Chapter 9:

Hermione couldn't remember much of the night. All she knows was that she went to the Muggle bar last night with Draco and the boys from the German academy, but after twenty minutes, 4 shots, and three beers later… the rest of the night was a blur. She woke up around 8:00 A.M. with a terrible headache and an owl perched on her bedpost with an envelope in beak. She reached for her wand, instantly zapping away her headache before taking the envelope out of the owl's beak.

Good morning Ms. Granger and Mr. Malfoy!

Congratulations on your win yesterday! As you may know, the United Wizarding World deals with many civil rights cases each and every year. Like house-elves, Giants have a stigma against them. Your task today is to be able to debate the rights of Giants. The two of you will be arguing against Salem Academy with the pro-side of Giants. Meet at 11:30 A.M. in conference room west. Good luck to you both!

She checked her wristwatch and figured she'd let Draco sleep a little longer. If she couldn't remember much of last night, then she doubted he had any idea either. It was still early, so she decided she ought to freshen up before he woke. As soon as she reached the bathroom mirror, she noticed something strange on her neck.

"What the he – OH MY GOSH!" Hermione quickly started to rub over the blood blistered looking thing on her neck. "A hickey!" she let out a terrifying screech.

"BLOODY HELL, GRANGER!" cried out Malfoy as he burst into the bathroom to see if she was okay. "What in the hell is…" he paused for a moment, resisting the urge to touch her hickey. "Ahah!" he laughed, and then he noticed a change of expression on Hermione's face. She was now pointing to something on his neck… something that was purple and swollen just like hers.

The two looked at each other, and like a flashbulb, a memory of last night came back to her. Draco and her were out back in a dark corner necking. The same memory of last night must have came back to Draco as well because his expression changed to one of horror and shock. Before either could say anything to each other, she pushed him out of the bathroom and locked the door. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she leaned up against the wall, trying to push out the thought that she had some form of relations with Draco Malfoy.

An hour later, and a third of a bottle of cover-up later, Hermione surfaced from the bathroom. She figured that if they didn't mention it to each other, then it never happened.

"Malfoy," said Hermione rather calmly as she sat down at the small dinette table, which was filled with a surplus amount of bagels, teas, donuts, and any kind of breakfast food known to man. "Did you read what the owl sent about our debate?"

Draco's eyes peered over the Daily Prophet and he simply nodded his head at her as he finished chewing up his corn muffin. "Mhm… I figured I'd let you take charge in this one. After all, you do love that buffoon Hagrid so much."

Rolling her eyes, Hermione reached across the table to pull the Daily Prophet down from Draco's eye site. "You know Malfoy, I thought you changed… er – well you were changing. Was that whole house-elf debate a shame then? You clearly don't feel the need that Giants shouldn't get the same –"

"I never said I didn't think they don't deserve any rights, dear Hermione," he retorted smugly, "just because I don't like Hagrid doesn't mean I don't like all Giants." Plain and simple as that, Draco picked the paper back up and started to read.

This infuriated Hermione. She hated when people just didn't say all of the truth. Her hand reached over again to swat the paper down. "Why don't you like him?"

"Personal reasons," he said bluntly, reaching for the paper once more.

Hermione sighed heavily to herself, and then reached into the basket of bagels that could feed Hagrid's dog Fang as a snack. To get personal answers out of Draco was a feat, and right now, she was too tired to even try. She had to save her energy for the great Giant debate.