Chapter 11

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to the lovely JK Rowling. I own nothing.

AN: Okay, so I don't usually do this, but I felt I needed to answer this reviewer to clear some things up.

To the anonymous guest reviewer: From the very beginning of this story, I did warn that it would be typical cliché themes. However, I did also say that I would put my own take on it, and I feel that I have done so enough to make it somewhat different from the other bet fics. At least I hope so. I also hope that I've made it clear that this is very obviously an alternate universe from what JK created. I want to stress that this fic DOES NOT follow Deathly Hallows, and even Order of the Phoenix and Half Blood Prince to an extent. This is Fanfiction, and all of these stories are created for fun and entertainment and don't necessarily have to follow the books. Regarding your words about Hermione sleeping with Viktor Krum, I have looked on multiple websites and been unable to confirm that. The Harry Potter books were written for children and were stories about coming of age, and I doubt JK Rowling would have suggested anything so adult as sex between the characters. I guess the interpretation is left up to us the readers, but based on Hermione's character and personality, I don't believe she would have slept with Krum considering she even said he creeped her out. For the sake of this story, she is still a virgin. I'm sorry if you don't like this fic because you feel that it is too cliché, but I won't be changing the plotline and will continue writing what I have planned out, typical romance and all. Maybe you could write a Dramione romance that stays away from all of these clichés, and I'd honestly love to see what you come up with! I also thank you for your support of this story, as well as everyone else that is reading and reviewing. You guys make my day! : )

Draco walked down the corridor with his usual swagger and typical smirk gracing his face. His fan club trailed behind him with adoring looks on their faces and longing stares. He turned and gave them a wink and they in turn swooned. He hadn't been paying much attention to them as of late, and now that he thought about it, he'd only slept with two girls since he'd made that bet with the Blaise and Theo. It hadn't even crossed his mind just how much being with Granger had consumed him, and that again scared him.

It didn't matter now though. He was so close to winning this, he could just feel it. He predicted about another month at the absolute longest before Granger fully gave in to him. Draco had a never ending list of his amazing abilities, and being able to swoon females was at the top. True, he had never put this much effort in with one, but the end results would be very rewarding. After this, he could go back to his promiscuous ways and living his life the way he saw fit. Now if only he could find a way to get rid of that annoying voice in his head that kept telling him this was wrong. What was that, his conscience? No, Malfoy's didn't have consciences.

He strolled in to potions and saw his target at the front, ready to start the lesson. Funny, he thought she'd be watching and waiting for him to come in. Oh well, Granger was a bit unconventional anyway.

Approaching their table, he found that Granger was not only not waiting for him, but she was reading. She was bloody reading! Did she not notice the God like Adonis standing right beside her? Who could possibly find a book more interesting than the sexy Slytherin Prince?

He plopped down in his seat, turned towards her, and cleared his throat rather loudly. She was incredibly absorbed in whatever was in that book, because he had to clear his throat two more times and finally resort to calling rather irately, "Granger!"

She jumped, then turned around to finally face him. "Geez Malfoy, you scared the life out of me! Why do you always have to sneak up on me like that?"

"I'm Slytherin, it's what we do. Sneakiness is implemented within all of us" he responded arrogantly.

"Yes, right alongside cockiness, smarminess, and haughtiness" she said sarcastically.

He chose not to comment to that, because honestly what she said was true, and proceed with his original plan. He was mildly surprised at her behavior, but Granger wasn't a huge flirt. She probably didn't even know how to do it. He supposed he was just going to have to provide the initiative for her, since she obviously wasn't going to.

Giving her his signature smirk, he leaned back in his chair and said, "So, Granger, miss me? It has been, what two days, since we last saw each other? You know, during our patrol." His smooth voice dipped low on the last word intentionally, and he watched her face for that adorable blush that was sure to come or for signs of her recognition to what specifically about the patrol he was referring to.

Instead, she only raised her eyebrows at him and gave him a look as though to say, 'And?'

Well, that was certainly…odd. No matter, he'd just have to step up the charm. "I do so enjoy our patrols you know" he continued. Classic flirting move; make them feel as though you're really into them. It gives them hope, and they act on it. "I look forward to them in fact."

Granger gave him a tiny smile, and he took that as a sign that his plan was working. "I'm sure you do too. After all, you get me all to yourself for at least an hour. Don't you know how many girls would kill to be in your position?"

She gave him a slight quizzical look, then responded with a nonchalant "Uh huh" and returned to reading her blasted book.

Draco stared at her dumbfounded. His face displayed utter bewilderment, with his jaw dropped to match. He had flirted with her, when she was the one who was supposed to be flirting with him, and she brushed him away in favor of that blasted book. Morgana's saggy tits, he knew she was an avid bookworm, but how in the world could she continue in her bookish ways when he was bestowing his attention upon her? What had the world come to?

Before he could say anything, Slughorn came in and had them brew an invisibility potion. It was slightly complicated, but as the two smartest students in their year, they'd brewed it perfectly and turned it in before everyone else. But rather than sitting and engaging in witty repartee as they usually did, Granger pulled that book out again and read away until the bell rang.

She continued with this bizarre behavior in all of their classes. He'd tried to step it up in Transfiguration by bringing up the patrol again in a suggestive tone. He even leaned down and whispered in her ear. He was pleased to notice that a shiver went down her spine, but she only gave him a quick fleeting smile and continued with their assignment. Blaise and Theo, much to his chagrin, had witnessed the entire scenario and promptly broke out in smug looks and upped their taunts.

Salazar, that girl had done it again! She completely proved him wrong and shoved all of his predictions out the window. There was no mention of what had nearly taken place at the end of patrol and on top of that, they weren't conversing as they usually did. She wasn't ignoring him out of spite as she had done in the beginning, she was just too busy bloody reading. He didn't even realize how much he enjoyed their conversation and banter until they weren't doing it.

By lunch, he had all but decided to just throw his hands up and claim defeat. Why oh why did Granger have to be so fucking different?! And what's worse, why was he so damn intrigued by it? He shook his head to clear his mind of all thoughts, and walked to the Great Hall. Today was the day his mother sent her weekly letter along with his treat supply. After this confusing morning, he needed a bloody cauldron cake or he was going to go insane.

XOXOXOXOXO

Hermione had reached Ancient Runes before anyone else, as usual, and opened her book to pick up where she had left off. She was absolutely fascinated by it! It was the same one she'd picked up in Hogsmeade about the human mind and psychology, and she'd been reading it since then. It was quite a lengthy book, but it was very in depth and she absorbed all the information like a sponge.

This was now the third day since she'd begun reading it, but she had only made it about halfway into the book. Usually she read much faster than that, but she had been making notes and going back to reread sentences so as not to miss even the smallest thing.

Just as she was reading a very interesting passage about the brain's reward center, the book was suddenly snatched from her hands and a very annoyed looking Malfoy was staring down at her.

"Malfoy! What are you doing? Give that back!" she said reaching for the book.

He didn't listen to her, and only held the book higher out of her reach. "Two days Granger. Two bloody days you've been off in your own world reading this book! What has possibly gotten you so enraptured that you don't notice anything going on around you?" he asked, turning the book over to look at the cover. "The Human Mind and Psychological Studies? This is what you've been ignoring me for?"

His irritated tone puzzled her, seeing as she couldn't understand why he cared so much when she ignored him. It annoyed him at the beginning of the year, and it annoyed him now. She would ponder over this later, but for now all she wanted was her book back.

"It's a very interesting read and I was just at the part pertaining to the brain's reward system regarding behavior" she defended, still trying to extract the book from him with no success.

Draco scoffed as he leafed through it. "This book is thicker than all of our text books combined. And it looks just as boring. How can you possibly be interested in this when you've got me as a partner?"

She gave up trying to reach for the book and chose a different tactic; she stomped on his foot. Malfoy let out a pained "Oomph!" and reached down to hold his injured foot, and she was finally able to grab the book from him.

Ignoring his pointed glare, Hermione answered "Unlike you, this book gives interesting facts and research development. It's a definite improvement from listening to 'I'm Draco Malfoy, and I'm the greatest thing that's ever lived' mess that you tend to sprout off."

"Granger, I am the greatest thing that ever lived" Draco replied, rolling his foot and deeming it okay to put weight on it. How did a girl so small have the ability to inflict so much pain? "And that still doesn't answer why you're so into it."

"I need to be well educated in the functions of the body if I'm going to be a Healer one day" she replied.

Draco gave her an impressed look. A Healer? Wow, that was an impressive and tough career choice. But then again, this was Granger they were talking about.

"A Healer? I never pegged you as going down that career path. I always assumed you'd start up some organization for lowly creatures. What was that one you started up in fourth year, S.P.E.W or something?"

Hermione gave him a surprised look. "You remember that?" She didn't think Malfoy had been aware of it, and was also impressed that he pronounced it right. Even Ron still referred to it as spew.

Draco shrugged. "Hard to forget something that bloody ridiculous."

She huffed at him. "It wasn't ridiculous, and I still very much support the rights of House Elves! However, I've always wanted to go into the medical field and decided to become a Healer back in third year."

"Guess you're well submersed in the ability to heal, what with fixing up Potty and Weasel's cuts and scrapes."She opened her mouth to berate him, but he continued. "I must say Granger, I am rather impressed. The Healer training program only accepts the most intelligent individuals, but of course you'd definitely be top choice. Hell, you'll probably come out of it with the highest marks they've ever seen."

Hermione smiled and blushed at his compliments. His approval of her career choice and actual compliment made her heart soar, and those pesky feelings return. Still, it felt nice to be encouraged and praised for her abilities.

"Thanks, but I won't be joining the Healer program directly after graduation. It'll have to wait a few years" she said taking a seat at their table.

Draco gave her a confused look and followed suit in his own chair. "Why not?"

She sighed. "Do you know how expensive it is to get into their program? I've been saving up for a while now, but I'm still nowhere close to how much it's going to cost. I'll probably have to work at the Ministry for a little while until I can get all the money needed to afford their tuition."

He'd heard about how expensive it was, but he figured they would make an exception for a war heroine like Granger. "Didn't you receive money from the ministry for all your help last year?" he asked.

Granger shook her head. "The Ministry funds were devastated after the war. We're already indebted to a few other countries, so Harry, Ron, and I refused the money they tried to offer us. They would have had to cut funds from employee salaries, and it just wouldn't have been right."

Draco highly doubted that that was true and figured that they were just told that by some Ministry big shot to avoid giving them any compensation. They'd practically ransacked all the Death Eater's vaults once they put them in Azkaban, including the Malfoy's at first, and were funding their own projects or increasing their salaries. Despite everything that happened last year, the Ministry was still full of corrupt individuals.

"Well, what about your parents? Won't they help you out at all?" He pushed.

A strange look crossed her features, one that he couldn't quite decipher. "Well…um, my mom is a dental assistant-it's like a Healer, only they specialize in teeth" she added at his confused look. "She can help me out a little bit, but not much. She's still trying to pay off …um…things from our past."

That certainly was a very cryptic message. It was almost like she was trying to give him a bare minimum response, because he felt like there was more to that story. He also noticed that she only referred to her mother, and didn't even mention her father. Why was that?

"Anyway, I'll probably work in something like the Department of Magical Law Enforcement until I can save up enough. After all, it's not like the magical world hands out scholarships." She continued, and he immediately picked up on her trying to change the subject.

"What's a scholarship?" he asked.

"A scholarship is something muggles come up with to reward those who have done well academically, or have amazing talents at sports, music, or any type of hobby so they can go on to further their educations. Basically, they give you money so that you can afford to go on to a University, which are very expensive, much like the Healer training program." She explained.

"Muggles just hand out free money?" he asked bewildered.

She shook her head. "They don't just hand it out, you have to earn it. Some of us weren't born into immense wealth and riches you know" she said with a pointed look. "If you work hard for excellent grades, they offer you help financially so that you can go on to have your dream career and what not."

Draco pondered over her explanation. This scholarship business seemed like it had some merit to it. Rewarding the most intelligent people in the grade for being above all the others? That sounded just like a Malfoy's forte. It had to do on pure talent and abilities, not favoritism. That meant he could reap the rewards over Pothead and Weaslebee in both academics and quidditch, considering he was much better than those dunderheads in both areas.

Before he could say much more about it, the rest of the students filed in followed by the teacher and class began. He and Granger once again got the highest grades for the day, but other than a 'Good job' from the professor, there wasn't much recognition for their achievements. There was no incentive to make them continue working towards the goal. If there was something that could be gotten out of it, like these scholarships, he felt like a lot more students would put forth more of an effort.

Everyone finished their assignment rather early, so the professor allowed the class the rest of the time to talk. Granger immediately went to pull her book back out, but Draco was having none of that. He snatched it back up before she had time to even open it.

"Oh no you don't Granger, I'll not stand for you ignoring me anymore because of this bloody book!" Once again he held the book away from her, but this time he kept his feet away from hers.

Looking at him now with the slight pout to his lips, and the petulant look on his face, Hermione had to fight the urge to laugh. He almost looked like a small child begging for attention, or a puppy wanting to be played with. It was so adorable, but she had a feeling he wouldn't appreciate her saying that.

"Oh Malfoy, if you wanted to spend time with me that much, all you had to do was say so" she said, giving him his smirk. It was scary how quickly she'd picked that up, but he was also secretly proud.

"Dare I say it Granger, you actually make pretty satisfying conversation. And I know I do as well, which is why I can't seem to understand why you choose to read in my presence." She giggled at that, and he felt instantly pleased with himself. Since when did Draco Malfoy have to compete with a book to get a female's bloody attention?

Granger shook her head at him, but she couldn't deny how much she enjoyed talking with him as well. "Come to think of it, we do have an essay to complete for Herbology due in three days. Want to meet in the library tomorrow to start working on it?"

He gave her a mock surprise look. "Do my ears deceive me? Surely the great Hermione Granger did not put off writing an essay until only three days before it's due? Quick, someone alert the media!"

She huffed and lightly smacked his arms. "Oh, stop being such a prat! Do you want to meet or not?"

With a smirk, he leaned down close to her face and said, "Geez Granger, calm down. If you wanted to spend time with me that much, all you had to do was say so."

XOXOXOXOXO

Hermione was in a very good mood after that. Really, she was in an extraordinary mood. Not even when she was sitting in the common room across from Ron and Lavender who looked like they were doing some bizarre mating ritual that required them trying to eat each other's faces off did her mood diminish. And she hadn't a clue as to why.

Okay, that was untrue. She knew exactly why, and it all had to do with Malfoy. Wow, she never thought she'd say that in a million years, but it was the truth. He'd gone from being the bane of her existence to a tentative ally which had grown to friend and now secret crush in the span of only three months. Yes, she could finally admit it to herself now she definitely had a crush on Draco Malfoy. Did that mean she had to join his fan club?

She finally accepted it when he'd taken her book twice in Ancient Runes and specifically said he didn't like how she was ignoring him. She hadn't been ignoring him on purpose, nor was she even aware that she was doing so. But he had noticed and it obviously affected him, whether he said so or not. He wanted to converse with her and even said he enjoyed doing so. She must not have been as boring as she thought after all!

Her acceptance of her feelings kept causing her to think back to their patrol that night. He'd kept bringing it up in their classes at the beginning of the week, but she'd downplayed it, still not quite sure what to make of it. Had she been wrong? Was he honestly going to kiss her? And if so, did that mean that he had feelings for her as well? Maybe he did and that's why he kept alluding to it. It could possibly be one of his flirting techniques. She wouldn't know, seeing how she wasn't very good when it came to that sort of thing.

She didn't know if he felt anything more than friendship for her, but she sure wasn't going to ask him about it. If she was wrong, which there was still a very strong possibility that she was, it might make things incredibly awkward between them, and possibly mess up their newfound friendship altogether. She was most definitely not about to risk that. She enjoyed the time they spent together way too much to give it up because of her inability to fully read the situation. No, she would just continue with him as always and secretly admire from afar. Now if only she could control the riotous butterflies that arose in her stomach every time she was around him, or even thought of him.

She stood up from the couch and made her way to the portrait hole to go to dinner. A smile was plastered to her face and she began humming the tune to the newest Weird Sister's song. She passed by a couple of third years who looked at her as though she'd flown off her rocker, but she paid them no mind.

"Hermione, wait up!" she heard, and turned around to see Ginny coming down the steps and rushing towards her. "Figured we could walk to dinner together. You've been sort of distant lately since you got that new book" Ginny said good naturedly.

"Yeah, so I've heard" she responded, ignoring Ginny's inquisitive look, and practically floating down the hall. Ginny raised her eyebrows at her friend's odd behavior, wondering what in the world had her acting like a damn woodland fairy.

"Are you feeling okay Hermione? You're acting kind of…strange" the redhead said, continuing to watch her with a confused look.

"Oh, I'm great Gin. Really. How about you? How's your day been so far" Hermione replied, giving her friend her full attention. The last thing she needed was to be acting noticeably out of character lest Ron and Harry start asking questions. She could probably give Ron some made up excuse, but if Harry didn't believe her, he'd interrogate and possibly stalk her to get to the bottom of her odd behavior. He was definitely going to be Head Auror one day.

"Well, it's been pretty good so far" Ginny began, still watching Hermione carefully as they reached the Great Hall and began fixing their plates. "This morning in Care of Magical Creatures, Hagrid had us taking care of this Thestral/Hippogriff species and we…"

Hippogriff. That reminded her of the time in third year when Malfoy had gotten scratched by Buckbeak. Of course he still swears to this day that it attacked him, but honestly he was being such a baby about the whole thing. Looking back on it now it was actually quite comical. She'd have to remind him of it when they met in the library tomorrow.

"…and then in Herbology, Professor Sprout had us potting some kind of snapping plant, and Blaise got too close…"

Blaise. That was one of Malfoy's best friends, along with Theo Nott. They were definite improvements from Crabbe and Goyle, and Ginny was definitely into Blaise. Maybe he had a secret side just like Malfoy, and he obviously treated her friend well. They must have been wrong about those Slytherins. They were definitely better when they didn't have their parents and crazy psychopaths breathing down their necks and telling them how to think. Obviously they'd changed their views and weren't into all of that pureblood supremacy mess anymore. She was so glad of this because it allowed her to see them in a different light, especially Malfoy.

"…and Harry started shagging Ron in the locker room…"

You know, speaking of Harry and Ron, she knew they wouldn't be happy if they knew their best friend was crushing on their school nemesis. They'd probably try to raise a lot of hell about it, but she found herself just not caring. Malfoy wasn't the same snot nosed kid he'd been in years prior and despite how Ron continued to try and depict him, Malfoy was not purely evil. He definitely had redeeming qualities about him.

"…with Filch prancing around in a leotard, and Malfoy announced to the whole castle that he's begun an incestual relationship with his mother-"

"What!?" Hermione nearly shouted, coming out of her musings and staring wide eyed at a now guffawing Ginny. She hadn't even realized how much she'd zoned out until she heard Ginny mention the very person her thoughts had been centering around.

"Merlin Hermione!" the redhead exclaimed once she'd gotten her laughter under control. "I knew I'd lost you somewhere at the beginning of that conversation, but I had no idea just how far gone you actually were. And to think it was only when I said something about Malfoy that brought you back! Why is that? You're not harboring a secret crush on him, are you?" she asked, waggling her eyebrows at Hermione teasingly.

"What? No! Of course not!" Hermione responded laughing nervously. Her face had now gone quite red, and her eye contact with Ginny dropped, a sure sign that her friends knew meant she was lying. Even worse, her gaze drifted over towards the Slytherin table and settled on her blonde patrol partner who was laughing about something with Blaise, Theo, and even that Daphne Greengrass girl. As though he could feel her eyes on him, he turned his head and met her stare head on. They remained that way for all of three seconds before his smirk crawled back on his face and he gave a wink in her direction.

Hermione dropped her gaze, blushing all the more furiously but feeling incredibly elated at the same time. She'd seen him give that wink to many girls, but this one she felt was different. When he winked at his fan club, he was just giving one out in the general direction to all the girls. This one however, was meant specifically for her and she'd been the only one to see it. Except of course for her female friend sitting right beside her, who had seen the whole thing, wink included.

"Wait a minute…" she said looking Hermione up and down, then turning back and looking at Malfoy, completely ignoring her secret boyfriend who was watching her watch Malfoy with a confused look on his face. "Hermione…you don't actually like him…do you?"

"I…no, Gin that's crazy! I just…I…well, I-" Hermione spluttered.

"Oh my God, you do! You so do!" Ginny exclaimed again, a huge grin spreading across her face.

Hermione instantly clamped a hand over her friend's mouth and shushed her. "Ginerva Weasley! Will you keep your voice down? I don't want the whole castle knowing my business!"

Ginny shoved her hand away. "So you admit it? You do like him?" she said again, only much quieter.

Hermione sighed. There was absolutely no way she could lie out of this one and the cat was already pretty much out of the bag. "I…may have started to feel…something a little stronger than friendship for him."

"Oh Hermione, this is wonderful! How did this happen? Does he like you too? Are you guys secretly dating? Why didn't you bother to tell me? We never keep secrets from each other, you know that! How long has-"

The brunette witch clamped her hand over her friend's mouth again to stop all the questions that were spewing out. Merlin, and people called her insufferable! "One question at a time please Gin. No, we're not secretly dating, and I don't know if he feels that way about me or not. With him, I've learned you can never be sure about anything."

"Well, how does he act around you?" Ginny persisted.

"He's nice to me" she replied. "Definitely better than he's been the last seven years. And we're friends now. We see each other in a different light and we're learning things about the other. But that could just be him being nice Gin. It doesn't mean he has any romantic feelings towards me."

Ginny nodded understandingly, but the grin was still very much on her face. From his reputation and even things Blaise had said if their conversation ever reverted back to the snarky blonde, Draco wasn't really 'friends' with the female population. Really not even friends with benefits considering he didn't stick around once he'd gotten what he wanted from the girl. So for the both of them to have established that relationship, led her to believe the ever promiscuous Draco Malfoy might feel more for her friend than he was letting on, and she in turn would get the confidence boost she seemed to be lacking.

"So, you didn't answer my question of how this happened" Ginny pushed, deciding to keep her inner thoughts to herself…for now.

Before Hermione could reply, Ron, Harry, and Lavender strolled in and took their places at the table. Hermione shot a look at Ginny that clearly meant she didn't want to say anything more on the matter right now, and Ginny nodded once to show her understanding. After all, the boys wouldn't understand this new development and Ron would go ape shit crazy if he knew. But that didn't mean Ginny wasn't going to pester Hermione for all the juicy details later on in their dormitory.

AN: Yay, at least one of them can now admit they've got a crush on the other! By the way, I'm not sure if Ginny's real name is Ginerva or Ginevra, as I've seen it both ways on ff, so I just went with the first one. I hope that's right. Review please!