted), but now if you give me an unlikely result I will too."

"As in?"

"Me crying."

"Whoa. You know Malfoy, I didn't even think about using that against you...until now." Hermione gave an evil smirk.

Draco raised an eyebrow. "Nice work on the smirk. Didn't expect anything even close to evil from you. Now listen, if you disclose my secret I'll disclose yours. Get it? So it's even."

"Uh-huh," Hermione said.

"I still don't get why you're so pissed at yourself."

"I don't know. That's what people always view me as and nothing else."

"So?"

"I don't know."

"Exactly. What will happen after people think you're all that? You want boyfriends? Never thought you as the slutty type Granger. Tsk-tsk." Draco said in a very amused tone.

"Ughh! What'd you know you always date sluts!"

"Pansy was more than a slut to me." With this, Draco look put off and the glow from his face disappeared. Hermione's heart dropped to her feet at what she had done.

"Umm...I'm sorry Malfoy."

"Oh wait. So you mean to say you want me to like you Granger?" Draco said in a seductive tone and quirked his eyebrows flirtatiously. The glow in his face had returned.

Surprisingly Draco realized that in Granger's company, he was able to set thoughts of Pansy aside and move on.

"You are impossible you insufferable brat!"

"Oh yes, that...I am."

"Anyways I have to go. And you better not flatter yourself Malfoy."

Hermione left with a bounce in her steps.

And Draco was left with a bucket of surprises.

I was happy with her.

How could I forget Pansy? I love her!

Do I?

Maybe not.

What am I saying? Of course I do! You can't forget true love.

But Granger was all that you imagined a perfect woman to be.

No! It's Pansy!

It's not!

It's not Granger.

Maybe it is.

Oh my God. I'm insane.

A/N: So what say? Is the story good? I wrote this chapter through a plethora of mental crises...so don't know how it turned out to be. But maybe you can make me feel better by reviewing. Do that? Please pretty please?