A/N : I'm so happy that this story is actually being read that I've been smiling non stop and now my cheeks hurt! (your cue to say 'awww!')

Anywaaz…I'm going to try and post most of this fic as fast as I can, 'coz I'm gonna be busy from the next week 'til maybe a couple of months … so.. I'd absolutely love it if you guyz sent me lots n lots of reviews!

Thanx for reading!

Disclaimer : I neither own a castle nor do I have millions of pounds stashed away and I still have to beg my parents to buy me a new laptop … so take the cue.

Deciding to take refuge in the classroom until danger had passed, she turned around and gasped – "Malfoy!"

Chapter Eight :

Hermione immediately closed her mouth with her hands and nervously glanced at the door.

"What are you doing here?" she whispered hurrying forwards.

Malfoy didn't answer. He was sitting on one of the benches to the front of the class. His hair was disheveled as though he had run his hand repeatedly through it. He seemed to be glaring at her – she couldn't tell as his hair was falling into his eyes. He pointed his wand at the door and called out, "'silencio!'"

"Good thinking," Hermione said nodding at the door. Again he didn't answer her.

She stood there, pulling distractedly at her hair and nervously biting her lower lip.

"Granger", he spat atlast, "is there something you want to say? Or do you just want to annoy me with your mudblood presence?"

Hermione stared at him for a moment, surprised – why the hell was he angry with her?

"So sorry to annoy your lordship with my presence," she snapped narrowing her eyes, bristling at the insufferable prat. "Oh, and weren't you supposed to patrol today instead of resting on your butt?" she added acidly, all her previous compassion towards him vanishing.

"Sod off mudblood!" he spat, jumping down from his perch. He walked towards the blackboard with his hands in his pockets, "you can go and bitch to McGonagall for all I care!"

Hermione shook her head unbelievingly, and to think she wanted to console the bastard, she thought furiously. She turned on her heel to exit the room, then paused, clenching her jaw and marched right upto the blackboard. She reached up and turned the blond around forcibly to face her.

"You know what Malfoy?", she seethed as he looked at her in surprise, "you are the most bigoted, ignorant conceited person I've ever seen in my life!" she said feeling all the pent up anger and frustration at him for the past six years bursting through her atlast. "All these years of ranting about your 'pureblood supremacy', have you ever paused to notice that a muggle-born can be as good as you or even much better? Or that your whole 'mudblood' theory comes from a man who is himself a half-blood and does not hesitate to murder anyone, regardless if they are pureblooded or muggleborn? Admit it Malfoy, all your life you've been acting on the propaganda of a few selfish, insecure wizards. And that's pathetic – of not having an opinion of your own. It makes me sick! But more than that, it makes me feel sorry for you. You're nothing but a coward, Malfoy – afraid to stand up against evil! Even though it's clear you fear it as much anyone of us. It's the evil, Malfoy, that will result in making your Boggart true, but I don't think you have the courage to stop that fate for your mother!"

At the last few words, Malfoy seemed to come out of his state of shock, he whirled her around gripping her arms painfully. Hermione's head swam as she bumped it on the board.

"Don't you dare talk about my mother!" he hissed, shaking her violently. "You don't know anything! You don't know anything about me! You don't know what it feels like, when your own mother is threatened to be murdered in front of your eyes. You don't – " he said shakily, his lips were shivering and his eyes were bright. He let her go abruptly and turned around, his shoulders slumped and were shaking.

Hermione's head throbbed painfully where it had been hit. She looked at the figure before her. She reached out a hand and placed it tentatively on his shoulder. She was surprised when he didn't flinch away from her touch.

"Malfoy," she called out gently.

"D-draco," she tried again, his name feeling foreign to her lips. "I'm sorry", she said quietly, "I'm sorry about your mother, no one deserves to go through that."

He turned around slowly to face her. His eyes were shining, a strange emotion in them. She stared mesmerized for a moment. Just then there was a loud bang somewhere in the distance.

"Peeves," she breathed glancing at the door. "He must have broken something large, Filch will be here in a minute," she said looking at him. His eyes were guarded again.

"er… I think we should leave Filch to handle Peeves," she suggested.

He nodded and made to head out of the room, Hermione following him after a moment. They headed to the dorm in silence.

"er…um… Good Night," she called out hesitantly opening her bedroom door. Malfoy merely nodded in reply again.

She woke up the next morning, yawning after Crookshanks had woken her up in customary fashion. He seemed to have returned sometime in the night. She headed out the door, stifling another yawn with her hand. She stumbled sleepily and managed to stub her toe on one of the chairs in her path. She cursed, as she hopped around on her other leg.

"Well someone seems to be in a cranky mood today," Malfoy called out, emerging from his room and looking in amusement at the scene.

Hermione huffed and put down her foot, bending her toe gingerly.

"A very Good Morning to you, by the way," he said pleasantly.

Hermione looked up in surprise at the evident lack of sarcasm.

"um… Good Morning," she said atlast. She proceeded on her way to the bathroom, when Malfoy called out again, sitting down on a chair and unfolding his copy of the Daily Prophet, "Granger, we've yet to come up with a password for this place", he drawled, "and since you objected to my last two suggestions –", she looked up sharply at this, "- I expect you to come up with a suitable one yourself. I wish you could do it sooner as Pansy's been bugging me to let her visit here," he said in a long suffering tone.

Hermione sniffed. Oh, so he was going to bring Pansy 'the Pug-face' Parkinson to their dorm, not if she could help it, she thought angrily. "I'll let you know when I come up with it Malfoy," she said sweetly, glaring at the newspaper behind which his face was hidden. She marched to the bathroom and shut the door. Stupid Pansy and her stupid fawning, she thought irately, taking out her anger on the soap and squishing it in her hands, and he shamelessly seems to like it, she seethed, the soap now a shapeless glob.

Still feeling furious at everything, she emerged from the shower, dressed at top speed and exited the dorm without giving him a chance to enquire her about the password again.

She sat down moodily for breakfast – again. This seemed to have become a routine. It's all Malfoy's fault, she thought furiously cutting up her bacon.

"In a bad mood, again?", Ron asked noticing her demeanor, "what did Malfoy do this time?"

"Why do you always thinks its Malfoy's fault? Cant I be pissed at someone else? Why is it that you assume that my life revolves around that pale haired git and that what he says effects me? 'coz I couldn't care less about that prat!" she ranted, rounding up on Ron.

Ron cowered and edged away from her, "I never said that your life revolves around him," he said in a small voice. "And he is a prat," he added hoping to placate her.

She then immediately felt guilty about venting her anger at Ron.

"I'm sorry Ron," she said quietly, feeling ashamed for her outburst.

"'S ok, 'Mione," he said and nodded that he understood.

She mentally berated herself, and forced herself to forget about the blond git and calm down. Though, he seemed determined to make that very hard for her.

For there he stood outside the Potion's classroom in the dungeons, holding court with his Slytherin pals. Pansy was up front with him in the group. She was smiling so widely at him, that one could count all her teeth, she seemed to touch his arm every time he said something. Hermione turned away from the display, fuming. She mentally imagined tentacles erupting from Pansy's face and smiled savagely to herself. Thankfully, the bell rang for the start of class, just as Pansy gave another of her shrill giggles and people's eardrums (in Hermione's opinion) were spared from further damage. The Potions' class went along as usual, with Hermione steadfastly ignoring the Slytherin side of the class.

Hermione spent all her free time in the library that day, and even returned to it after dinner, returning to the dorm only after closing time. She then snuck silently into her bed. The next few days too, she managed to spend as little time in the dorm as was possible, by getting up earlier and going to bed later than Malfoy.

The next day, she was lounging comfortably in her usual armchair, re-reading the old Potion's book in the dorm, knowing that Malfoy wouldn't return until later from his Quidditch practice.

Just then the door opened and Malfoy walked in, still clad in his Quidditch robes.

"Malfoy!", she exclaimed, "I-I thought you had practice today?"

Malfoy frowned at her surprise. "Got cancelled," he said abruptly. "One of our Beaters' broke his arm," he explained briefly.

"Oh," she said returning to her book.

"So Granger", he said still frowning at her, "I noticed that you've been quite busy this week?"

"Oh...um…yeah…busy with work..library," she said evasively, squirming in her chair.

"So", he said still staring at her, "did you come up with a password yet?"

Dang! she thought.

"um..no," she said in a small voice.

"Granger! I asked you to come up with a password not the bleeding facts of life!" he said in his trademark drawl, crossing his arms.

"Ok,ok..so how about..," she said impatiently , peering into her book –

"'Amortensia'?"

"The Love potion?!" Malfoy asked raising his brows.

She nodded.

"No way!" Malfoy said shaking his head.

"Well that's the best I could come up with and if you don't like it then its not my problem!" she said feigning anger and hurried to her room, shutting it on Malfoy's confused expression.

"Phew!" she breathed, leaning against the door. Then remembered that tomorrow she had patrol duty with him and groaned. She needed a new strategy, she thought dully.

OoOoOoO

A/N : hope, you guyz liked it. I may make some changes to it later, though.

Oh, and I love Hermione screaming at Draco!

Review, review n review!