you know the drill!!

"do you want me to pick you up here, or meet you in the Great Hall for dinner?" Neville asked as he stood out front of the portrait that led to Hermionie's dorms.

"I'll meet you there Nev," she said and stood on her tip toes to kiss his cheek, he blushed. "Harry and Ron really don't know what they're missing out there on the battle field," she said reffering to Neville's desire to fight along side Harry, be another member of the trio. He blushed more feverntly at her comment, but brushed it aside.

"Oh Hermione, if you only knew," he said almost under his breath so that she could barely hear him.

"I'll see you at dinner Nev," she said and said the pass word to the portrait. It opened up and she walked in, followed immediately by Malfoy.

"where did you come from?" she asked as she walked over to the couch and flopped down.

"class, same as you," he replied taking off his robe and hanging it on a hook. He sat down in a chair and opened a few school books.

"you know Granger, you really shouldn't lead Longbottom on like that," he said as he began writing something on a piece of parchment.

"lead him on like what Malfoy?" Hermione demanded.

"he obviously fancies you, and your little act out there only made him realize what he couldn't have, quite cruel of you," Malfoy said smirk on his face. He was saying this only because he had been jealous of Longbottom, he had gotten to feel Hermionie's lips on his cheek, Draco only wished that he could feel that.

"Neville knows I wasn't being cruel, we are close friends, he knows that, he knows I love Harry, he knows I'm marrying him," she said her voice trailing off on the last part.

"still, close friend or not, you don't think he is jealous of Harry Potter?" Malfoy replied, he looked up at her, her brow's were furrowed with fury.

"Neville would never be jealous of Harry, he adores him, fights along side of him. So he fancies me, he'll get over it," she replied, she didn't feel like fighting now. She was too drained from the day, the battle with in, the worrying of Harry and Ron. As soon as she had decided it was Harry who she loved and wanted to spend her life with, she had spent the rest of the day worrying about him. Why weren't they back, they were never gone this long.

"its hard to get over things you want so badly, but can never have," Malfoy said, expressing his own emotions, he felt like slapping him self for saying this. 'never let them know a weakness!' he heard his father's words screaming inside his head.

"oh, and you would know this personally Malfoy?" Hermione asked raising an eyebrow. The man could have what ever his heart desired, in ways of products and people. He was filthy rich, and extremely powerful.

"perhaps I do Granger, everybody has desires," he said being a little overly zealous with his reply. She tried to look into his eyes, read his very emotions, but he turned his gaze away before she could. He knew she could read into him threw his eyes, for weren't they the windows to the soul. He couldn't let her know what he was feeling. That this jealousy that he had told her Neville had was what flowed through his veins, and that his only desire in life was to be with Hermoine Granger, to love her, and for her to love him back.

He was past the point of hiding his emotions to himself. There was no sense in it, hiding what he truly felt. He wanted nothing more than to take her into his arms and snog the hell out of her, shag her even, but it took every bit of strength in him to keep himself from following his desires. He wasn't in love with her, not yet at least, but he wanted to be so badly. He was so jealous of Potter, that he wished Potter would die where ever he was, and that she would then turn to Malfoy for comfort and grieving and he could tell her how he felt.

Hermione went back to her work as did Malfoy, but she couldn't help but to think what his desire was.

'he can have anything he wants, anything money can by, any girl possible, what does he want that he cant have?' she asked her self as she began to write and essay for her potions class.

'what are the things that money cant by? Happiness,' she looked over to Draco. 'love? He cant love though.' As she continued to rack her brain those were the only things she could come up with. Happiness and Love; was it possible that Draco Malfoy wanted happiness and love? But from whom. Every girl basically gave them sleves to Malfoy, who were the girls he couldn't have? She started to think of every girl in a relationship at Hogwarts. Even girls who threw them selves at Malfoy had boyfriends half of the time, so that wouldn't stop him either.

'the only person who can stop him from anything is his father,' Hermione thought to herself as she watched him crumple up a third piece of paper. They had been sitting there for an hour, and she had spent the whole hour trying to figure this out. 'what does he want that his father wont let him have?' she imagined Lucius Malfoy in her head and immedeaitly wished she hadn't. the name, his face, repulsed her, her hatrerd for him was a close second to that she had for Voldemort. She continued to think though what he wouldn't allow his son to have. When she came up with an answer, she gasped. Quickly covering her hand to her mouth, Malfoy looked up.

"spill some ink Granger?" he joked as he looked over to her. She shook her head and looked down, but immedaitly looked back up at him.

"why haven't you called me mudblood?" she asked, since that night of playing cards, he had called her Granger, and a host of other names, but none as vial as Mudblood.

'Damn it,' he thought. 'how does she know, I knew I said to much!' he kicked him self repeaditly in his mind.

"I thought we were trying to be civil," he replied looking back down at his work.

"even so Malfoy, I called you mean things when we would fight, and you only replied with Granger," she said recalling all their fights they had since that night. not once had the words come out of his mouth.

"just goes to show that some people have more class than others," he replied, stairing at his sheet, he begged for something to come to his mind to write about, but it was too filled with worry and dread of what was happening at this moment.

"Dr-Draco," she said, her voice extermly shakey. He looked up to her, his heart doing a flip as she used his first name. "do, do you like me?" his insides were bursting, telling him to scream out yes, to let her know right then and there everything he felt. But all he could do was muster out a laugh.

"me? like you? Are you out of your mind?" he said shaking his head, his smirk on his face.

"I, I just thought," she pausued for a moment. "you can have what ever you want Malfoy, anything and everything money can buy. The only two things I can think of are Happiness and Love. You can have every girl at this school twice over, except one, me."

"I never realized just how egotistical you are Granger, I would have thought better of you too. Don't go around flattering your self, the day that I would want you wouldn't even be my last day on earth," he said as mean as he could.

"then why did you say that, why did you say you had a desire that you wanted so badly and couldn't have?" she said, her voice just as infuriated as his.

"if you even payed attention Granger, I said that everyone has desires, I never said I did. I am a Malfoy, and you were correct in saying that I can have, and do have everything and everyone I want. I am one of the happiest people I know, and I do know love, the mere fact that you would think I would need anymore of either, and that I would find it in you is quite hysterical," he smirked laughing towards the end. She felt so stupid;

'how could I have ever thought that he was even interested in me? God I feel like a prat, here I am thinking I have these emotions for Draco bloody Malfoy, all the while having a battle like no other in my heart wondering if I should pursue what I feel for him and he doesn't even like me?' a wave of relief and stupidty rushed through out her body. As much as she was happy that he didn't have feelings for her, she was just as much pained by it. she could have sworn he had felt something, the way he looked at her at meals in the Great Hall. All the while she had been looking for something to take her mind off the wedding, and had blown his actions way out of proportion.

"then call me a mudblood," she said and he brought his eyes to hers. Years he had called her that, and watched as she was insulted, wrelished in his boost of ego by making her feel bad, after all these years, and him not calling her it for a week, she now wanted him to.

"I never thought I would hear you say that," he said rolling his eyes, packing up his bag, he really didn't want to, but he knew, to make sure Granger would keep off his case that he would have to.

"do it," Hermione said, almost threatening him. He stood up, books and satchel in hand and looked at her.

"Granger, you are a book worm, goody two shoes, brown nosing, filthy ungrateful mudblood, who should be honored that you are even in my presence, let alone that you are actually conversing with me," he said, he wanted to push it too far, for he knew it was the only for him to push her and the suspicion away. he watched and pained for her as tears filled her eyes.

"and you Malfoy, are unbeleiveable prat!" she screamed at him, he was taken aback by her reaction.

"you told me to call you a mudblood, so I did, I don't believe I asked you to return the favor," he yelled back at her.

"you know Malfoy, sometimes I think that maybe your better than I thought you were, but it is times like these that prove how full of your self and egtistical you are, you ferret. Your such a pureblooded bastard and have your wand shoved so far up your ass that you don't even realize how much people hate you!" she screamed at him, holding back the tears. She didn't want to cry infront of him. She wouldn't.

"and the second I start to think that its possible to have a civilized conversation with you Granger, you become ms. Righteous and start questioning everything and everyone around you when they act slightly different," he replied turning around to face her on the steps. "I mean not a person can have a conversation with you before you go and have to be a know-it-all. No wonder your friends are who they are, and your husband to be, I think he goes on these trips just to get away from you, Merlin knows I would have to just to keep my sanity," she had hurt him and as much as he didn't want to say anything, only go up to his room and be in peace and quiet, it was instinctive for him to keep arguing.

"don't you dare talk about my friends or Harry Malfoy, you have know right too. They are intelligent, brave, courageous, and good people. Anyone of us would give our lives for the other in a second. we are fighting to protect our world from people like you, and I can only hope that we win the battle Malfoy," she said, the tears were in her eyes but she refused to let them fall. He wasn't going to insult Ron, or Harry or Neville or anyone who was a friend to her. She wouldn't allow it. "at least my friends aren't dumber than rocks and need some one to look up to just to be able to function, and also aren't all death-eaters-to be," she screamed at him.

"and at least my friends don't kick me out of plans that decide the worlds future, and then keep me in the dark about it," Malfoy replied. He watched Hermione for a moment, the expression on her face, anger, confusion, worry, and hatrered.

Malfoy knew he had won the argument just with those words, he turned and walked into the room slamming the door shut. Hermione walked over to the couch and let a few tears fall from her face as she picked up her Potions essay.

'he's a jack ass Hermione, he doesn't know what he's talking about. Probolly something his daddy told him to say. He wouldn't know what friendship was if it knocked him out like a brick to his head. He's mean and conceited, and a bastard, get over it, get over him,' she told her self, wiping away the tears. She was furious at Malfoy, btu she was also furious at her self. The reason the argument started was because she had told him to call her a mudblood, she figured that if he didn't do it, it meant he liked her, she had been stupid to think he wouldn't do it. she was so angry at her self for ever considering Draco Malfoy as anything other than sworn enemy. She thought he really liked her, but she was wrong. If he liked her, wouldn't he have not said those things. She believed he wouldn't have, but there was something in her saying that it wouldn't have mattered. Draco was taught to hate and be cruel since a very young age. His teaching were so imbedded into him, that maybe there was a chance he still liked her and he just said those things.

'stop making excuses for him Hemrione!' she screamed at her self. She wanted nothing more than at this very moment to be in Harry's arms, safe and warm. Away from everything that was Draco Malfoy. Sure she had brought it on her self, but it didn't make her feel any better.