A/N: Hope you like it!

Hermione stretched her hand for a moment in class, truly wondering why she had decided to take notes by hand that day instead of using her self-writing Quill.

That day she was stuck in Advanced Healing Properties, which was undoubtedly the most boring of all of her classes. Whilst the subject itself was interesting, the professor — an old, grey-haired wizard by the name of Professor Sato — was about as thrilling to listen to as Professor Binns.

He was a brilliant wizard, just a tad dreary in his old age.

Muffling a yawn with the back of her other hand, Hermione carried on taking notes whilst trying not to glance to the seats on the left of the classroom. Specifically at one particular person. At the start of term she remembered asking herself why he was even taking the class. To her knowledge he was in Auror Training, meaning he'd absolutely no need for a class on Healing Properties, but she assumed he was simply trying to keep his options open for the time being.

Given that they only had this class once a week, it was longer than most.

There was still one hour left, after nearly three of sitting there quietly, focusing all of her energy on pretending as though he didn't exist.

They weren't necessarily on bad terms, but they'd not spoken a word to each other all month. In fact he had gone out of his way to walk past her a few times as though he couldn't see her in the corridors. She wasn't sure why he was avoiding her like this, but she figured it had something to do with Astoria and Ron getting together.

After speaking to Ron, she had come to learn that Astoria and Ferret Boy were in fact involved in some way, at least they were before the younger witch had decided to start dating Ron instead.

Hermione assumed that he'd needed time to heal the first few days, but after a month of this, she had slowly come to accept the fact that he wanted nothing to do with her anymore.

In the back of her mind she didn't understand it.

It wasn't her fault that Ron and Astoria had started dating. She wasn't all that comfortable with it herself, but she was also adult enough to set aside her own personal feelings and be happy for the couple. The morning after the engagement party, she and Ron had decided to officially part ways. Although she was sad to leave her first real relationship behind, and although she had owled him a drunken letter after a night out with Ginny — a letter in which she'd asked that they not speak so she could truly get over him — deep down she was glad that he'd found Astoria.

They were better suited for each other than she and Ron ever had been.

Once she'd accepted that and decided to focus on school, it was easier to move on.

Sucking in deeply she carried on writing, muttering a quick shit under her breath as the tip of her Quill snapped against her parchment.

Within seconds her notes were spattered in black ink.

A few of the other students glanced in her direction, exchanging looks with another as she pulled her wand out and tried to clean the spattered ink from her parchment as best she could. Of course it was too late and her notes were ruined, but she kept at it, trying over and over again until she felt a tap on her shoulder.

Glancing back, she was surprised to find Theodore Nott sitting directly behind her. "Er …"

He leaned forward, into her ear. "I'll let you make a copy of mine after class."

For a moment she had no idea what he was referring to. Only as she glanced down at her notes, did the pieces fall into place. "Oh," she mouthed, hurriedly smiling to him in thanks before she turned back around and started fresh, doing what little she could in the last hour.

Once the class had finished, there was a low rumble of footsteps and voices as the students made their way through the doors on the sides of the classroom.

Hermione stayed behind a moment, sliding her books and parchment into her bag before slinging it onto one shoulder and proceeding towards the nearest door.

Through the corner of her eye, she spotted a pale blond head of hair headed directly for the same door, walking towards her as though he had no idea that she was standing there. Tensing up just a little bit, she turned away and pretended to look for something in her bookbag, startled as she felt someone stop right next to her.

"Here are the notes," Nott swiftly interjected, breaking the witch's concentration as she looked to him, unsure as to whether she was relieved to see that it was him.

With a smile, Hermione made a copy of his notes and slid them into her bookbag. "Thanks," she made sure to say, sincerely. "I don't know what happened to me back there."

Nott shrugged it off as if it were nothing, falling into step with Hermione as they walked through the corridors together. "It happens to the best of us," he offered to her, kindly. "Anyway, I was … well, I was wondering if maybe you were thinking of going to Phuket with us this weekend."

"Right," Hermione remembered, having shoved all of that into the back of her mind the previous night. "I'm quite sure Parkinson doesn't want me there."

"Don't worry about her," Nott said to the witch reassuringly, as if it were that simple. "The resort is so massive, you won't have to breathe the same air as her if you don't want to."

The more she thought about it, the more she really did want to go, but she couldn't allow herself to actually accept the invitation knowing it was only extended to her as part of a drinking bet.

"It's her birthday …"

"Oh, believe me, we'd have gone even if it wasn't her birthday," Nott added, quite convincingly. "The rain here has been nonstop. It's time for some sun. Don't you think?"

Hermione scrunched her lips to the side, in thought. "I don't know … I'm not sure that I really fit in with your friends."

"Nonsense. Blaise and Tracey really want you to come, and so does …" Glancing ahead as a tall, blond-haired wizard walked past them, Nott quickly called out to him. "Draco! Draco, over here! I'm trying to convince Hermione to come to Phuket with us tomorrow!"

Chest in knots Hermione darted a look over her shoulder as if contemplating whether it would be easier to simply make a run for it. She wasn't trying to avoid him by any means, but she'd a good feeling that he was in fact trying to avoid her, and she had no immediate desire to force any kind of conversation on him when he clearly had no interest in talking to her.

Only as he turned his head around, spotting them in the crowded corridor, did Hermione glance quickly in his direction.

He looked good.

In a healthy, well-rested sense.

I wonder if he and Parkinson really did go for round two in the supply closet.

Hurriedly brushing the thought aside, she looked away again, pretending to check the time on her wristwatch as Malfoy reluctantly made his way over.

"I was just telling Hermione here that she should join us in Phuket tomorrow," Nott explained. "I have a feeling we'll need a Muggle-born there to help us out anyway. For whatever reason Blaise insisted we book a Muggle resort."

"We managed just fine in Whistler last year," Malfoy coolly inserted.

Hermione flicked a look at him, uttering the first and only words that came to mind. "So sorry to break it to you, but Whistler is completely different from Phuket. You might know that if you'd dare step out of your English speaking bubble for once."

With a snort, he looked her up and down. "I happen to speak five languages, thanks."

"The translation charm doesn't count."

"Did I say anything about the translation charm?"

"You didn't have to."

Nott glanced between them, his eyes widening just a bit. "Er … I thought you two were friends."

"We're not," they said at once, glancing to Nott and then to each other, both of them rolling their eyes at each other at the same time.

Without missing a beat Malfoy tightened his grip on his bookbag. "I've got Quidditch practice in ten minutes," he then said, clearly just making an excuse to leave. "I'll see you at the Port Key tomorrow, Theo."

Hermione narrowed her eyes at that, glancing to Nott in the seconds after. "Do you know what? I change my mind. I would love to go to Phuket with you lot."

For a moment Nott blanked, clearly confused as to what had just happened. "You're just coming to annoy Draco, aren't you?"

"Maybe."

"Well, in that case, we're leaving at two o'clock."

"Brilliant," she uttered to him, decidedly. "I'll see you then."

"Wait!" Nott called out to her, just as she was about to leave.

Stopping in her tracks, Hermione glanced back at him. "Is … something the matter?"

There was a hesitant twitch along his bottom lip before he tilted his head down, sliding a hand in his bookbag from where he retrieved a small, rectangular box. "I, erm … I know this is weird of me to ask considering the fact that I asked you out twice and that we kissed in a bathroom once, but I really need a witch's opinion on something," he explained, handing the box to Hermione. "I bought it a couple of weeks ago from a small shop in London."

Looking curiously at the box, Hermione carefully took hold of it, opening the lid to find a silver necklace. It was cute and simple, and decorated with a flower shaped pendant. For a split second she had no idea which flower, only realizing in the seconds after.

Pansy.

Before the brunette could say something, Nott rubbed the back of his neck, just a tad bit anxious. "I know it's not much, but … I figure she'll appreciate the thought," he went on to say. "What do you think?"

Sparing only a moment of thought, Hermione smiled to him, genuinely. "I think she'll like it … a lot."

"Really? She can be quite picky sometimes."

"If she has any semblance of a heart inside that massive chest of hers … I would go so far to say she'll love it," Hermione furthered, handing the box back to him with a soft, knowing glint in her eyes. "As long as you tell her how you feel."

Nott swallowed a bit at the sound of that, tucking the box in his bookbag. "Is it that obvious?"

"You bought her a pansy necklace for her birthday. That's about as obvious as it gets," Hermione joked, lightly.

Chuckling, he nodded along. "I suppose you're right."

"So, how long have you felt this way?" she went on to ask, falling into step with him again.

He shrugged, the faintest trace of colour along his cheeks. "Longer than I would care to admit."

Having gathered as much, Hermione chose her next words carefully. "Is there … a reason you've never told her?"

"Er … not quite, I just … she's always had her sights set on Draco, hasn't she?"

She supposed he had a point there. "I don't mean to be rude, but … what is it about her that you like? I'm sure she's a lovely person to her friends and all. I've just never seen that side of her."

"That's a good question," Nott sighed, giving it a moment of thought as they proceeded down the stairs and towards the dormitories. "I think I just … I've always admired that she does what she wants regardless of what other people think. If there's a drink, she'll pound it. If there's a table, she'll dance on it. If there's a joke, she'll crack it before any of us have any idea what's going on …" The colour of his eyes brightened just a little as he thought of her. "I know she can be kind of difficult sometimes, but she's there for her friends when we need her, and if you look past all of the frowns and eye rolls, she's just a normal girl who wants the people around her to be happy."

With a quick glance at the wizard, Hermione could see that he meant every word of what he had said. "That's really sweet."

"Sorry," he apologized after, blushing deeply. "I-I don't know where all of that came from."

"There's no need to apologize. It's nice that you put so much thought into the gift," she offered to him, honestly. "Now I want to go to Phuket just to see the sparks that fly between you two when you give her the necklace."

Nott chuckled at that. "I guess we'll see what happens."

"Let's hope for the best," Hermione added, kindly.

Draco stormed into the Dining Hall, slumping down by Blaise and Tracey as they looked to him, taken aback by the speed and force with which he'd sat down.

"Er … what the fuck happened to you?" Blaise gently inquired, lifting an eyebrow at his friend.

For moment Draco said nothing, just fuming from the inside. "First of all, who is she to say that I live in a bubble when she's the one who spends all of her time in the library?" he snapped, fixing a look at his friends as if waiting for them respond, only to carry on before they could utter even a word. "Second, why is she giving me attitude anyway? All I've done is stay out of her way like she asked me to."

The couple exchanged a quick look of concern, Tracey eventually asking. "Who are you talking about?"

"Granger obviously!" Draco shouted, just a touch louder than he'd intended.

There were more than a few looks tossed in his direction, bringing him down a couple of notches as he took a deep breath and forced himself to relax.

Blaise smirked. "Our little Draco has it bad."

"Don't make fun of him," Tracey gently chided, looking to the blond in the seconds after. "She's invited to Phuket. Maybe if she decides to come along, you can talk to her about —"

"I have nothing to say to her," Draco interjected, swiftly.

Giving his friend an obvious look, Blaise decided to just say it. "You've been an absolute shit to us for a month now. Whatever it is that Granger said to you in that letter, surely it's not worth … all of this," he uttered, motioning to the unamused look on his friend's face.

"You think so?" Draco asked, fuming all over again as he reached inside his bookbag and yanked the letter out, as though he'd kept it there with him all that time. "Have a look for yourself."

Blaise caught it with one hand, unfolding the single sheet of parchment as Tracey leaned in for a look as well.

We had a good run, but it's over now. I think it's best that we go our separate ways … fully. No contact.

Hermione.

Although Draco hadn't read the letter in a couple of weeks, he knew every word.

It wasn't all that different from the letter that he'd asked Theo to give to her before he'd left for London, but it wasn't the letter itself that bothered him. Mostly it was the fact that she was acting as though he'd done something wrong, as though she hadn't specifically asked him not to contact her.

Suffice to say he had no idea what was going on anymore.

"What does she mean by a good run?" Blaise asked, breaking the other wizard's train of thought. "Did … something happen between you two?"

With a shrug, Draco pocketed the letter as his friend handed it back to him. "We kissed a couple of times," he explained, downplaying it just so he wouldn't have to hear about it endlessly for the next few days.

The couple glanced to each other again, this time decidedly.

"If she ends up coming to Phuket with us, will you promise that you won't be mean to everyone the whole time?" Tracey quietly asked.

Draco snapped a look at the witch. "When have I ever been mean?" he asked without thinking, bringing a twitch of laughter to the couple's faces and then quickly to his own. "Okay, okay … I … I'll try."

A/N: Thanks for reading! I hope this chapter explained a few things lmao. Thoughts?