Author's Notes: I thought about waiting until I had some more reviews but then I figured that wasn't very nice. If I have it done I should post it, right?

Disclaimer: Still no ownership of the characters. Check back with me after this week's lottery drawing, though.

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She blushed but persevered in her questioning.

"Okay okay. You have a point. But do you at least have an idea of what your project is going to be?"

This time it was Ron's turn to gulp down his food and respond.

"Well actually we did talk a little about it during Divination…"

"Why am I not surprised?" she interrupted to tease him.

"I know but I swear we understand more and more why you aren't in that class. Really, if she predicts Harry's death one more time I'm going to stop going. Anyway…" he hastily returned to the subject at hand when he saw Hermione shoot him one of her looks that meant she was getting impatient. "We thought that maybe we could pair up with some of the guys from the other houses and all of us could form an inter-house Quidditch team and maybe play the season that way."

It was so typical of Harry and Ron to think of something related to Quidditch but she had to admit that the idea was a good one and she said as much.

"Really?" Harry asked her with a wide-eyed smile. "I guess it is a good idea, Ron. I mean if Hermione approves that has to mean something, right?"

She blushed as they teased her but she felt good knowing that her opinion really did matter to them. Her smile faded slightly as she realized that while Ron and Harry were well on their way she was still sans a partner or a project idea. Maybe if she heard what everyone else was doing she would get struck by some inspiration. She spent the rest of the day asking her fellow Gryffindors what their plans were during and in-between classes.

Draco left Slytherin House in a foul mood. He hadn't been asked to be partners with anyone yet…well anyone who actually was interested in the project and not in using the unity project as a flimsy excuse to work in some quality snog time with him. As he strode into the hallway leading to the Great Hall he cursed his uncanny appeal to the opposite sex for the first time in memory.

After dinner he made his way to the library in a desperate attempt to avoid yet another ambush by some female pretending to want him as a partner in this project and nothing more. He figured that no one would look for him in the library for a while. As he entered the study area he thought he heard his name being called and turned around while walking. It was this lack of attention that caused him to almost run into someone, namely one Miss Hermione Granger.

Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on whose point of view you were considering) she was paying attention and put out an arm to stop him. He collided with it and whirled around to see who had dared to touch him without an invitation. He scowled when he saw who it was.

"Granger." He growled at her. "What the hell do you think you're doing touching me?"

She rolled her eyes.

"Oh please Malfoy. You're such a stupid git. If you had been looking where you were going I wouldn't have had to touch you at all. But since you weren't I had to stop you from barreling into me."

"Whatever." He brushed past her and went into the stacks to find a book to distract him while he waited for enough time to pass that he could safely try to make his way back to his room without being accosted.

He sat down at the nearest table and proceeded to open the book. The sound of a feminine sneeze caused his head to jerk upright in anger. Who had followed him? He nearly groaned aloud as he saw that it was Hermione. She was a table away and sat facing him with a weird smile on her face. Her gaze locked on his in an open challenge.

She was daring him to move now that he realized that he was sitting so close to her. He saw the evidence of a prolonged study session and recognized that she had been there before he came in. More likely than not she had seen him sit down without looking. He knew he should have checked out the seating arrangements before he sat down…this damn project had shot his concentration to hell. But his pride wouldn't let him switch seats. He simply raised an eyebrow at her and turned his attention back to his book.

It felt like an eternity for both of them. They both breathed identical sighs of relief when they heard Madame Prince announce that it was closing time. Although neither would admit it they had been waiting the other out in a weird battle of wills to see who would be the first to leave.

Their desire to not be seen as the one who was running away led to them walking practically side by side as they left the library.

They parted ways in silence and made their way to their dorms where they both struggled to get to sleep. Hermione decided to worry about the unity project later and she fell asleep after a long while.

Draco wasn't so lucky. He had come to the conclusion that he needed to get more proactive in this search for a suitable partner. So what was he looking for? Someone who cared about the project as much as he did. Someone who was from a different House. So who did he know who would want the House Points and the extra credit? Who cared about their House and would be willing to do whatever it took to get the points? Who worried about their grades enough to ensure that they would get the extra credit, no matter what the cost?

He suddenly sat upright in his bed, clutching his chest as if he were having a heart attack.

It had to be her.

Granger.

He protested automatically but his mind wouldn't let go of the idea once it had taken root. She fit all of the requirements on paper. She was from a different House. She cared about her House with that insane Gryffindor pride of hers. And there was no mistaking her obsession with her grades. Yes, she would be perfect. Except for that rather large problem wherein neither of them could stand to be around the other for a prolonged period of time without violence ensuing.

He groaned and flipped over in bed. He had the sinking feeling his life was about to get more complicated than he ever imagined. He fell into an uneasy sleep, dreading the day to come.

Thursday morning found both Hermione and Draco in equally bad tempers. Draco had tossed and turned all night and Hermione had been plagued by nightmares of Slytherin winning the House Cup because of her failure to get the points from the unity project.

Their eyes briefly met at breakfast and he scowled at her. She simply broke the contact and went about her life. Malfoy giving her angry looks was a part of her day and she didn't even dwell on it anymore. Besides, she still had yet to find a suitable partner for the stupid project.

By the end of the day neither of them had been able to come up with someone else. Of course Hermione hadn't even considered Malfoy.

At least not yet.

He was stomping around his room, trying to think of someone else, anyone else. But he couldn't and finally at 11:00 he gave up trying and decided to go find Hermione. He determined the best way to go was by air. If he appeared to never leave his room so much the better as far as he was concerned. He took his broom out of the closet and took off out of his window. Wasting no time he sped over to the Gryffindor dorm and proceeded to look into the windows, trying to find Hermione's room. After what felt like a lifetime he finally found her. She was laying in bed reading.

"What a shock," he thought to himself. He realized he was about to scare her half to death and he smiled for the first time that day.

The knock on her window indeed scared her half to death and she jumped, reaching for her wand in the next instant. When she got up and looked out she almost fainted when she saw who it was.