"Hermione! Where did you go? We were waiting for you."

I walked over to where Harry, Ron and Ginny were standing.

"You guys took ages so I got bored and went up to the library for a bit."

Ron shook his head incredulously.

"We were only gone fifteen minutes!" He cried. "I think that might actually be a disease or something ... libraryitis"

I swatted at him, and he laughed.

The four of us chatted all the way to Hogsmeade, and I lost track of time. By the time I finally asked Harry what the time was, I was horrified to hear that it was twenty past one already.

"What? Are you supposed to be somewhere or something?" He asked me, when he saw my alarmed expression.

Alright, I thought. Here goes.

"I, uh, I'm supposed to be meeting somebody at one thirty."

This was greeted with silence. Harry, Ron and Ginny all stared at me, but nobody said anything for a long time.

"Well? Don't leave us in suspense! Who is it?" Ron finally asked.

I swallowed. Clearing my throat, I said;

"Well ... Look, don't be mad at me okay? I just said I'd meet up with Malfoy for a bit, just to ask him some stuff-"

"MALFOY?!"

I jumped about a foot in the air. When I looked at Ron, I could see that his face was turning as red as his hair as he yelled at me.

"What is it with you and him? This is the second time this week you've met up with him!"

I flinched, knowing that, actually, it was the third. Fourth if you counted that morning.

Ron didn't need to know that.

"I know, Ron. But he really doesn't have anybody to talk to about this. Seriously. And it was like I was there anyway and-"

"I DON'T CARE! I can't believe you trust that guy!"

My anger flared.

"Ronald Weasley! You do not dictate who I am and am not allowed to talk to! Besides, I never said I trusted him! I just said that I need to talk to him!"

Harry and Ginny had been watching the entire exchange, open mouthed. Finally, Harry spoke.

"Hermione, seriously, he's a complete git, and I think he can deal without you, after insulting you for all those years. Even if he really does need your help, he doesn't deserve it."

I glared at him, turned on my heel, and left.

---

Entering the Hogs Head, I scanned the crowd for a familiar shock of blond hair.

After a moment, I spotted him, sitting in the far corner with a half-drunk bottle of butterbeer.

I stormed over to the seat opposite him, and sat down. I glared out the window, just to make sure the others hadn't followed me.

"Well, you sure look happy to see me."

My eyes darted over to Malfoy, who's eyebrow was raised. I sighed.

"It's not you. Harry and Ron are being really weird about this-"

"Ah. So you told them who you were meeting, I take it."

I nodded, and pushed my hair out of my face angrily.

"Yes. Ron had an absolute fit, and Harry didn't seem too happy either. And that was when I said I was TALKING to you. God knows what they'd say if they knew the rest of it."

Malfoy grinned at me from across the table, and pushed his butterbeer over for me to drink. I gratefully took it, and had a healthy sip.

"Well, then" he said. "I guess that means it stays a secret."

I swallowed my sip and shook my head at him.

"How can it? The whole class heard Pansy in potions and-"

"They all thought she was insane. This is my word over hers, Granger. No prizes for guessing who they all believe."

"But ... I saw her this morning with Crabbe and Goyle."

"She's going out with Goyle. Isn't that hilarious? I laughed for about an hour when I heard about it."

I tried to hide my smile by taking another sip of butterbeer. By the time I swallowed it, I could keep a straight face.

"I thought you would have been with Crabbe and Goyle. You usually are."

"I know" he said, and raised his eyebrow. "But, like Goyle, I guess preferred to spend some time with my girl."

I had made the horrid mistake of taking a large sip of butterbeer just before he said this, and managed to inhale it. I launched into a spectacular coughing fit, sending little drops of butterbeer showering over both of us.

Malfoy didn't really help the matter by sitting their laughing so hard he looked like he was about to fall off his chair.

When I finally caught my breath back, it hit me all at once how good Malfoy looked when he was laughing. His light hair was falling in his eyes, which were scrunched up and had tears of mirth twinkling in them. His entire body was shaking, and we were attracting a lot of strange looks from the other witches and wizards in the tavern.

After a while, his laughter finally quietened, and he wiped his eyes.

"Good Lord, Granger. I don't think I've ever laughed that hard in my life."

"Oh, that time in the Hospital Wing came close."

His gaze suddenly traveled over my shoulder, towards the door. I turned around just in time to see Harry, Ron and Ginny entering.

They hadn't noticed us, sitting in the corner sharing a bottle of butterbeer, but I knew it was only a matter of time. I sighed.

"I better go. I wouldn't be able to stand another fight with them, today."

Malfoy nodded, silently, and I stood up and walked over to the other Gryffindors. Ron glared at me.

"Thought you'd be off with MALFOY."

I rolled my eyes at him, and sat down at their table.

"I told you, Ron, I just wanted to talk to him."

Ron scowled, but didn't say anything.

After a while, the deafening silence at the table started to drive me insane.

"Look, if you guys are just going to sit there and give me evil vibes, I might as well just go back to Hogwarts!"

"Why don't you then?" Ron asked, loudly. "You could go and see Professor McGonagall, just like you did the other day!"

"For God's sake, Ron!" I yelled. "Would you just let it go?"

"NO I WON'T! Hermione, that guy has been being the biggest GIT the world has EVER seen to us, ever since first year! And now you two are all friendly all of a sudden ... WHY? Doesn't the word MUDBLOOD mean ANYTHING to you?!"

On impulse, I picked up Ron's butterbeer and upturned it onto his head. Then I stood up, and stormed out of the tavern.