A/N: ok here's chapter 6 after waiting a week or so to update...ok let me warn you guys that this is an "awe" chapter. Chapter 5 was a turning pt. in d/hr's "relationship" and from now on they're nice to one another, but that doesn't mean that others won't be breaking out into fights and such (hmmm foreshadowing maybe). I thank all of you who have been reading and reviewing, I will love you guys forever for not giving up on me...well anyway on to the chapter...(oh and feel free to laugh really hard to this upcoming sappy part even I laughed when I wrote it.)

Battle of the Bands

Chapter 6: A Civil Conversation and a Real Battle

Hospital Wing....

Hermione woke the next day with a very numb feeling shooting throughout her right leg. She sat up to see a sleeping blonde haired dragon on the end of her bed. She stretched her arms toward the sky and let out a sigh of relief. It was at that moment that she remembered the events of the previous day: the bickering, the almost kiss, the accident, and their exchange of lovingly hateful words. Her morning sigh stirred the handsome Slytherin out of his peaceful slumber. "Hermione," he whispered as he realized that she was awake. "Malfoy, what happened between us last night?" she asked. 'well she's certainly straight to the point. Ok Draco, here goes nothing.' Draco thought as he stood and sat beside her on the edge of the bed...

"Hermione, honestly, I don't know what happened between us last night. But all I know is that during the events of last night it for me felt like a switch had been flicked, (X-Files reference, I love that show just had to do it.)." Hermione nodded as she knew what he meant, but he continued, "At first all I felt for you was absolute hatred and...if you can believe it, lust, but last night when you pushed me away, I felt something that I have never felt before in my life, and I didn't know why. I felt my heart break, and that's when it hit me, and I thought to myself, 'All though she represents everything I'm supposed to hate, I absolutely cannot hate her at all.' That was the moment for the first time in my life that I realized that I loved you. That was when I realized what love was, and I sure as bloody hell wasn't about to let this love pass me by, so I called your name...and then you fell. When I watched you fall, and looked into your eyes and saw the pain in them. All I could think about was making that pain go away, and that night I vowed that I would never cause the pain that was in your eyes that night. That night I dedicated my heart to you, if you'll have it. I love you, Hermione."

Hermione, who had been sitting in wide eyed silence during Draco's profession of love finally spoke, "Malfoy, that has got to be the sappiest thing that I've ever heard in my life, but..." Before Hermione could continue what she had to say Draco's smile turned into a frown and shook his head, "I knew it, I just did, I shouldn't have told you, never trust a Gryffindor with my feelings. Go ahead, mock me! Who gives a shit!" Draco stood to leave, but Hermione's little but firm hand grabbed his arm and pulled him back down,

"Malfoy, you didn't let me finish, yes what you said was completely sappy, and corny, but I'm touched, I really am, and I can tell that what you've said came from here." she placed her hand on the area of his chest over his heart, and then continued, "But Malfoy, after all these years of taunts and cheers, and more recently physical fights, how do I know that I can believe what you're saying is not a lie? How do I know that I can trust you?"

Draco looked at Hermione and smiled, "Honestly, Mione, you can't trust a single word I'm saying, or at least not right now...but maybe if we could get to know one another better then maybe I can earn your trust." "Well Malfoy, first of all it's Hermione to you until I say otherwise. Then secondly this getting know each other better isn't going to sit well Ron and Harry, and I don't need them to be angry with me and all, especially since we are a band. And I know that this isn't going to sit well with either your Slytherin buddies, the whole school for that matter, or your father."

Once Hermione finished Draco placed a comforting hand on top of her hands, and said, "Hermione, have you forgotten that we're Head Boy and Girl? We can just get to know each other in our common room, and while we're in public we can keep up our pretenses of absolute loathing. Then when you're ready we can tell everyone about "us." Pothead and Weasel," Hermione gave him a dirty look telling him to correct himself, "I mean Potter and Weasley and the little Weasley, and the rest of the school doesn't have to know right now. As for my father, he's in Azkaban probably on the verge of hanging himself I hope, so I don't really care what he has to say, and my fellow Slytherins all fear me for some strange reason (at this fact Hermione raised an eyebrow) so they wouldn't dare do or say anything to me about it. So tonight in our common room at say 10 30 we should meet and speak awhile?"

Hermione only nodded her response. Draco grinned from ear to ear. He then picked up her hand and then kissed it gently. Soon they sat in an air of silence for about a minute when Hermione spoke, "Malfoy, I think we just had a decent and civil conversation." Hermione smiled big when Draco feigned shock, "By golly, Ms. Molly, I think Ms. Granger's on to something." She gently slapped his arm at his attempt of mockery and sarcasm. ..

Soon Madam Pomfrey came to see the two Heads. "Ms. Granger you are now free to return to the dormitories, but you're leg is going to remain numb for the rest of the day until your ankle bones have set properly. So if you will Mr. Malfoy please help Ms. Granger stand while I get her a crutch." Pomfrey disappeared. Hermione placed an arm around Draco's neck while he placed an arm around her waist. In a matter of seconds Hermione was now standing on both legs leaning on Draco for support. Pomfrey appeared again this time with a crutch in hand. She handed it to Hermione, "Thank you, Madam Pomfrey." She and Draco were soon heading out of the hospital wing until Madam Pomfrey's voice stopped them, "Oh and Mr. Malfoy, Ms Granger, please tell your friends to stop making such a fuss. I could hear them all the way down the hall." Draco and Hermione looked at Madam Pomfrey then at each other, "uh oh." ....

The Corridor down the Hall from the Hospital Wing...

"I bet Draco laughed in her face when your stupid Mudblood of a friend fell." Goyle said taunting Ron, Harry, and Ginny. "YOU TELL THAT PUREBLOODED FERRET TO KEEP HIS FILTHY PAWS OFF HERMIONE!!!" bellowed Ron at the small group of taunting Slytherins. "It's not his fault Weasley if that Mudblood is a klutz. So stop blaming Draco!!!!" Crabbe fired back. By this time Harry and Ginny were having a time restraining the tall and lanky red head, "Don't ever call her that again or I swear on all your bloody parents's lives that I will beat you into a freakin bloody pulp!!!" Crabbe pointed a chubby finger at Ron, "You better watch who you're threatening or it's the Mudblood who's going to get it!" At that moment, instead of Ron lashing out at him, it was Harry and Ginny. They both had him on the floor in a matter of seconds with him begging for help...

Blaise then moved to help, but Ron tacked him to the floor and they began to wrestle. Goyle came up behind Ginny, and yanked her beautiful scarlet hair causing her to cry out. She immediately kneed her attacker in his nut sack (if he has any), and then dropped kicked him while he was on the floor, (Hey she grew up with 6 older brothers; she was bound to learn something in protecting herself.). Crabbe had finally stood up to kick Harry, but Harry was quicker and leg swiped him causing him to fall back down to the floor. Soon there was a full out physical war between Gryffindor and Slytherin, a real battle of the bands. It was Blaise vs. Ron, Crabbe vs. Harry, and Ginny vs. Goyle. Harry and Ron had punched their enemies one last time before they heard two people shouting, "ENOUGH!!!"....

Six pairs of eyes went from the opposition and landed on Draco, and a crutch ridden Hermione. They scrambled back to their feet, and to their normal sides. Silence filled the air for 3 minutes until, "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FxxxIN' MINDS!?!?" Hermione yelled at her group of friends; Ron was about to explain, but was interrupted, "I don't care what it was about or why it happened or who started it. Do you know that if you were caught that we could've been thrown out of the competition!!! 60 points from Gryffindor!" they started to groan, "but Mione," "No 'but Miones' either now I want all us to retire to Gryffindor Tower, NOW!!!" Ron, Harry, and Ginny were about to protest, but decided against it and headed back to their common room. The Slytherins had started to snicker as the trio left, but Draco shot them a look, "Don't think you guys aren't in trouble, just like she said you could've gotten us kicked out of the competition, and we do want to win don't we? And like she said I don't care who started it and what not, but you've lost Slytherin 60 pts as well." They're faced that were once snickering fell into deep frowns. "Now go and report back to Slytherin House, and I mean NOW!" without a second of hesitation the trio of Slytherins retreated.

Draco then turned to Hermione, "So what do you think that was all about?" She returned Draco's gaze, "Probably Ron and Harry thought you pushed me or something, and they were just defending my honor." Draco made a big 'O' with his mouth, and Hermione laughed at the sight of this it was pretty funny looking. "What? Is there something on me?" Draco asked. "No, there's nothing, I just like the expression on Crabbe, Goyle, and Zabini's faces when you punished them, it was classic." She covered. Draco just smirked and nodded his head, "yes, and I compliment you on the way you handled your comrades." "Well, I may have been able to get them to leave, but now I have to go to Gryffindor Tower and do some damage control, like in the fact that you didn't push me down or anything like that."

Draco laughed lightly at the thought of them thinking that he had done something like that, "Well then I guess, I will see you later tonight then?" Hermione nodded, but before she left, she kissed Draco on the cheek. "Thanks." She then turned and hobbled her way down to Gryffindor House. Draco just stared at her walking, and placed the tips of his fingers on the spot on his face that had been blessed with her lips. After she disappeared turning down the hall Draco headed towards the Head dormitories. Little did they know that this little scene had been witnessed by a pair of sparkling sapphire eyes...

A/N: ok, well there you have it. Next chapter will be Draco and Hermione's "date" and the days after and the second round. And I haven't decided so I thought that you could help me, the second round should the bands do their slow songs or rap/dance first, I can't decide...You know what to do....