Disclaimer: I don't own anything.
A/N: Thank you guys for the reviews!! I just wanna say that the last chapter was a flashback of all the events starting from Draco's apology in his POV, so some things HAD to be repeated. Also, I'm terribly sorry if Draco's starting to get OOC but i've already stated the reason in chapter 9 of his behaviour. oh yes, tap-dancing-spiders, i've wondered where you were! haha glad you're back :). Kheya!!! you must post your story up soon, it's sucha great story and people should review it! Anywho, i think that's all i have to say. One last thing: i hope you like this chapter! i think i know you will ;)

Chapter Ten: First Day Surprises

"Does he know, in my heart

That deep down inside I've fallen

Does he feel what I do

Oh, can he feel this way too"

It was the first day of classes after the holidays, and almost everyone were dreading to go back to their regular schedules, except Hermione. She was more than prepared to attend her classes since she used a lot of her time during Christmas break to study any material that might be covered in her subjects.

"Double Potions first thing after the holidays! Can you believe it?? I bet this is someone's idea of a joke," Ron complained.

"Oh Ron, don't be silly" Hermione said.

The Golden Trio was walking down the dungeons for their first class, Potions. They arrived at the entrance of the room at the same time as another group.

"Well, well, well... if it isn't The Great Almighty Potter and his sidekick, Weasley" Draco turned to the last person with a soft look on his face and simply said, "Hermione."

Harry and Ron looked shocked as they had expected to tease her mercilessly. They turned to Hermione to see if she was just as surprised as they were, but she had seemed to be calm.

"What was that about? He calls you by your first name now?" Ron asked curiously, when they entered the classroom and sat at their desks.

"Yeah, I guess" she said, remembered their friendship handshake. "We've agreed to be friends now."

"Friends? You've agreed to be chummy with the enemy??" Ron exclaimed.

Hermione opened her mouth to say something but Harry cut her off.

"You do remember that I said you can come to me to talk about anything, right? Why haven't you told me about this before? Are you all right?" he asked.

"Of course she's not all right! She's gone mad!" Ron cried out.

"I have not! You are just making a big deal out of nothing" Hermione said defensively.

"But—"Harry and Ron wanted to continue but Professor Snape had entered the room, in a gloomy mood as always.

"I would have you know, I do not tolerate any distractions in my class." He glanced quickly at the Gryffindors, "So I only want to hear the sound of quills scratching on parchments today. You will be writing an eight-foot long essay on Draught of the Living Death, its effects and ingredients. You have all of this class to write it, so I expect an absolute perfect paper. If anyone makes a single noise, I will be forced to deduct points from your House. Do I make myself clear?"

When nobody answered, he took that as a yes to his question. "Good. Now continue on."

At his command, everyone took out their quills and parchment, and began writing. Hermione was already halfway to finishing her essay since it was a pretty easy topic to write about. She decided that she could carry on writing about the inventor who had created this potion, and different accounts of people who have used it. All of a sudden, she had a feeling that someone was watching her. She slowly turned around, and her guess was right. Draco was looking intently at her, but when she returned his gaze, he blushed furiously and returned to his essay.

That was odd, she thought as she went back to her writing.

"Draught of the Living Death, otherwise known as the Sleeping Draft Potion, was invented by..." she stopped writing. Who was it invented by? she asked herself. She couldn't think properly, and looked at Harry and Ron to see how they were doing. They were both writing frantically and occasionally stopped to cross things out or think of more information to put down. She turned to her other side, and noticed that Draco was calmly writing his essay as if he had all the time in the world. Again, he had that concentrated look on him, the one that she could absolutely not resist looking at. She began blushing again as his head looked up in her direction. They both stared at each other for a few minutes, wanting to turn away, but couldn't resist the urge to take their eyes off one another.

"Miss Granger!"

Hermione jumped in her chair and turned to face Professor Snape.

"Y-yes, sir?" she asked, frightened to what he might say but she didn't want to show it.

"Have I caught you in the middle of doing something else, other than what I had instructed?" he asked with bitterness in his voice.

"N-no, sir"

"Then why did I catch you looking in that direction" he nodded his head towards the Slytherins, "rather than down on your own parchment?"

"I-I-I..." she hesitated to say. She didn't want to confess that she was actually staring at Draco.

"I see I have to take five points off from the Gryffindor House for lying to a professor, all thanks to Miss Granger here" Snape said, a bit delighted that he can take points away.

"That's not fair, Professor! She didn't even say anything!" Harry exclaimed.

"I would advise you, Mr. Potter, to keep your mouth shut if you don't want any more points taken from your House" Snape said coldly before returning to his desk.

Harry looked at Hermione, confused as to why she would be looking in the Slytherin direction but she immediately dropped her head and pretended to be busy with her paper. She was too embarrassed and tried to focus solely on the essay to avoid being caught again by Professor Snape.

At the end of class, Hermione wanted to rush out before the rest of the students but was stopped by Harry and Ron.

"What was that about?" Ron asked.

"It was nothing. You know how Snape is; he always wants to deduct points from our House for every little thing we do" she replied.

"That's true but exactly why were you looking towards the Slytherins? I mean you cou—"Harry stopped saying abruptly, leaving the other two puzzled.

"What is it?" Hermione asked.

"Were you... were you looking at Malfoy?" he asked.

"What! Harry, don't be ridiculous. Why would I be looking at him?"

"I don't know. You tell me."

Hermione couldn't answer the question. She couldn't think of a reason; she was just simply drawn to him. However, she couldn't say that to her two friends, so she stayed quiet until they reached the Great Hall for lunch. They sat at their usual places but didn't speak since they didn't know what to say about Hermione's strange behaviour. It wasn't until someone spoke of Quidditch that Harry and Ron couldn't stop talking.

Hermione sighed and continued playing with her food. She had many problems on her mind, but the one that was bothering her the most involved Draco. At the mention of his name, her head automatically looked up towards the Slytherin table in search of a boy with white-blonde hair. She found him, and noticed that he was smiling at her, causing her to smile back.

He really is trying to be friends with me, she thought. I guess it isn't too bad, but why do I keep having this desire to want more? This is silly. I must be kidding myself. Yes, that must be it.

She couldn't stand thinking about these thoughts anymore and decided to retreat to the one place where she can get peace: the library.

"I'm going to the library. If anyone needs me, I'll be there" she announced as her friends nodded and went back to their Quidditch conversation.

She got up, and walked to the entrance of the Great Hall, taking one last glance at Draco. She was surprised and blushed when she noticed that he was actually watching her leave. She smiled secretly as she made her way towards the library.

For the rest of the day, Draco remained in a gloomy mood. First, he was very tired since he couldn't sleep much last night and secondly, he didn't have any afternoon classes with Hermione. It might seem surprising that he would miss her, but he knew his inner voice was right, and he couldn't deny it. He was glad that his classes went by fairly fast, and before he knew it, it was dinnertime. He walked to the Great Hall, accompanied by Crabbe and Goyle, and went over to the Slytherin table. Once he sat down, his eyes made their way to the Gryffindor section, exploring the area for his "new friend". However, he couldn't find her and looked back down on his food, occasionally chatting with other Slytherins.

Every once in a while, he glanced up to at the far opposite table to see if she has arrived yet, but each time she wasn't there. His heart skipped a beat when he finally saw Hermione enter. He kept looking at her while she sat between her Gryffindor friends, smiling at whatever they said. He felt a pang of jealousy since he couldn't be the one to make her smile like they can, or follow her almost everywhere she went. He couldn't stand thinking so much about those sorts of things, and decided to leave.

"Where are you off to?" Crabbe managed to ask with a handful of food stuffed in his mouth.

"To my room. Don't bother following me." He said as he left to go to his dorm.

When he got there, he was felt extremely tired and didn't even bother changing into his pajamas. He collapsed onto his bed, and fell into deep sleep.

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Draco had just arrived to the Great Hall for the Winter Dance. He looked around the room and admired how magnificent the decorations were. He had a feeling that she would be here, the one that he desired very much. His suspicion was right when his eyes laid upon a familiar figure. His heart kept beating faster and faster as he approached the figure from behind.

It's her! It's the masked girl! He thought, noticing the recognizable curves of her body and the long, wavy strands of her brown hair. He tapped her lightly on the shoulder, hoping that he wouldn't scare her off.

"H-hi" she said nervously.

"You look absolutely beautiful tonight" he commented, causing her to blush red.

"Thank you. You look very charming yourself"

All of a sudden, soft music began to fill the room. It was very romantic, and Draco had a huge smile as he asked her, "May I have this dance, my fair lady?"

She giggled and put her hand in his own, making their way to the center of the hall. They danced very slowly, focusing mostly on each other's faces. Draco had the feeling of butterflies in his stomach, and it was all because of her. He didn't even know her, and he already has special feelings for her.

He began memorizing every feature about her while sharing the slow dance. He started with the shape of her body, to her beautiful hair, and pink lips. He couldn't stop looking at those lips, wanting to resist the urge to kiss them. But he could only hold it in for so long. He took his left hand that was on her waist, and gently touched her cheek with his fingers. He leaned closer to her, and saw that her eyes were closed. He took this as a good sign, and leaned even closer until his lips were touching hers. Kissing her was the most wonderful sensation he has ever felt in his entire life, and he wanted it to last long. They continued this until the music died away. They both pulled away, and smiled, having experienced the most emotionally satisfying feeling they've ever had.

"I think I have to tell you something" Draco said softly.

"Yes? What is it?"

"When I first met you, I knew you were going to be special to me. And I was right. I think I'm beginning to develop some feelings for you. Specifically, I think I'm falling in love with you. Somehow, you single-handedly managed to warm my icy personality to make me a better person. It makes me frustrated when I keep waking up from my previous dreams not knowing who you are."

When she didn't respond, he decided to continue. "I would love to see the face of the girl who I care deeply about. Do you mind if I—"

She cut him off and smiled. "No, please do."

He felt extreme happiness as his hands gradually reached up to her eye mask. He began taking it off, until it was completely off her head. His eyes widened in surprise as he saw the sight of her face, but a huge grin crept up to his face as he finally learned the identity of the person he loves.