She clapped a hand over her mouth but it was too late. The words were out. Thankfully Draco seemed as disturbed by the thought as she was.

"Of course we couldn't do that. It's not possible." She hastened to reassure both of them.

"Right. It would never happen. Still…" he paused and seemed to be debating something.

"What is it, Malfoy?"

He locked gazes with her and shrugged as if it weren't important.

"Well I was just thinking that it might be a good thing to use in our report anyway."

"What?! Are you insane?"

"Obviously. I'm still here with you, aren't I?"

He took a step closer to her as he tried to convince her of his reasoning.

"Think about it. We tell Dumbledore and the other professors the other provisions of our proposal and then we say something about how it's a shame that we can't do more to show an increase in solidarity like live together."

She looked away from him and seemed to be considering his words carefully.

"I don't know, Malfoy."

"Let's face it, Granger. We're going to be a hard sell as it is. No one is going to believe that we suddenly decided to play nice for any reason other than this project…especially Dumbledore. We need every advantage we can if we're going to win. So if we say that we're willing to go the extra mile to improve relations by doing something really above and beyond like living together then maybe he'll be convinced enough to give us the points."

He did have a point, she conceded grudgingly. Never mind that it was her point. No one was going to believe this at all. They needed as many aces in the hole as they could get.

"And the extra credit." She added.

"Right."

"There's no way this can backfire on us, right?" Hermione asked.

"None. So what do you say, Granger? Are you ready to go talk to Dumbledore?"

She sipped her hot chocolate and took a bite of another cookie.

"I don't know. What about our friends?"

He furrowed his brow.

"What about them?" he asked.

"Well we're worrying about Dumbledore and the rest of the faculty being okay with this whole arrangement but what about our friends? I mean if we're together that much we're bound to have to interact with each other's friends."

"So what?" He didn't really see a problem. He could ignore Potter and Weasley anytime he had to be around them or else he could taunt them, knowing it was bound to goad them knowing he was spending time with Hermione. He failed to see a downside.

"We can't just ignore each other's friends or act nasty to them, either."

When did Granger become psychic?

"Why the hell not?"

She sighed and dunked her cookie in her hot chocolate. Taking a bite she waited until she had swallowed before speaking.

"It would defeat the whole purpose of the project, Malfoy. We're supposed to be bringing the Houses together and yet we only act civil to each other? If we don't at least try to be tolerant of each other's friends it's going to get back to the committee and we'll lose for sure."

He hadn't thought about that aspect of it.

"So do you think you can handle it?" she asked without any malice, only genuine curiosity. "Could you be sitting at the same table with me at dinner and stand up to someone who calls me a…a… mudblood?"

He didn't even blink. He just shot his reply back at her.

"Could you stand up to anyone who thinks you're in this to fulfill your secret crush on me?"

She laughed and then realized he was serious.

"Oh. You were serious?"

"Face it, Granger. Some people are going to draw that conclusion."

She rolled her eyes.

"Although I highly doubt I'll be placed in that position I am confident I can handle it."

"Well I can handle dealing with your friends for the next three months."

That's right, it was only three months. Surely she could deal with anything that happened for three months? Unless…

"Oh no, Malfoy! I just thought of something horrible!"

"Well what is it?"

"What if we go through with the whole thing and then after the ball everyone goes back to the way they were and Dumbledore decides that it didn't work and takes away the House Points and the extra credit?"

"He can't do that!" He was clearly panicked by the thought.

"Of course he can! He's the Headmaster!"

He was beginning to appreciate the merits of having Hermione as his partner before they even got started. She clearly was paranoid enough for the both of them and consequently came up with every possible disaster scenario there was. Of course if your best friend was The Boy Who Lived to Piss Off Draco Malfoy then chances were probably better than average that you would quickly develop a healthy fear of the unknown and thus question everything.

So what could they do about this little glitch? He admitted to himself that there was more than one part of this whole fiasco that he hadn't thought out as well as he could have. The simplest answer came to him quickly and he decided it was the best course of action.

"Well we'll just have to ask him, then!"

"What?!" Hermione was clearly aghast at the thought of challenging a professor while Draco seemed to regain his confidence with this thought.

"It's simple. We ask him if we are to be held accountable for things reverting to the way they had been prior to the start of this whole asinine project."

She smiled a little at Malfoy's description.

"It would be rather unfair for us to have to be responsible for everyone else's behavior, right?" she asked him.

"Of course it would be." He looked indignant at the thought.

"So…" she seemed to be considering something. "If I talk to Harry and Ron and let them know what the plan is and you talk to your friends and we get the committee's approval to carry out the project then…"

"Then come Monday morning it's going to be a whole new ballgame."

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Disclaimer: Nothing to see here, folks. Move it along. No ownership of characters here.

Author's Notes: Sorry that the chapters are a little brief…I am trying to remedy that! Thank you for reading and reviewing, and even just reading. You are terrific.

Mme Plot Bunnie—I am so pleased that I was able to make you laugh! I crack up as I write the interactions between D/Hr and it feels good to know I don't laugh alone. Thanks for taking the time to write.

Jessabel—You are so nice! Thanks for the lovely compliment. Most D/Hr stories (yes, even my own) crack me up b/c they have so much potential chemistry. Thank you for writing, I appreciate it!

Francesca—I just love the fact that I have some reviews from my WONDERFUL reviewers of my FG fic…like you! I am pleased that you found this story and even more excited that you like it! I will try to ensure that FG doesn't get neglected as I continue to balance both stories. Thank you for reading and reviewing both…you really are the best.