*Hermione*

I crinkled my eyebrows in concentration as I frantically copied the notes from my torn copy of Spellman's Syllabary; the pages were woven between my fingers with the specific images required for study. I only had four left; my thumb resting on the current one I scribbled onto the parchment, when I heard a loud cough from the other side of the bookcase I sat beside. If it was Ronald, I was going to have his head for letting his damn owl, Pig, snatch up the spine of this poor tome and drop it onto Crabbe's toe. (I have to admit, the latter part of the happening was rather amusing, but as I watched the book tumble through the air, I had felt my heart plummet with it, watching in utter agony as the spine bent like Lupin's during his Animagus transformation.)

Malfoy slipped onto the scene (damn that boy and his serpent-like tendencies); Ronald's pale neck caught up in his thin, pearly fingers. "Mudblood! Fancy seeing you here. Care to keep your weasel in its cage, where it belongs? I found this schmuck in the Restricted section, poking his dirt-covered nose in the dark magic books!" I saw Malfoy's upper lip twitch upwards, pulling his taught cheek towards his silky silver eye, and he winked at me.

I decided to play along, realizing his true motive for being in the library-I doubted that he ever came in here on his own free will, regardless-and cursed before saying, "Malfoy, get your loathsome little Pureblood hands off of him," and yanking his smooth fingers from Ronald's shoulders.

"Malfoy, you git! Next time you rouse up the party, why don't you first make sure that tree branch up your arse is out first, yeah?" Ronald scoffed, tossing off my arm gently as he rubbed the back of his neck in ire.

"Weasel, at least I can afford a broomstick, much less a tree. You can't even afford trainers, so you borrow that little cunt's…what's 'er name again?" Malfoy looked genuinely perplexed, so I cleared my throat and drew my wand from my robe's pocket, pressing the tip into Malfoy's throat.

"It's Ginny. And if you ever threaten one of the Weasley family again, Malfoy, I swear your mother won't even have ashes to bury at your funeral." I scowled up at him, half a meter before him, as he coolly stared back into my chestnut-hued eyes.

"Muggleborn, you couldn't even mutter a spell in your head in my presence. I'm far too stunning," Draco smirked and pulled up his collar as though he had just been named "Most Handsome Warlock"; he reminded me excruciatingly of Lockhart. (He actually was attractive, but I wasn't about to announce this with Ronald in such close proximity.) "But I'll be leaving now; it smells like dirty blood and…well, weasels." He chuckled as he strode away like a fox, his fingertips toying with something in his pocket.

"What are you playing at, Hermione?" Ronald asked as I turned back to his scarily-happy face. "That was bloody brilliant!" He scooped me up into a hug right then and there, but I frowned slightly.

"Ronald, do you remember when we went to Hogsmeade, and when Malfoy-" I was worried he might know that I had snuck (well, really, I was snatched) away with Malfoy.

"Merlin, Hermione! That was the best evening of my life!"-He had finally traded in his humdrum language to something a bit more sophisticated; and I do mean a bit-"Honeydukes was the perfect spot for your surprise…and the look on Ginny's face when she realized that her brother wasn't such a right git!" Ronald stared dreamily just to the left of my ear, obviously having been implanted with false memories; no doubt courtesy of the Serpent himself.

"Right, Ron, it was…erm, pretty brilliant. Well, I do have quite a bit of studying to do…" I gestured to the syllabary, pressed between the armchair's cushion and back rest and the miles of parchment that now lay crumpled at the foot of the armchair.

Ron's face fell a full quarter of a meter before he pulled the corners of his mouth up like braces on trousers and scooping up the mountain of parchment, depositing it in my arms, seemingly in a trance. "I see you're busy, Hermione, and I respect that," he grinned, "so I will leave you to your business." He stabbed his freshly chapped lips into my cheek, nearly licking my earlobe before pulling away and washing his face with a bright red dye in embarrassment.

"Right, well, er, thanks Ron." I leaned forward with the rolls of parchment bundled up in my arms and kissed his cheek quickly. "See you tomorrow in Care of Magical Creatures. Don't forget, Hagrid's making us use the bloody Nifflers again…" I trailed off, immediately wondering if Malfoy would actually be coming to class or not. He found Hagrid to be an "ugly oaf," and therefore usually skipped class to go shag Pansy in the North Tower. (I only knew this because Lavender Brown had once come screaming out of the tower, covering her eyes and hurtling blindly towards the Great Hall, yelling, "Merlin's saggy left arse cheek, they're at it again!"

Ron pulled me out of my reverie as he handed me a small box of what I assumed were chocolates, and shyly stuffed his hands in his pockets as he walked away. I pulled off the top of the box, discarding the parchment on the armchair, and realized they were not chocolates at all.

Inside lay six golden charms and a gilt bracelet ringed around them; a charm bracelet, and an expensive one at that. I arched up a bushy eyebrow at the package's contents as I sat in the armchair to more closely inspect the charms. One was a gorgeous, miniature version of a house elf with a tiny S.P.E.W. badge attached; another was a tiny otter, floating on its back with a crab nestled snugly in its petite hands; another was a tome opened to a page that pronounced: "Hermione Jean Granger: most beautiful witch in all the wizarding land;" and there were three tiny charms to remind me of my favorite "Muggle" things: a gilded toothbrush, tiny lawn trimmer, and a rubber duck. (I assumed the last one was a rather charming attempt at a joke.)

But even as I was pulling the bracelet over my wrist gently, noticing that it fit absolutely perfectly, I wondered how Ronald Weasley could have ever even dreamed of affording such an expensive gift. He was obviously infatuated with me, that much was clear, but unless he had inherited a fortune from Fred and George with Weasley's Wizard Wheezes business, he must have borrowed the money…

And then my wizard side of my brain caught up to the pragmatic side of my brain, and I understood completely. Ronald had never inherited a fortune, nor researched a more romantic tone; he had been hit by a false memory charm when Malfoy had taken me on the ride around the Quidditch pitch, and had just been under an Imperius curse this whole time by none other than the famous Draco Malfoy. I smirked as I pulled the parchment back into my arms and went back to studying, a new-found sparkle at my wrist each time I flicked my quill.

Notes: Ten thousand galleons to all my followers and viewers of this story! I hope you enjoy this next chapter-just a bit of fun. I enjoy comments, but appreciate your support in reading nonetheless! (Also, just to clear things up, the "braces" referred to in this story are suspenders, instead of the metal cages for your teeth.) Thank you all again, you lovely Dramione fans! :)