A/N: Finally! An Update! :D I really hope you like it ;)

There's a couple of Gilmore Girls quotes. Can you find them ;)

Also there are two quotes from the Pick-Up Lines Challenge by Pinly Green in the HPFC Forum. Now those I dare you to find! lol

Anyway, here it is!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot :D



Chapter 9

A low murmur of different conversations filled the Great Hall on Monday morning as most of the students lazily ate their breakfast before heading to their classes. The Slytherin table looked, as usual, fairly unoccupied in comparison to the other houses, even though it wasn't especially early. Slytherins were night creatures by nature. Despite this the quidditch team was all there. This afternoon's practice would require all the energy they could muster.

"You should really give us a brake, Malfoy." complained Crabbe as he rose from his seat and picked up his bag from the floor.

"A break?" Draco turn to him, an annoyed and kind of intimidating look on his face which made Crabbe already regret ever opening his mouth.

"We haven't even played our first match and you're already whining?" Theo chuckled from the seat across Draco, "Man up, would you Crabbe?"

"I'll give you a break when we win the cup," said Draco as he turned back to his food, clearly bored with the conversation already.

Crabbe simply stood there with a blank look on his face, not knowing if he should go or not.

Blaise folded The Prophet he had been reading, leaving it to the side. He looked at Crabbe but quickly turn his gaze to his food, "That's it, you can go now," the Italian dismissed his teammate with a swift wave of his hand.

Crabbe nodded quickly and turned to walk away from the three boys. The other tree continued eating as if they never had been interrupted.

When he was done eating Nott gathered his things and stood, "I'm heading back to the common. I still have to finish Snape's assignment. Later." With that he left.

Zabini watched Theo's retreating back and when the boy was out the door, he turned to Draco animatedly, "So? How's it going with Granger?"

"Great," said Draco, smugness reflecting from his silver eyes, "Better than expected,"

Blaise lifted an eyebrow in surprise; he didn't expect Draco to be doing so well. He knew his friend had his way with women but this was Granger they were talking about, "Really? How so?"

Draco recounted the recent events to his friend, "When we finally got to the meeting I noticed she was very quiet and just took notes. At the end I wanted to walk with her back to the commons but the Weaselette latched onto her and they left together,"

Blaise nodded his head thoughtfully, analyzing the situation and finally said, "I must congratulate you Draco. You've handled this situation exceptionally well. I mean, at this rate you could even get her in your bed in a couple of weeks," added Zabini, smiling impishly.

Draco couldn't say he hadn't thought about it. He had, from the very first day actually, but he knew it wasn't as easy as Blaise thought. Hermione wasn't like most girls. She may be affected by him like the others but she wouldn't sell herself cheap. She wanted more, because she deserved it.

"Yes but I'm afraid this would only be a step backwards," he said, trying to sound as nonchalant as he could.

"Why? Are you really that bad in the sack?" asked the Italian mockingly. He was well aware of Draco's reputation.

Draco rolled his eyes and opened his mouth to say something but Zabini cut him off, "No no, I know what you mean. It's a shame though..."

"Yes, it is," added Draco, sharing a mischievous look with his friend but he knew they weren't sharing quite the same thoughts.

M

MISREAD-SIGNALS

S

"Monday again..." sighed Harry, staring at his bowl of cereal as if wishing it to provide some sort if entertainment, "Who would have thought school could be so...monotonous."

"Well I don't know about you but I'd much rather have monotonous than deadly enemies," Ron spoke as he started filling his plate with food. It was amazing how much his mood improved when he was in presence of food. Or maybe it has something to do with his encounter with Luna last night.

Hermione couldn't remove the image from her mind. She had talked to Ginny about it after the ball meeting. The redhead had practically launched at her before she could escape and insisted on talking about it. Hermione had to admit that it had made her feel bad. Not just bad, it had been an unexpected blow right in her stomach and she couldn't deny that to her best friend.

After a long walk back to their dorms (longer than it usually took them) Ginny had actually made Hermione feel better. She did have a point: Ron had always been nice to Luna. He felt bad for the way others treated her. So what happened the night before it wasn't a big deal really. He was just being a good friend.

Hermione had repeated this in her head over and over again last night, as she shifted in her bed, unable to sleep. She felt better this morning but there was always that little spark of doubt.

She shrugged the thought off, deciding to follow Ginny's advice and not give it much thought.

As if on cue the redhead and Lavander practically skipped their way to where they were sitting.

"Hey guys!" the girls said in chorus, standing behind Harry and Ron.

"You two are awfully cheerful for a Monday morning," Harry mumbled as the other two said their hellos.

"What's got your wand in a knot, Harry?" asked Lavander, ruffling his hair playfully.

"Stop!" said Harry with a chuckle, "It's nothing, I guess I'm just tired, that's all,"

"Well if you're done complaining we would like to borrow Hermione for a minute. We have an idea for the ball,"

Hermione repressed the sudden urge to roll her eyes and sigh as she stood from her seat, "I guess I'll see you two in potions,"

"Bye Grumpy!" said Lavander mockingly.

...

"Look I already told you, teachers will be at the ball! Alcohol will not be allowed!" insisted Hermione when they passed doors that led to the gardens. This had been one of the most important requests of the meeting. And Malfoy had not been particularly helpful in the discussion, so Hermione had to handle it on her own.

"No, that's not what we wanted to talk about. We just needed to get you away from the boys,"

"Besides, the Slytherins offered to throw an after party and well, you know Slytherin parties are the best," added Lavander with a wicked glint in her eyes that hinted the kind of fun she'd had in these parties.

"Right..." Hermione stared at Ginny who had what Hermione knew to be a very dangerous look. The glint in he eyes and her bright fiery hair made her look simply evil, "You look happy..."

Ginny's grin grew wider at her comment

"Did you do something slutty?"

"I'm not that happy"

"Ok then what is it?"

"We just wanted to let you know that we're putting our little plan in motion... today!" said Ginny with a fake innocent tone of voice and exaggeratedly looking up at Hermione from under her eyelashes.

Hermione didn't quite understand what she was talking about but the gestures alone started to make her anxious. Ginny was up to something that would most probably annoy her and she knew it.

"Care to elaborate on that?" she asked, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Allow me," smiled Lavander patting the redhead's arm, "remember that night we had a little slumber party in your dorm?"

Hermione simply nodded, her eyes narrowing even further.

"And do you remember when we agreed that it was for your best interest that I had a little chat with our dear Ronald Weasley?"

Hermione's eyes suddenly widened so that it looked like her eyes were about to pop out of her head, "Oh no! No no no no no!" she repeated, shaking her head desperately. She grabbed the two girls by the elbow and pulled them farther away from the double doors, finally stopping by one of the green houses, "You know that day I was pretty drunk..."

"Try wasted," Lavander chuckled sharing a look with Ginny, who laughed and nodded in response.

Hermione rolled her eyes, trying to ignore the fact that her friends were making fun of her, "What I mean is I was in no condition to be doing any decision making so I think we should forget about the plan and come up with a more reasonable, thought-out one,"

Lavander put her hands on her waist and shook her head slowly, giving Hermione a disappointed look, "Who would've thought? Hermione Granger... a coward,"

"A chicken!"

"Big war hero!" added Ginny and snorted sarcastically, "Try Miss Pee-Pants,"

"So much for the Golden Trio..."

"More like The Golden Pair and Miss Pee-Pants,"

Lavander laughed, "That sounds like a bed time story,"

Ginny turned to her, smiling and nodding, "I know, right?" As if suddenly remembering their previous topic, Ginny focused back on Hermione with a straight face, "No seriously, we're doing this,"

"No we're not!" Hermione was more than annoyed now. Didn't they realize how important this was to her? It wasn't just a high school crush. This was a life time of friendship, they had been through so much together and she couldn't stand the thought of losing him.

Lavander took a step towards her and grabbed her shoulders, staring intently into he eyes, "Look Hermione, we've already talked about this. Everything will be fine. He won't know you sent me and he most definitely will not shun you. There's nothing for you to worry about."

"Don't you want to know? To be sure?" Ginny walked and stood beside Lavander.

Hermione was cornered. She felt pressured... and defeated. They were right. She'd had enough, especially after last night. She swallowed the lump she just realized had formed in her throat and took a deep breath, "Okay, fine,"

Lavander hugged her, drowning her face in her silky dirty-blond curls and spoke softly in her ear, "It'll be ok, I promise,"

"When will you do it?"

Lavander released her, "I think it'll be best if you don't know. Just in case,"

"In case...?"

"In case you back out... again," finished Ginny.

"Right," Suddenly Hermione realized they were the only ones left in the gardens, "Oh no! I'm late for Potions!" And with that she took off, running as fast as her legs would carry her.

Great! Let's give Snape yet another reason to dislike me...

...

When she finally reached the dungeon, she rushed inside not minding how much noise she made. It's not like he wasn't going to reprimand her anyway. She pushed the door with so much strength that it bounced back and slammed shut. Hermione cringed at the loud noise but kept running to her seat.

"So kind of you to join us, Miss Granger!" Without turning to look at her, Snape spit her name like it was a dirty sock, "The schedule of a member of the Golden Trio must be incredibly busy,"

She kept quiet and took her seat next to Harry, trying to ignore the fact that she was now the center of attention.

Snape decided that it was enough for today and started organizing students into groups for today's assignment.

This is going to be a long class; she thought when Snape announced her group: Granger, Malfoy and Weasley.

She saw the two tall boys head to her table from both sides of the class room. Her heart raced as they closed in on her. For some reason she couldn't understand she felt like a vulnerable prey surrounded by dangerous predators.

"You okay, Mione?" asked Ron when he finally took the seat to her left. Hermione shook the ridiculous thoughts off her head and nodded, smiling reassuringly, "Yes, I'm fine Ron,"

She turned to the blond boy to her right. He'd remained quiet but she could see the tiny wrinkle forming between his eyebrows and his penetrating eyes fixed on her face. She gave him the same smile she'd given Ron and turned to open her book on the page with the ingredients for today's potion, "So, Draft of Peace..."

"Yes," said Malfoy stiffly as he slided down his chair, getting comfortable, "Go fetch the ingredients, Weasel,"

"You fetch them, Ferret!" Ron answered angrily, suddenly sitting up and his ears turning instantly crimson.

Malfoy's eyes turned venomous as he turned to Ron, his lips parting with a snide-full remark.

"Oh please don't start! I'll get them," she started to get up and both boys made a grab for her wrist but Ron spoke first, "No, I'll get them Mione," He stood up, glaring at Malfoy before heading for the ingredient cupboard.

Draco chuckled, shaking his head at Weasley's thickness. He felt Granger's eyes on him and turned to see her scowling at him.

"Do you have to be so mean?"

"With Weasel? I'm afraid so, yes,"

She sighed quietly and turned to her book, the almost smile touching her lips didn't go unnoticed by Draco.

Ron returned balancing all the ingredients in his arms and dumped them on the table, in front of Hermione.

It's like he's repellent to manners and elegance... Draco frowned at the clutter the redhead had made.

With a flick of her wand Hermione organized all the ingredients in the order they would be using them. Ron was again gone, running towards the first row of seats, looking for a bottle of Hellebore Syrup. Meanwhile Hermione was struggling with a jar of Snakeweed she couldn't manage to get opened.

He gently took it from her hands, opened it and handed it back t her.

Hermione stared at him for a second but quickly added a soft, "Thank you,"

Draco couldn't hide the small smirk that came to his lips in satisfaction. He was getting better and better at this, "You're welcome,"

He turned back to the front and grabbed a knife to cut the fairy wing but couldn't resist and nudged her in the ribs, "See, that wasn't so mean,"

He could almost hear a crowd cheering as a grin spread in her face and she laughed at his joke. Point for the handsome Slytherin!

He felt someone's eyes on him and turned from her face to see a big, bright red balloon that he later realized was in fact Weasley's head. Make that two points for the handsome Slytherin

The rest of the hour passed quietly. Well, quieter than it was expected if Ron and Draco had to be working together. Hermione remained in silence except for the few times she had to ask the boys to behave.

The lesson was almost over when Hermione took the last ingredient from Ron's hands and added it slowly to the bubbling cauldron as Draco stirred the substance clockwise. Pink bubbles started emerging in the surface before the potion turned a clean white.

"We did it!" exclaimed Ron happily, not being used to succeed in potion-making.

"No, Granger and I did it, you handed her the ingredients,"

He watched Weasley's ears burn comically but as usual, Granger interrupted, "Malfoy, Ron please! Just ten more minutes!"

With a smirk, Draco slouched in his chair again.

When Ron's ears had turned back to their normal color, he looked at Hermione with a soft expression. Draco rested his head on his arms, pretending to sleep but observed them from under his arm.

"Mione?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think I could possibly peak at your transfiguration homework? Just to compare it with mine, see if I got everything right?

"Ron, we've been friends since first year. By now I should know that the only reason you ask my homework is so you can copy it. You might as well tell me."

"Ok...Hermione, could I please copy your homework?" he made a face that made Draco want to punch him but it apparently worked because Hermione chuckled and pulled out a long parchment from her bag.

Even Ron looked impressed as he took it from her hands, "Well if I'd known honesty worked like this, I would've tried it long ago,"

"Don't get too excited. I'm only giving it to you because I know quidditch practice has been especially hard this year,"

Draco noticed Weasley's eyes glance anxiously at him but he relaxed when he noted he was "asleep."

"Well thank you Hermione, you are by far the best!" he said warmly and started copying the assignment quickly.

She gave him a stiff smile and she turned her gaze to her hands, resting on her lap.

This confused Draco. She seemed... sad. Why would she be sad? The tactless Weasel had, for once said nothing stupid of hurtful. What was this about? Had it something to do with how he'd found her crying yesterday?

Snape's loud order startled him, making him straighten up in jump. Hermione was already filling up a vial. She glanced at the sudden movement and smiled, finding his alarmed face funny. He stood up, quickly combing his hair with his hand and took the sample from her to take it to Snape's desk.

The professor took the vial and examined it, "Another job well done, Mr. Malfoy,"

If he hadn't heard the words, Draco wouldn't have guessed from his expression that he was giving a compliment. He had a deep crease between his eyebrows that gave him a permanent frowning face, "Thank you, sir,"

He was the last one to give the sample and Snape immediately announced the en of class.

When he was finally able to get out of the mass of students gathered together near the door, he saw Hermione making her way out of the dungeons, alone.

He quickened his pace to catch up with her, "Hey Granger!"

She turned, giving him an inquiring look, "Yes?"

He talked smoothly, never hesitating, "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You know, about whatever it was that was upsetting you yesterday."

He saw her eyes studying his face. He wondered what it was that she was searching for, "Granger?"

She was pulled out from her thoughts and blinked several times, focusing back. She smiled awkwardly, a soft blush coloring her cheeks, "Yes, I'm better now."

He nodded solemnly.

"Thank you Draco, it's very sweet of you to ask," she added kindly, her eyes fixed on his.

"Well Hermione!" an annoyingly familiar voice to Draco interrupted them. They both followed it and, sure enough, walking towards them was Theodore Nott, "Are you using the Confundus charm or are you just naturally mind blowing?" He complimented her, his eyes scanning her from head to toe, a lazy smile playing on his lips.

She gave him a shy smile and before Nott could add any more lame pick-up lines, Zabini made an appropriate appearance, "Sorry to interrupt but, Granger would you mind if I took these two? There's some important matter that needs to be discussed."

Hermione eyed the suspiciously, "As long as it's nothing forbidden..."

Blaise put a hand to his chest, feigning surprise, "Why Granger, I am utterly appalled by you're suggestion!"

She smiled again, amused by his little theatrics, "Yes, I'm sure of that,"

"Now if you'll excuse us..." Blaise had to grab Theo by his elbow and pull him away, as he winked flirtatiously at Hermione.

"Nott may I ask what in Slytherin's name was that about?" said Draco, sounding curious instead of irritated.

"Well let's just say that Granger just moved to the top of my 'to do' list."


A/N: I think it's a fun chapter ...*shrug*

First I want to thank WhitePhoenixFlame for coming up with a name for Draco's smirk/smile: SMIRKLE! XD

Thanks to: RxDJxB Lestrange , SERENA94, Charlotte1993, Dramione-Fan 17, zcubed, Kisses of Chocolate, WhitePhoenixFlame and novocaine-x for reviewing. Your support means a LOT to me xx.

Also tahnks to all of you who added the story to favorites, alerts and all the people who suggested a title for the last chapter. Any ideas for this one?

Thanks for reading! xoxo