CHAPTER 3

Midterm season before Halloween, middle of October 1997

"I'm telling you. It's going to take a while."

Theo sat with his jaw hanging. "She didn't fall for the wet-hair trick?"

"She was unwavering," Draco said, running a hand through his locks, which were dry now, of course. "No, there's no getting what I want through purely physical seduction right off the bat. The way to that woman is through her brain and her brain alone."

Blaise laughed. "Alright. Meaning?"

Draco smiled. "Meaning we're changing the play. It's time to get into her mind a little more. Get to her… intellectually." He found his gaze landing on the Gryffindor table, across the Great Hall where Hermione said, smiling at something the Weaselette was saying. In her hand was a crisp red apple, which she lifted and sunk her teeth into, mid-grin over something Potter had quipped.

Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. Draco looked down at the apple in his own palm, the smooth green flesh sparking his neurons and lighting his face up with a grin.

Theo groaned. "Please do not make us watch you molest that apple. You get so weird about apples, I don't know why you're always looking at them like that-"

"Nott, this isn't about apples. Well, it is. It's my ticket to the beach house."

.*.*.*.

Draco had snuck off to Hogsmeade the second classes were over in order to get a head start. Granger had an extra class on Thursdays, so it was the perfect time for him to do his dirty work and set the scene back at their dormitory.

First thing back at Hogwarts, he went into the Head Prefects office and straightened up any extra papers that may have been on his desk. Then he plucked the almost-new box of chocolate quills off the edge of Hermione's. They wouldn't be needing those anymore. With a touch of his wand, they had vanished, and he grabbed the extra box he had in his desk drawer and stashed it away in his trunk.

Then he pulled out the bag of apple hard candy he had secured from Honeyduke's and Accio'd a small bowl to set them in. The rest he dispersed between his cloak pocket, his book bag, and another bowl in his private room.

See, two summers ago Draco had gone through a sudden phase of interest in Muggles and their intriguing, puny world. Without magic to guide them, they depended heavily on science and invention, which carried them through decently enough. What Draco was thinking about was a particular set of experiments conducted by a particular Ivan Petrovich Pavlov, which involved dogs and bells and salivation. Conditioning, Draco recalled. The idea had fascinated him and it took just a few moments during that brief stroke of genius at breakfast to concoct a plan for conditioning Hermione Granger-no magic needed, just good old-fashioned psychology... and sweets, something he knew by now Granger was fond of.

When Granger came strolling into the dormitory after classes, Draco was already prepared for their quick debrief meeting for next week. Noticing him in the office, Granger stopped to poke her head in. "What are you doing?"

"Checking my conflicts," Draco responded with an apple candy in his mouth, slightly garbling his speech.

"Oh."

She stepped into the office, seeming to notice the lack of chocolate quills. She picked up a candy from the bowl on the desk, curiously examining the label, hint of disappointment on her face. "What are these?"

"Candy."

"What kind?"

"From Honeyduke's. Plain old apple candy."

Rather unhesitatingly, Hermione unwrapped it, popping it into her mouth. "Oh. These are good," she commented absentmindedly.

"Good," Draco had almost responded. Instead, he held his tongue. "I like them better than the chocolates," he settled on.

"Mmm," Hermione said.

And that was that.

Hermione stepped further into the office and sat down in her chair, glancing at the papers on her clipboard. "Let's get started quickly, I have my Charms exam tomorrow and I'd really like to get some extra time with the study guide."

This was going to be easier than Draco thought. He knew she would bring up the very topic he needed her to. In some ways, she was incredibly predictable.

"You really don't feel ready?" Draco teased, adjusting the candy bowl on the edge of the desk. "I feel Charms is quite easy this year. Rather intuitive."

Hermione disguised a scowl. "I don't think one can ever be too prepared for an exam."

"But it's Charms," Draco argued lightheartedly.

"Studying is still important," Hermione argued back.

"I have a theory," Draco replied, "that one can overprepare. Especially in a subject that should come pretty naturally with an understanding of basic foundational principles."

"My 'overpreparing' is probably why I have better grades than you," Hermione grumbled, eliciting a jolt of anger from the Slytherin. While this was all exactly according to his plan, her comment still irked him to the core. Evident from their position as Head Boy and Girl, grades were something both of them were almost-matched at. He had seen the gradebooks himself. He knew they were almost neck-and-neck. Draco's face darkened.

"What if we put that theory to a little test? An experiment, shall we say." He looked her down. "To see who gets the better grade on the exam."

This piqued Hermione's interest. "Are you suggesting an academic competition with me?"

"Your inflated arrogance gets old quick, Gryffindor. It doesn't look good on you," he snarked. "Yes, I'm saying let's make a bet."

"A bet on who's going to get the better grade?"

"I think it could be enlightening."

Granger studied his face, as if deciding whether or not she wanted to humor him. "Alright. What's the deal?"

Draco's lips twitched into the tiniest smirk. He couldn't give it away too soon. He had to make her think this was spontaneous. After a moment of pretend thought, he cleared his throat. "Whoever gets the better grade gets a favor from the loser. Whatever they want."

Hermione watched him for a moment, contemplating the offer. "Like, I could have you do all the paperwork for a month."

Draco sat forward in his seat, knowing he had to tone this down so that the both of them would be willing to agree. "The favor can't be anything excessive. A month of paperwork falls under that category. Perhaps a week, that would be… hellish enough."

Hermione seemed to be thinking quietly. She reached forward to grab another apple candy and it was near silent in the room as she unwrapped it and put it in her mouth.

"Sure," Hermione agreed through the candy, something that almost caused Draco to laugh. "But like you said. No extremes. Even though it would be extremely fun to have you do my paperwork for the rest of the semester."

"Deal, then?"

"Deal," she agreed.

Draco stuck out his hand.

At the contact of their palms meeting, Draco thought about how that was perhaps the only real time their skin had ever pleasantly touched before. As he gripped her small hand in his and she looked at him challengingly, he briefly let himself wonder what the rest of her skin might feel like.

It was only natural, since that's where he was headed.

.*.*.*.

Hermione could barely hide her bubbling excitement as she quickly folded her test results in Charms. She didn't want to give away her winning score when there was plenty of time to let Malfoy think he was going to win, before showing him her 100% and seeing the shock and disappointment on his face. So she hid her results and tried to seem normal, maybe even somber, as she turned and watched Professor Flitwick set down Malfoy's test on his desk a few behind her and to the right. He glanced at the score before turning it over then meeting Hermione's gaze. His eyebrows raised at her before returning to their normal smug position, as he looked around the rest of the room as if bored. Hermione turned back around in her seat.

"Good job on the test, everyone," Flitwick said, returning to the front of the room. "We had some very high scores and... some unfortunately low ones. If you need to retake the test, please see me after class. For now, you are dismissed."

Released from the last class of the day, Hermione grabbed her bag and stood up, brushing past Malfoy's desk. There was no way she would consort with him in public unnecessarily, but it was hard to refrain from comparing their tests until they were back in their dormitory. Fortunately, she didn't have to be the one to initiate. A familiar presence fell into step with her in the hallway, a piece of folded paper in his hand.

"So," Malfoy said quietly. "I'd like to see you beat what I received."

Hermione shouldered her book bag. "I guess we'll have to see once we get back."

"Why not now?"

"I've got places to be," Hermione said, smiling straight ahead.

She could feel Malfoy rolling his eyes. "Hot date?"

She finally looked up at him. "Wouldn't you like to know?" she said haughtily as she disappeared off down the hall, towards the Gryffindor Common Room where she would be privately gloating as she met up with her friends.

.*.*.*.

"'Mione!"

Hermione almost dropped her book bag, running towards her friends gathered on the couches in front of the fire. She practically leaped at Ginny who embraced her in a hug.

"We've missed you at these study sessions," Harry said, scooting over to allow her more room to join them on the couch.

"Well, that's the drawback to being the most important girl in the school," Ginny replied for Hermione, patting her on the back. "At least we get the pleasure of your presence at mealtimes."

"How've you been?" Ron asked through a mouthful of candy.

"Oh, fine. Just got a lot to do. Hopefully we'll be able to get into a full rhythm soon and I'll have more time to spend with you all."

"Hopefully you can get next Friday off," said Harry, winking.

"Next Friday?"

"The Halloween party," Ginny half-whispered, leaning in and grinning.

"Oh," Hermione said, raising her eyebrows.

"For upper-forms only. We're blocking it off from all the students who are underage. So, you can't shut us down. And you can't get in trouble for making an appearance."

"Aw, you didn't have to do that for me," Hermione said.

Harry brushed it off. "It's probably good we don't start providing substances to minors illegally anyways. We're all this close to being expelled after all the stuff we put on our records the first few years here."

"Fair enough," Hermione said. "I'll see if I can get out of work."

"You'll see?" Ron exclaimed. "We're making the party legal for you. You're obligated to come."

Hermione laughed. "I might know a way to make sure I can be there."

.*.*.*.

"You'll be working my Halloween Friday shift. No one else can cover based on the schedule, so that's your favor to me."

Draco stared at the Gryffindor, truly believing her evil now. He would have taken paperwork or cleaning or any menial embarrassing chore she wanted him to do. But taking away his Friday night, let alone a holiday one, was purely cruel.

Okay, sure, he had made sure to botch one of the questions on the test so that he got a 98% and she got 100%, he had made sure to act like he thought he was going to win, and he had planned this smug reaction from her all along, but it still didn't help that he was going to have to decline the invite to the Slytherin All Hallow's Eve kickback, which was sure to be a most fantastic party, as were all Slytherin events. He was surprised, truly, that Hermione would even ask for a weekend off. It's not like she went anywhere.

"Are you sure you have to take that night off, Granger?"

"Yes, I'm sure. And I won, so you owe me a favor."

"Any night but that one. What are you even going to be doing?"

Granger fought back a grin quite obviously. "I'm going out."

"Out?" Draco asked, suddenly interested. "Out," he repeated.

"I'm attending a party."

"Hermione Granger is going to a party. That's the funniest joke I've ever heard in my entire 18 years of existence."

"I'm not going to tell you anything else." She started for the office door, but he stopped her by blocking it with his body.

"No really. I'm going to be on patrol, so I'll find out wherever you're going anyways. You're not-you're not going to Slytherin, are you?" Something in his stomach turned thinking about Granger roaming the party he had so looked forward to attending. How'd she even get invited? Who did she know?

"Slytherin? No," she said emphatically, frustrated that he was preventing her from leaving. "It's Gryffindor. It's age-restricted and everything. Don't even think about coming to check on it. You won't even be able to get in."

"Hmm." Draco finally stepped aside, allowing her through the door of their office into the rest of the dormitory towards her room, but not before she hesitated and grabbed an apple candy from the bowl on his desk. As soon as he was out of her sight, Draco smiled. Slow was the journey, but he was getting somewhere. And perhaps, he was getting there faster than he thought.

.*.*.*.

Friday night of the party, Draco had missed Hermione in the dormitory all afternoon before his shift. She must have gotten ready with the Gryffindors, or been doing something else around the castle before his shift began. At 9pm, he logged the beginning of his shift and began making his way through the hallways, taking his time, aware that it was about to be a long evening.

He caught a few underage drinkers stumbling around aimlessly, a couple or two trying to sneak around the halls, and a fifth-year trying to curse a poor cat in an empty classroom. They were all written off with citations and lost points (except for the cat kid, who was immediately walked to the Headmaster's Office). Finally, after 2 hours of ridiculous wandering, Draco came upon the last leg of his journey. He waited for a moment until a girl came up to the portrait door guarding Gryffindor Common Room, then stealthily slid in behind her, barely attracting attention from the girl who had let him in.

He had never been inside the Gryffindor Common Room, which made a lot of sense, and he was momentarily stunned by the grandeur of the place. It was very much different from the Slytherin dormitories, which were cozier in a darker way. Gryffindor was filled with warm light and tall ceilings, golden furniture and wall hangings, and a peppy buzz of excitement coming from the upper-form party happening on one side of the Common Room. A few sulking younger students sat on the couches opposite, watching the fun spitefully, and a few quietly walked past to the stairs leading to the dormitories.

Draco approached the shimmering boundary that seemed to denote the party zone, and cautiously stuck out a hand to make sure he wouldn't be hexed from a touch. Fortunately, the barrier only seemed to recognize proper age, so he stepped through without an issue. He noticed a few eyes catching on him, and someone bumped his arm.

"I like your Slytherin costume, mate," came a Scottish voice from his side, and Draco looked over to find Seamus Finnegan from the Gryffindor Quidditch team glaring into his eyes. "But what the fuck are you doing here? Don't you have your own party to be at?"

"Malfoy?" came a startled voice, one much more desirable to the blond. There was Hermione, holding onto a cup of punch from the edge of the crowd, staring at Draco quizzically, like he had three heads.

"Hermione, I can take him out if you need," Finnegan called, gesturing to the Slytherin.

"I'm on parole. Watch yourself or I could end this whole thing," Draco warned, tired of the seriousness. Finnegan backed off slightly.

"I can take care of this," Granger huffed to Finnegan, stepping closer, lips pursed into a contemplative cluster. Giving her punch glass to Finnegan, she grabbed Draco's arm, pulling him over to the side of the party, wobbling a bit in the heels she was wearing. "What are you doing here? I told you, you couldn't get in here."

Hermione was wearing a short, tight black dress with red lipstick lining her lips and her curls loose underneath a pointy hat. A sheer, light cape draped over her bare shoulders reached nearly the floor and shimmered as she moved.

"And what are you dressed as?" Draco asked, taking in her ensemble. Granger self-consciously folded her arms over her body, noticing his eyes.

"I'm... a witch."

Draco blinked at her. "Aren't you a witch all the time?"

"It was Ginny's idea, okay?"

"Well I can see why you're not in Ravenclaw," he said, frowning.

Granger covered her mouth just as a laugh came out. Shaking her head, she returned to her false strict tone. "Really, what are you doing here? Unless it's an emergency, you really should leave."

"Just making sure this Halloween celebration is up to code. You're not… intoxicated, Granger, are you?"

Granger quickly glanced around, shaking her head. "No way."

Draco held up a finger and waved it in front of her face. Granger followed for a moment before her lips twitched, trying to hide her amusement. Draco sighed. "You're intoxicated."

"Isn't that what you're supposed to do at parties?" she hissed at Draco, pulling her sheer cape around her shoulders again.

"Hey," came a voice a few feet behind them. Ron was standing there, dressed as a lion (ears and a tail and everything!), arms crossed and watching the two have their exchange. "What are you doing here, Malfoy? 'Mione, Is he bothering you?"

"As always. Malfoy and I are just having a quick chat about something he saw on patrol," Hermione explained, turning back to Draco, "because he's on patrol."

"Exactly. Now, I'm sorry, this is a private conversation. Head Prefect stuff," Draco mocked casually. He watched as Ron turned away, wary, heading back towards where the crowd was thick.

"Ugh. He keeps trying to-wait, why am I talking to you," Granger reminded herself. She sighed irritatedly. "Was that all?"

"See, on second thought, no, that's not all. Not after finding you in this state. It's not very proper for the Head Girl to be indulging as such."

Granger looked to the ceiling in exasperation. "I could say a lot about you, you filthy-"

"I may require a boon," Draco interrupted her teasingly. He eyed the huge punch bowls sitting across the grand Common Room, and Hermione followed his line of vision.

"Fine, I'll bring you back some punch to the dorm."

"Great. See you later then, Granger."

"Good riddance."

Suddenly, Draco remembered his plan. Thinking quickly, he reached out and stopped Hermione with a hand on her shoulder.

"Wait," he said. She turned around, obviously annoyed. "You're supposed to say trick or treat. Happy Halloween, Granger." From his pocket he produced forth an apple candy, poised in his palm for her to take.

"Thank you?" Hermione said, accepting the plastic-wrapped treat. "Did you hex it or something?"

"Why would I do that? Do you think I want to do patrols and paperwork all by myself?"

"Right," Granger replied, whisking it behind her cloak where it magically disappeared into some invisible pocket, perhaps. "Happy Halloween, I guess. Now get out of here before I have to report you for ditching patrol."

"You couldn't anyways," he answered, disappearing before Granger could change her mind or think about anything too hard.

Even if Granger decided not to eat the candy, he had still introduced the conditioning game outside of their normal office space. It was something. He was getting somewhere.