AN: Yes, cliché, I know. But who cares? Surely you don't, or you wouldn't be reading this. And who knows… you might even like it. *grins* Then, you'd review. J

Disclaimer: Most of this belongs to J.K. Rowling. Well, the unfamiliar nouns most likely belong to me. And I highly doubt that Rowling would be Draco/Hermione… so… The song was written by Howard Ashman, and set to music by Alan Menken. Wonderful men, I must say.

Dedicated to: Anyone who's ever found themselves falling in love with the person they had least expected to even get along with. (This fic's also self-dedicated, then.)

Unexpectedly

Hermione gritted her teeth and tried to keep in pace with Draco Malfoy, as he held her by the waist, and stepped gracefully out onto the dance floor. "Remind me why we're doing this again…" she hissed at him, avoiding the stares of their fellow classmates. "It's school duty." Draco replied blandly. "You're Head Girl, and I'm Head Boy. It's the Valentine's Ball, and we open it by dancing with each other. Plain and simple."

Tale as old as time

"How cliché can this get?" she whispered. Draco shrugged. "All we need now is that you look into my eyes and fall head over heels in love with me." he whispered back. Hermione bit back a heartless laugh. "Sure."

True as it can be

Draco shrugged again, still holding her, still dancing. "Hey, it can happen, you know." Hermione looked back at him, but he was seemingly staring up at the enchanted ceiling, at the twinkling stars. "What can?"

"Looking into somebody's eyes and falling head over heels in love. No matter how much you were supposed to hate that person."

Barely even friends

"What do you mean, Draco?" Hermione asked, drawn by the wistfulness in his voice. Draco looked quite surprised at her use of his given name, then, just as suddenly, reverted back to his blank stare. "I mean what I say, Granger. It's happened to me."

Hermione pressed her lips together, stung by the bitterness in the way he spat out her last name.

"Why don't you call me by my first name?" she asked a while later, when couples began to fill the dance floor around them. Draco looked at her, then looked away once more. "I never had any reason to."

Then somebody bends

Unexpectedly

Something tugged inside Hermione. She glanced up at the young man, watching the faraway expression in his dusky eyes, and did something that surprised even herself.

Reaching up, with the gentlest of gestures, she brushed back his soft blond hair.

He stared at her incredulously. "What was that, may I ask?" For a second, as she blushed deeply, Hermione considered making up a most ridiculous excuse for that display of affection on a crowded dance floor. Instead…

"It was a reason for you to call me by my first name."

Just a little change

Draco smirked, just like the old Draco. But the words that came out of his mouth were most peculiar. "Okay then… Hermione."

Hermione smiled, satisfied with something, though she had no idea what. "I like that."

Small, to say the least

Suddenly, Pansy Parkinson waltzed clumsily by, being chaffeured by Malcolm Baddock. She sneered at Hermione. "Poor Drakie…" she simpered. "Having to soil his hands with that Mudblood slime…" and they danced away.

Hermione turned towards Draco, who was looking down at his highly expensive shoes. "Well?" Hermione frowned. Draco looked up at her. "Well what?"

"Why didn't you defend me?"

"Should I have?"

"Well, it's the least a friend can do for another friend."

"Are you my friend?"

Both a little scared

Hermione was taken aback by the simplicity of the question, but the way Draco posed it, with his eyes burning and sincere, was anything but simple.

Finally, she ventured an answer that seemed the safest.

"You would be my friend… if I was yours."

Neither one prepared

It was Draco's turn to look surprised. He blinked, then smiled. A genuine smile. One that lit him up from the inside, and changed almost everything about him. It made his eyes twinkle and his cheeks color, and it made Hermione see him in an utterly different manner.

She saw him beautifully.

"That's good." he replied.

Ever just the same

Out of nowhere, Pansy appeared at Draco's elbow, tugging impatiently at his beautiful dress robes. "Let's dance, Drakie… dance with a pretty girl for once…" she grinned infuriatingly at Hermione, who glared back venomously.

Ever a surprise

Draco looked down at Hermione, then looked back at Pansy. "That's okay, Pansy. I'm already dancing with one." Pansy stared at him, her bright-red mouth hanging slightly open. Then, with a ruffle of her skirts, and a haughty sniff, she flounced off.

Ever as before

"You shouldn't have said that." Hermione said, sounding just like her old, bossy self.

Ever just as sure

"Why not?" asked Draco, still watching her with unreadable silver eyes. Hermione, unaware of his gaze, was watching Pansy flit around the Slytherin tables. "She's going to spread poison about you… you and your silly remarks."

As the sun will rise

"Well, I did tell the truth. I am dancing with a pretty girl." Draco whispered, and there was no lack of conviction in his voice.

Tale as old as time

Tune as old as song

Hermione looked up at him, and met his gaze with her own. What she saw was not the old Draco. Not the Draco full of malice and lies, of taunts and an intent on evil… but a Draco who understood, a Draco who had changed…

With a shock that was by no means unpleasant… she realized that she was looking straight into the eyes of a Draco who loved her.

Bittersweet and strange

"Do you understand, Hermione?" he asked her, a smile dancing somewhere behind those beautiful eyes that said more than he could ever whisper into her ear. Hermione, lost for words, nodded.

He drew her close, ignoring the stares and the whispers that had begun to spread around the Great Hall, oblivious to the death glares Ron and Harry were shooting at them.

"I told you… you can fall in love by looking into someone's eyes."

Finding you can change

Hermione sucked in her breath as she felt Draco's arms go around her, as his comforting warmth pressed against her, and as she lost herself in his scent of rain and stone and stardust.

"Draco… why?"

He drew back and looked at her. "Why what?" Hermione shrugged. "Why are you so different?" Draco stepped back, blinking slowly. "I… I'm sorry. I thought you would understand…" Stepping back, his eyes bright with emotion, he turned to leave, but Hermione impulsively reached out and caught the sleeve of his robe.

"Wait."

He looked back at her. Hermione, still gripping his sleeve, smiled at him, and pulled him close. This time, she was the one who put her arms around him. "Continue being different."

Learning you were wrong

She almost felt Draco smile against her cheek. "And I thought I was complete…" he murmured. Hermione continued to sway slowly to the music, avoiding the gazes of Harry and Ron, who were waving their arms wildly in her direction. "What do you mean?"

Certain as the sun

Rising in the east

"Never knew I was missing a piece of myself… until I found you. You were my missing piece, Hermione… you were my smile. You were my heart."

Tale as old as time

Song as old as rhyme

Hermione closed her eyes and smiled.

Beauty and the Beast