Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter nor any related thematic elements written by JK Rowling.

I'll Never Tell

"Welcome, to all our newcomers. To those returning, welcome back!" Dumbledore's voice rang joyfully throughout the great hall, and everyone sat attentively as the aging Headmaster made his beginning of the year speech. Soon he was finished, and all the students were chatting happily and feasting. Then he stood up again, "Now as our feast comes to a close, I would like to take the time to acknowledge two extraordinary students. Both, through extreme hard work and determination, managed to achieve the highest scores possible, and more, on the Ordinary Wizarding Levels."

"I thought the letter was going to be all..." Hermione said under her breath.

"What?" Ron looked at her wonderingly, although it wasn't really any surprise at all.

"I will now ask that Hermione Granger and-"

"And?"

"-Draco Malfoy please stand up!" Dumbledore looked proudly at his students.

"Oh honestly. I don't really see the need. Anyone could have done as well if they only studied," Hermione started. "But that prat, Malfoy. Who would've thought?" she said as she stood up to a respectable amount of applause.

Malfoy stood at the opposite end of the hall with a ridiculously smug look plastered to his pale face. As his eyes glanced in the direction of Hermione though, his smugness was mixed with a look of disgust. As in, how dare he have to share this award with a mudblood? Oh well, he thought to himself. As Lucius says, everything comes with a price. Cue the smug look.

Later on, while the Great Hall was clearing, Dumbledore made his last request. "Miss Granger, Mr. Malfoy, please follow me to my office," he said blissfully. Hermione promised to meet Harry and Ron in the Common Room afterward, and rushed off to follow Dumbledore.

"So, how was Granger's summer, I wonder?" Malfoy drawled from somewhere behind her.

"Now why would you even pretend to care?" Hermione snapped. She knew that Malfoys didn't change, and wasn't in the mood to be baited by his malicious comments. 'Why couldn't Ron or Harry have made just a bit more effort to study?' she wondered to herself silently.

"Funny, seems even an innocent question can trigger a nerve with a mudblood. But you are right there- I don't care." Malfoy brushed his white- blond hair out of his eyes, and walked past Hermione, stepping on to the spiraling staircase leading to Dumbledore's office. Hermione stood there for a second or two, regaining her composure. It would not be good to hex a classmate into oblivion on your first day back, oh definitely not, she scolded herself. Once they were both inside, both the Headmaster and Professor McGonagall greeted them.

"I hope you both had a pleasurable summer, it's good to have you back." Professor McGonagall greeted them. Hermione beamed and politely replied, while Draco only scowled and took a seat. "Headmaster Dumbledore and I have been very pleased by your achievements of all "excellents" on your O.W.L.s as well as managing to achieve special recognition from all your practical examiners. Therefore, we are offering you an opportunity to use the skills you have developed so well. Would you be interested in hosting a remedial Defense against the Dark Arts course of your own?"

"Oh, yes! That would be so lovely! Brilliant!" squealed Hermione.

"It will be up to the both of you to decide what specific topics you would like to cover, and it will be first and second years you will be helping. Tuesdays and Thursdays immediately after regular classes. Of course, we will provide you with a classroom and office to share. Any questions?"

"Did you say it was optional?" Draco asked lazily. For somebody apparently so smart, he could seem so indifferent to everything, Hermione thought. Well, it wouldn't be such a horrible tradgedy if he didn't agree to this though, she added to her train of thought.

"Yes I did, Mr. Malfoy," Professor McGonagall said sternly. Her face seemed tighter than ever, her lips pursed into a thin white line. "Are you not going to consider it? This is a very exciting opportunity I can't imagine why you wouldn't want to be a part of."

"I would love to, Professor!" Hermione piped. She looked over- ecstatic.

"I'll do it," Malfoy said shortly. McGonagall looked about to beg his pardon when he stood up swiftly, and said "Excuse me, I have important things to do." He then left through the exquisite wooden doors of the office, as if to show off his blatant disregard for authority. At least, authorities he wasn't particularly fond of.

McGonagall finished explaining the terms of the assignment to an attentive Hermione. "...And would you please inform Mr. Malfoy as soon as possible? You'll of course want to plan to get together and form your first lesson plan soon."

"Well, Professor," Hermione began, "I was wondering if...it would be possible for us to...er...teach separately? One of us could teach Tuesdays, and the other, Thursdays, maybe?"

"Don't be ridiculous. The goals of this assignment are not just to learn teaching skills, but to spark stronger inter-house relationships. As much as we know that sometimes, certain...houses can be a right pain in the...erm...never mind. I'm sure you can stay on top of things, Miss Granger. I have a lot of respect for you," McGonagall said, although it sounded more like she was trying her hardest to restrain herself from saying how sorry she was that Hermione had to work with such an intolerable student as Malfoy.

"I'm just not sure I could work with him..." Hermione chanced. Since McGonagall was head of the Gryffindor house, surely she wouldn't make her top student work with Malfoy, would she?

Apparently she was wrong.

"Nonsense. You'll be just fine," McGonagall said, and stood up to leave.

As the days wore on, Hermione found that it got increasingly harder to pass the information on to Malfoy. Almost as hard as it had been to get Harry and Ron to understand why she would do something optional with him.

"You're kidding me, right?" Ron had said at first. His expression was hilarious, in her opinion.

"You've gone daft. Crazy. Absolutely stark-raving mad!" Hermione remembered Ron shouting. "I'm going to KILL him if he even says a word to you. Talk to Dumbledore. Have him...I don't know...just get Malfoy some other bloody project!"

"Ron, calm down. It'll be fine. You don't think I can handle Malfoy? Right. I don't care what he says," she had tried to assure them. She thought to herself, Oh well. If he doesn't understand, that's fine. He will sooner or later...I hope. At least Harry seemed okay with it. Well, maybe not okay, but he looked as if he'd be able to process the information calmly later. "It'll be the perfect opportunity to promote S.P.E.W.!" Hermione had assured them happily. She was really ready to do it.

A week later after Potions with the Slytherins in which Snape had assigned, to Gryffindor only, a particularly long essay on the importance of mugwort in the Aging Potion, Hermione had tried to approach Malfoy in the hall. For the fourth time. Every other time she had tried he would either keep walking and sneer or say something along the lines of "Stop chasing me, Mudblood. You'll just have to deal with the fact that I'm completely out of your league." He would then walk away amidst the throng of hollering Slytherins.

"Malfoy! I have to talk to you! Will you just listen to me?!" she half-yelled. If he didn't listen this time she would just have to teach the lessons alone, she promised herself. He kept on walking. Ooh, pity, she thought sarcastically, and walked quickly to her next class.

Later on that day, she was hurrying out of the Arithmancy classroom, which she took with all four houses, as it was a rather un-popular course. She had stayed late to talk with Professor Vector about an extra-credit essay on Neptune, and was just about to turn left to walk downstairs. However, she was suddenly grabbed roughly by the shoulder and jerked haphazardly into an unused corridor. In the process she could feel her left hand hit a sharp piece of cold jagged metal, which sliced through her skin. It all happened so blindingly fast, that she temporarily lost her balance and almost fell against the cold stone wall. Funny, she'd never noticed the corridor before. It was hidden by various coats of Armour, but how her follower had managed to stay hidden this whole time she couldn't figure out. Who would've-?

"Malfoy! How dare you! I could report behavior like this straight to the--"

"Shut up Granger. I can't afford anybody to see me hanging around the likes of you. Why the hell have you been after me constantly?" He was so close to her it was scary, but if he had been any farther away his quiet hiss would have been inaudible. Hermione could feel his breath on her face, and shivered.

"That should be obvious! I've been trying to ask you when you could meet me so that we could go over our lessons! Also, there's more that McGonagall needed to tell you that you would already know if you hadn't just walked out like that!" Hermione began to rant. Just his presence was making her furious, and the fact that he seemed to have complete control over the situation wasn't helping. He just stood there, all serious and collected while she leaned her back against the cold stone wall practically shaking with rage.

"Once again, Granger, I had important things to do," he said. He was too close. Much too close.

"Like WHAT?" Hermione demanded as she pushed him a good three feet away from her. However, physical contact was not the best solution to this type of situation apparently. Damn the ferret for being so...good-looking! Shut up, Hermione, shut up! She repeated to herself.

"You want me to tell you? No. I don't fucking think so. Now you need to tell me what McGonagall said." Shocked by Malfoys tone and language, Hermione faltered for a bit. He talked down to her in a way that made her feel very small and inadequate.

"We...start right away. In fact, our first lesson is...tomorrow", she said, regaining her composure enough for a sweet mock-innocent smile to begin playing at her lips.

"Granger. Did you find it funny not to tell me earlier?" Malfoy demanded.

"Excuse me, but as you may remember, I tried to tell you! Lucky for you, I already have our first lesson planned out. House Elf Rights," Hermione stated matter-of-factly.

"I'm not about to let a mudblood run my project. I'll write, and have it ready--"

WHACK. Hermione had slapped him for the second time now, only this one was considerably harder. She remembered the scrawny thirteen year-old she had been the last time, utterly shocked by what she had done. Oh, how things change. She looked up at Draco, not surprised to see the great red hand print rising on his cheek.

"Damn it, Granger!"

"Don't call me that again! I'm completely sick of it! I'll work with you, if you'll just work with me! I'm trying hard to do this well, please don't make it anymore difficult. Can you do that?" She looked at him pleadingly, but with the smallest bit of hope.

It was more than he deserved, apparently. He made a noise of disgust, and began to walk away, throwing his hands up in the air. He was about to slip through the armory when—

"MALFOY."

"Ok, ok. God, I'll be there. Your lesson," he said coolly, and slipped out silently, Hermione following shortly afterward. She glanced down the direction of the corridor he had turned onto just in time to see him evanescing into the distance.

.....................................

A/N: This is the very first fanfiction piece I've written, I hope you enjoy!