DISCLAIMER: I do not own Harry Potter, or anything associated with J.K. Rowling's work. However, someday I will own Tom Felton. but that's another story.

***

"Granger, I've arrived," a sultry voice demanded.

Hermione's eyes fluttered open. Standing menacingly over her was none other than Draco Malfoy, clad in his Slytherin robes. She quickly positioned herself in an upright position, attempting to conceal what was beneath her translucent, flowing nightgown.

"What are you doing here, Malfoy? What do you want? It's nearly midnight! Get out of here before you wake the others," she whispered harshly.

Draco merely stepped closer to her and bent down to her ear.

"Kiss me, mudblood."

"Have you gone daft? What the hell are you-"

Hermione was stopped short as Draco placed his lips firmly on her mouth. Too stunned to react, she sank lower into her bed as her heartbeat increased rapidly. Draco hoisted himself onto her bed and deepened the kiss, allowing his tongue to freely explore the hollow of her warm, vacant mouth.

The moonlight that streamed through her dormitory window illuminated his slick blond hair as his mouth left hers and created a steady stream to the nape of her delicate neck. She was slightly crushed into her mattress by his weight, but did not mind it one bit. Overcome with emotion, Hermione soon found herself moaning his name without a care in the world of who could hear her.

Then, as suddenly as it had come, it was over. Draco stopped abruptly and lifted his head to look at her face. She examined his cold, hard gray eyes and gasped as she noticed the pain that lay behind them.

"Draco..," she cooed. He answered her back in a high pitched, girlish voice, yelling, "Hermione, wake up!"

Hermione opened her eyes for a second time. This time, Ginny Weasley stood in front of her. Sunlight streamed into her room declaring it morning. It had all been a dream. Draco had never come into her room to seduce her. She had not let him seduce her, either. Realizing this, she became irritably aware that it was the red head who had woken her up.

"What is it, Ginny?"

The small child stared at her with wide eyes. "What were you dreaming about?"

Hermione's heart skipped a beat as she recalled the feeling of being kissed by the worst Slytherin student imaginable.

"It was nothing. Just a nightmare, that's all. I.. I really don't want to talk about it." Her eyes drifted over to the other beds, which were oddly empty.

"What time is it?"

Ginny blinked and stopped staring so inquisitively. "That's what I came here for. You missed breakfast. Harry and Ron told me that you skipped Arithmancy as well, so I got a note from Professor Binns to come and see if you were feeling alright.."

Hermione bolted out of bed and quickly rummaged through her dresser in a drastic search for her daily wardrobe.

"I can't believe nobody woke me up! I'm late for Potions.. Snape will wring my neck for this!"

She quickly put on her clothing and raced to the bathroom, pausing a moment to tame her bushy brown hair.

"Accio Comb!"

Her comb flew from the other side of the room and into her hand. She furiously tried to flatten and straighten her hair but realized she was fighting a losing battle. Her hair remained unruly.

"I don't have time for this!" she groaned. She settled on pinning her hair into a lose bun on the top of her head as she sprinted out the door.

***

"Now, class, it is two tablespoons. No more. No less. For those of you too stubborn to follow directions, I'd let a more responsible partner take charge of pouring the exact amount of goose bile into the cauldron."

Snape's eyes locked with Neville Longbottom threateningly as the terrified young boy raised his hand. The professor crossed over the classroom towards Neville, taking long strides.

"What is it, Longbottom?"

Neville quivered in his seat and said, "Erm.. Professor, my partner isn't here at the moment, and well.. er.. I really think I should wait for her."

Snape's mouth slightly twisted at the corner into a ghastly smirk.

"Well you'll just have to make do, won't you?"

The greasy-haired man called for the attention of the entire classroom.

"Class, it seems as though Miss Granger is missing in action. I would like you to watch Neville as he attempts to create a Calming Potion. If he does it correctly, the potion should turn a bright red color. If not, the substance will turn into a liquid that is potent enough to severely burn the skin. Go on, child! Get on with it!"

Meanwhile, two other 6th year Gryffindor students sat in their seats watching their professor purposely trying to humiliate their fellow student.

"Why can't he just leave Neville alone?" Said Ron. "It's not like he's bothering him or anything."

Harry shrugged. "Too bad Hermione isn't here to help him. We might as well send Neville to the hospital now. Where is she anyway?"

At that exact moment, the classroom door burst open, revealing a very disheveled Hermione.

"I'm sorry I'm late! I was studying till very late last night and I must have over slept, which is not like me at all since I never over sleep, but you have to understand that I didn't mean to be late and if it wasn't for Ginny I would never have woken up at all because I must have been really tired last night and-"

"THAT WILL BE ENOUGH MISS GRANGER." Snape bellowed. "Sit down at once. Not only are you late, but you have disrupted my class as well. 10 points will be taken from Gryffindor, and you will report to my room tomorrow evening for detention. Now help Neville with his measurements before he injures himself."

She opened her mouth to protest.

"It would be very wise to keep your mouth shut," Snape spat.

Hermione closed her mouth and began to help Neville with his Calming Potion.

On the other side of the room, Draco watched her from afar. He could tell that she was on the verge of tears, and he silently chuckled inside. How incredibly weak that mudblood was. She had no spine, no backbone. It was really quite pathetic. He turned to Crabbe and Goyle who were busy examining a dead fly with great interest. He sighed in exhaustion but reminded himself one thing. It was better to have friends with power than intelligence, yet he couldn't help but clench his teeth when he realized that Hermione's potion was the only concoction in the class that managed to turn red.

Hermione could never even begin to fathom the hatred that Draco felt for her. Why did perfect little Ms. Hermione Granger always have to come top marks in everything? His eyes burned into the back of her head from across the room. Suddenly, she stopped working and froze in place. She momentarily turned around and looked directly at Draco, who was glaring back contemptuously. But instead of giving him her usual pompous look, the young man noticed that she had a terrified look on her face. For half a second, Draco stared back in confusion, but his bewildered look quickly transformed into an evil smirk.

"Oh Neville!" Hermione groaned. Neville had unintentionally poured an extra teaspoon of goose bile into the cauldron, causing it to bubble and fizz unnaturally. The mousy girl quickly tried to cover the cauldron with her robe before Snape could notice. Draco took it upon himself to increase the mayhem by walking over to her.

Her eyes narrowed. "You've come to gloat?" He ignored her.

"That's quite an unusual potion you've got there, Granger."

He peered into her cauldron, which contained a thick green substance. "If I'm not mistaken, it's supposed to turn red. But then again, you've always done everything right, haven't you, mudblood?"

He found it odd that she didn't lash back with another snide remark. As if the word 'mudblood' triggered something, she stared off into space and backed away. As she slowly walked backwards, she tripped on the hem of her robe and fell, reaching out to the table to catch herself. Instead, her hand knocked over the cauldron, spilling the green liquid onto the ground. Unable to stand up quick enough, she pulled on Draco's arm to lift herself off of the ground, but pulled him down with her instead.

Professor Snape, who was currently criticizing Harry's potion, ran over to locate the site of the accident. There, he found a Draco sprawled on the floor on top of a bewildered Hermione as they both moaned in pain. The two of them had the green concoction generously spilled all over their hands.

"What happened here?"

Draco blinked and raised one potion-covered finger at the girl beneath him.

"You stupid girl! Go to the hospital wing, the both of you! Get out of my classroom this instant, Miss Granger. Draco, hurry up and go to the hospital before you feel the worse effects of the burn. Hurry now!" Their professor screeched.

Draco looked directly down into Hermione's deep brown eyes, which widened at the realization of their position. Draco had the sudden urge to- But soon, reality crashed down and he become conscious that the entire class was watching them, and immediately hoisted himself to his feet.

"Great job, Granger. Just look at the state of my robes! When my father hears about this.." he mumbled as he walked away, leaving Hermione in a helpless heap on the floor.

A Lani Moment: Please read and review my story. I am attempting to make a story that people enjoy and feel is worthwhile. Flames are not appreciated, but constructive criticism is. I have already completed more chapters, but unless this story gets good reviews, I do not feel compelled to upload more. So please r & r.