A/N: SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY it's been so long since I last updated!!! I HATE Junior year of high school! I HATE HOMEWORK! Man, I so can't wait until winter break! Writer's block didn't help either…but I got through it!

For those few who have been waiting, I am SOOOO SORRY!

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Chapter Ten

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Logical persuasion was useless. That much Hermione figured out. So Hermione had spent many hours coming up with different tactics of how she'd be able to convince Malfoy to join the Order of the Phoenix.

Monday, she tried her first plan: being somber and mournful, trying to somehow manipulate Malfoy with large, tearful eyes (she'd spent many minutes not blinking to achieve the proper teary effect).

Her response? An odd look from Malfoy (was there a small hint of a smirk there?), and a quick get-away from him, with her having accomplished nothing.

On Wednesday, Hermioned launched plan number two: the sweet act.

She'd been nice to him all of the meeting, had accepted his ideas with enthusiasm (much to everyone's, especially his, surprise), and then, after the meeting, had sidled up to him, a giant (very forced) smile on her face.

Her response? A disgusted look from Malfoy, his flinch when she placed her arm on his shoulder for the briefest second, and again, his quick get-away.

By Saturday, Hermione had resorted to begging. How horrible. Or, almost resorted to begging, at least. She'd walked up to, her jaw set in determination, but then her throat closed up, and she had to turn away for the briefest second. There was no way she would beg Malfoy!

So instead, Hermione wheeled around again, and stared intensely at him, resorting to the second worst thing on her list: flirting. He was male. An asshole, but still a male. Perhaps he wouldn't be immune to her feminine…charms? And it seemed like he'd been waiting for what she had to say…was this all a game to him now? 'See What Hermione Came Up With Next?' Bah.

So Hermione batted her eyelashes at him, leaned against the doorway, and twirled her wavy hair around her finger.

"Really, Malfoy…why not just end with the games, and just join us?" She purred, flashing him a smile, which failed miserably. Instead, it looked more like she was bearing her teeth at him in a menacing manner, so hard it was for her to flirt like this with him. She never flirted! She had to start NOW?!

Her response was one she was expecting: Malfoy's surprised, disgusted face, which she suspected probably mirrored her own, and again, he tried to dodge around her. But Hermione was growing wary of this. She had other things to worry about other then this, and he was taking up all of her time!

So, like he usually did when he was 'trapped', Malfoy scowled, grabbed Hermione's arms, picked her up, and moved her away from the doorway, and then, proceeded to run off.

Hermione groaned, stamped her foot, and gathered her bags, heading back to the Gryffindor Common Room, completely unknowing of the fact that when Malfoy had rushed out, pink had tinted his pale cheeks, which he proceeded to shake away immediately.

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"Ron…would you pass the bread, please?" Hermione said in a low voice to Ron, shooting him a softer version of the flirtatious (if it even could be called that) look she gave Malfoy earlier.

What she got from Ron was completely opposite from what she got from Malfoy? Ron, who'd turned red, all the way to his ears, seemed to choke on his sausage, fumbled immediately for the bread basket, and dropping it on her plate.

Hermione casually thanked Ron, and carefully placed the basket back in the middle of the table, carefully ignoring the odd, confused look she'd gotten from Harry.

How odd. She obviously had enough feminine charm to reduce Ron to such a state…and yet, Malfoy had been completely immune.

She sighed loudly, and shook her head, brainstorming yet another set of ideas that she might use to convert Malfoy.

This is so FRUSTRATING! She thought angrily as she dropped her head into her hands, unaware to the worried looks Ron and Harry were casting each other.

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"Draco…y'know, I just realized…" Pansy and Draco were relaxing on the emerald green couch within the Slytherin Common Room, and Pansy was leaning her head on Draco's shoulder, dragging her fingers back and forth against his arm. She'd been quiet for the past five, blissful minutes, until now.

"You're always late to come back after our prefect meetings. Why does it take you so long?" She asked, in her nasally voice, piercing him with a suspicious glare. Blaise Zabini, who was reading the Daily Prophet on the couch across from them, lowered it an inch to look over the top at Draco, shooting him the same look Pansy was giving him.

"Yeah, Malfoy. I've noticed that as well. Are you perhaps doing illegal things in the five minutes that you're late in coming down here?"

Draco was silent as he thought of what he should say. Tell them the truth, or lie?

Hmm…the truth.

"Why yes, guys. See, last dance, Hermione Granger, Harry Potter's best friend, discovered I'm a Death Eater, and instead of telling anyone, is now trying to get me to join the Order of the Phoenix and betray all of you. So now, after every meeting, she approaches me with different tactics on trying to get me to switch over. That's why I'm always late."

No. The truth would not do. The shock of learning that an Order of the Phoenix member had discovered his greatest secret, and that he was now forced to spend more time with Granger, would give them all heart attacks. That wouldn't do. Then he'd really be bored.

"It's because you're always skipping, Pansy." He stated, and he wasn't wrong. "I, unlike you, take my time to enjoy the splendid scenery of the hallway, and the dungeon."

Judging from Pansy's silence, it seemed that the topic had been dropped.

Or not.

"Y'know…that Mudblood Granger is also always last to come out of that room…" She thought aloud, not realizing that Draco had tensed up mostly because hearing Granger referred to as 'mudblood' was now completely strange to him, and frankly…it made him feel slightly unpleasant to hear her referred to as that now.

Blaise let out a cackle, and let his newspaper lie in his lap. "Haha, that's why Malfoy's always so late! He's obviously having a secret relationship with Granger!"

Draco shifted a bit, as if he was uncomfortable in his seat, and suddenly found the fireplace quite interesting. It wasn't a secret romantic relationship (thank Merlin!) but still, it was an odd acquaintance he was finding in her, and he certainly wanted to keep it secret!

"HA! I could see it now! The stolen kisses in the empty classroom, the quick hugs before classes, when no one is watching! Boy, would that be a riot if it was true!"

"Please, you're making me sick!" He scoffed, shutting his eyes and shaking his head. Why sick? Because he was getting mental images. And he was intrigued by them, intrigued of what would happen if he and Granger really did fall in love, and were secretly in a relationship. And that was scaring him.

"But seriously, Draco…please, be careful. She's in the Order of the Phoenix. If that mudblood found out what you are, who knows what would happen to you?!" Pansy exclaimed, grabbing his left forearm, where his Dark Mark was.

Ha. I know. Absolutely nothing, save for a few minutes of her badgering me every few days. Draco laughed, and shook his head. "What could she possibly do to me?" He said, in his normal arrogant tone.

Blaise's face had lost all traces of humor. "Turn you in? Attack you if she saw your Dark Mark? She's a Mudblood, but we all sure as hell know she's not stupid." He said grimly, tossing the Daily Prophet from his lap, and into the couch next to him.

Draco snorted, and shook his head again.

"Granger? Hurt me? Please. Nothing like that could possibly happen. That girl couldn't hurt me. Not a chance."

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Having made all basic plans for the dance, the prefects were once again discussing props and lighting effects.

Haanah Abbott, who originally suggested the whole idea of a masquerade, demanded that the lighting must be romantic. Pleasant. Something Draco wasn't quite pleased with. At least the last dance had been tolerable. Now, not only would he have to dress up like an idiot, but now, he had to deal with the lovey-dovey atmosphere.

Which would probably achieved with by using…

"Candles! We could have only candles light up the room! Enchanted floating candles!" Padma Patil exclaimed, squealing with delight at the mere thought of how the room would look.

Granger was excited. Draco, who was leaning heavily on his arm, just waiting for their time to go, didn't even have to look closely at her to see that. Her cheeks were pink, her eyes sparkling, her grin enormous.

"We can enchant the candles to glow different colors, like red, or pink! I read a spell, somewhere, that could do that!" Granger added, leaning forward in her chair so abruptly, that the Weasel's head, which had been drooping forward slowly, snapped back up so quickly, that Draco swore he heard it crick.

The male prefects were practically useless in this meeting. This was all the girls, now. Even Ernie couldn't contribute, even though it looked as if he was desperately trying to come up with something suitable.

And so, time dragged on, with the guys slowly falling asleep, and the females throwing ideas around, until finally, Ernie had the good sense to look at his watch, and, somewhat happily, exclaimed that it was finally time to go.

The room was empty of all the males in seconds, except for Draco, of course, who was now getting into the habit of lingering for a split second. He didn't know why. Maybe because now it just felt odd to leave the room with everyone else.

Granger, like always, darted in front of Draco, blocking his path out. Her fingers were picking at her cotton, gray skirt, and finally she looked up at him, opening her mouth to voice yet another of her odd attempts.

"How about this then, Malfoy. You join us and-"

But today, Draco just wasn't interested in hearing what she had to offer. So, before she could even finish her thought (Seems she was attempting to bribe him, by the looks of it), Draco grabbed her arms, and lifted her right off the ground, intending to move her to the right of the door, like he usually did when she was proving hard to get by.

"Ugh, Blaise was right…maybe you will eventually turn to physically harming me…" He muttered, thinking that her efforts were becoming more painful to bear every time. Geez, when she attempted to flirt? That had literally shaken him to the bone. She hadn't even tried to smile properly! Who knows what she'd think of next? Hexing him to have him switch over?

Granger, still caught in Draco's grasp, her feet dangling about two inches off the floor, stopped in her struggle for freedom, and stared at him, with an odd expression etched on her face.

"I wouldn't hurt you."

He didn't intend for her to hear him. And he didn't expect for her to say that.

"Eh?"

She swallowed, and looked him right in the eyes. "I wouldn't hurt you. At least, not anymore. I guess." She seems to have realized what she just said, for she was beginning to look quite uncomfortable. Or maybe that was because Draco was still holding her above the floor, his big hands tight on her small arms, his gray eyes staring intensely into her own chocolate brown.

And then Draco snapped to it, and roughly set her back down to the ground, his hands jerking away as if her skin had burnt him.

"Quit talking shit, Granger." Draco finally choked out, and then he turned on his heel, and fled, through the now empty doorway, and down the hallway, skidding around the corner, until he was practically running down the steps to the dungeon.

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Hermione watched him leave from the door. She'd followed him out of the room, and then stood there, watching his back disappear around the corner, her hands folded over her stomach.

She'd forgotten to whom she was talking when she'd said she wouldn't hurt him.

But it was true. After seeing what she'd seen in the bathroom last dance, and after all this time she'd spent with him, Hermione's hatred of Malfoy had lessened. Now he was simply someone who just REALLY annoyed her, and who was proving stubborn beyond belief.

But she couldn't hurt him. Before, if given the chance, Hermione would hex him without any hesitation. Now, Malfoy simply wasn't bothering them enough to have her hate him that much.

He'd seemed surprised. Of course he was. They were sworn enemies, ever since their first year at Hogwarts. Having Hermione suddenly say that Malfoy was physically safe from her…it must've been quite a shock!

She just didn't expect him to be that surprised. Surprised enough to forget that he was still holding her in midair.

And his stare…those intense, gray eyes. For a split second, it seemed like they had burnt right through her.

Hermione leaned against the wall, and blushed, trying to figure out a way to slow down her rapidly beating heart.

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Draco slammed into the Slytherin Common Room, rushed past Crabbe, Goyle, Blaise, and Pansy, who were relaxing in the soft couches, and headed straight up for the room he shared. Slamming the door behind him, and staggered forward, to slump onto his emerald-green bed.

Draco's hand rested over the spot where his heart was racing forty-miles a minute, and sucked in a mouthful of air.

What the fuck just happened?

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TBC…

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A/N: YES! I'M DONE WITH THE CHAPTER! FINALLY! I GOT A CHAPTER DONE! WOOHOO! Let's just hope we don't have to wait another few months for the next one.

I can't promise quick posts. But I won't give up on this! I'm a lazy procrastinator in Junior year of high school…so that's not a very good combo.

I'm sorry it may seem a bit rough. It's quite late.

Anyway, for those who've been waiting, thanks so much for being so patient!

And thanks for all those who've reviewed my story, and even favorited it!

So please review! I'd love to hear what you all think! All your reviews make me feel so warm inside!!!!

ADIEU, TILL NEXT CHAPTER!