"So, I said, stick that wand up , or I'll ram it up your nose." Goyle repeated proudly.

"First years." Crabbe said.

"Hey, Draco. Are you lisetening?"

"No. Go away."

"But don't you want to…."

"Now." Draco repeated icily, thankful when his two henchmen lumbered out of the room.

Draco turned over onto his side and continued mulling over that morning's episode. "She thought the plan was brilliant. She's got to like me. Anyway, she's going to like me," Draco thought. "She thought the plan was brilliant."

Draco knew he was obsessing. It was just so amazing. This was perhaps the first time anyone had really admired him. Well, his parents… but that was just there way of encouraging him to be his Malfoy best. Draco had learned first year just how relevant his Lucius' and Narcissa's opinions were to his schoolmates. Oh, as a Malfoy he could still intimidate quite a few, but somehow knowing which fork to use at dinner, or how to discern the best wine, wasn't respected at Hogwarts. Snape praised him, but Snape would praise any Slytherin in front of a Gryffandor, and Draco, although soaking up the Potion master's words couldn't really believe them. As for Pansy, and the other girls, Draco's mirror gave him a reason for their clinginess. Nevertheless, none of Pansy's overt flattery had ever made him feel half as wonderful as Hermione's few grudging words.

"This is so wrong." He thought. "If I'm not careful I'll start mooning over her like Longbottom. Ugh." "Malfoy's don't go all soft because some mudblood admits their superiority." He told himself firmly.

Draco rolled over onto his back and stared up at the green hangings. She was going to meet with him tomorrow night. He sighed. This was supposed to be simple. Flash a grin, chat her up, prove to everyone that the definitions of good and evil were bogus. Prove to himself that he was as good, no better than Potter and Weasley. He knew, he had known from the start that it wouldn't be simple. In fact, he had hatched, and rejected, crazy plans involving kidnapping, coercion, etc. What he hadn't expected, hadn't wanted was this hapless, honest Draco, who wouldn't utter a cutting remark, and who daydreamed about snogging Hermione …. Well he hadn't quite reached the former degree of sappiness, and as for snogging Granger, he was a sixteen year old wizard, his hormones should have better discrimination, but so long as he wasn't fantasizing about Moaning Myrtle he could deal with it.

But what was he going to say tomorrow night?

*****

"Was this some sort of elaborate trap?" Hermione wondered. She didn't like to credit Malfoy with that much deviousness. Thus far, he hadn't really been much of a threat. Annoying yes, insulting definitely - but considering the fact that Harry regularly faced the Drak Lord and death, fairly harmless. Or maybe the smartest girl at Hogwarts was being duped by the most facile flatterer.

Hermione groaned. Naturally she loved being praised for her academic accomplishments. She did work hard for them. Harry and Ron alternated between treating her efforts as some joke, making up excuses before she could drag them off to study, and buttering her up when they needed her to think things through. Ok. So she was exaggerating. Maybe she was a little touchy about her grades, the way Harry was about his scar, She wanted to be appreciated for more than that. She knew Harry and Ron did. Last year had proven to here once and for all that Ron saw her as more than a walking stack of books, but Ron was one of her best friends. That Malfoy could see beyond his prejudices, well that was flattering.

"You're letting him get to you, Hermione." She scolded herself. "He's out to cause trouble of some kind. Look at poor Ginny, moping around the common room, because Harry is now planning to chat up Pansy. "

"And now I've agreed to meet him. " Hermione wondered what it was he needed to say. She reminded herself that no matter how mad she was at Harry for making her the object of a bet, and for assuming he knew what she would do, she would not, she would absolutely not agree to be Malfoy's date for the ball."

A/N I know. I know. I shouldn't stop here but I want to think about Harry, Pansy, and Ginny. I can't let Draco and Hermione have all of the fun. Ron needs a date too. Thanks for reading and reviewing. tweedledee