***
Hermione carelessly flipped through one of Harry's school books, the words not coming into focus on the pages as they passed her eyes. Her body was here, sitting on Harry's bed, up in Harry's room, but her mind was downstairs with Harry, sitting next to him as he talked to Sirius about who-knows-what. She wondered when and how she would break the news to her parents, and hoped that they would react as happily as Sirius and Narcissa had. Of course they will, they love Harry, she thought to herself.
The door to Harry's room creaked open slowly, and Hermione lifted her head quickly, expecting to see Harry standing there. Instead, Draco was standing in the doorframe, hands in the pockets of his jeans, looking extremely smug for some reason, a reason that wasn't doing to well with Hermione's nerves. She rose quickly as Draco strode into the room, his long legs getting him over to her in three quick strides.
" Draco, what do you -- "
" I overhead the four of you celebrating something downstairs in the kitchen earlier," Draco interrupted, his silver-gray eyes flashing. " It seems to me that you and Potter are getting hitched."
Hermione didn't enjoy the word "hitched", especially the way Draco had said it. It sounded to her as if what she and Harry were doing was wrong, which she knew it wasn't. " We're getting married, not hitched," she snapped through clenched teeth.
Draco shrugged his shoulders lazily. " Married..hitched..same thing." He looked around Harry's room. " Where is loverboy, anyway?"
" Downstairs talking to Sirius," Hermione replied tersely. " And he'll be coming back upstairs any moment. So I'd advise you to leave, now."
Draco laughed carelessly and stepped closer to her. Hermione was ready this time. Her right hand dove into the pocket of her bathrobe, where her wand was lying, ready to be used at any moment. As her fingers clenched around it, Draco leaned closer to her, so close she could feel his hot breath tickling her neck.
" Before I leave there's been something I've been meaning to do.." he whispered, his eyes fluttering close as he leaned over and attempted to kiss Hermione squarely on the lips.
Hermione backed farther away and Draco pitched forward, but did not fall. He straightened up and raised his eyebrows into a high arch. " Playing hard to get again, Hermione?"
Just as she was about to pull her wand out of her pocket and aim it at Draco, ready to perform the Leg-Locking Curse, a sudden idea struck her. Hermione smiled seductively and took a step closer to Draco, which caused his eyes to widen in suprise that she was not resisting him.
" Draco," she purred, moving even closer to him. " There's been something I've been meaning to do for a long, long time..I just haven't mustered up the courage."
" Well, go on then.." Draco prompted, obviously pleased with himself, thinking he had won her over.
Hermione leaned in, acting as if she were about to kiss him, yet suddenly pulled pack and punched Draco right in the eye, her fist colliding with his face with such force, she felt the pain herself.
" OW!" Draco hollered, his hands flying up to his right eye as he staggered backwards. With his other eye he glared at Hermione angrily. " What the hell was that for, Hermione?"
" Harry and I are engaged, Malfoy," she said simply, pushing him through the door and, before shutting it in his face, added," Don't let this hit you on your way out."