Author's Notes: Please forgive the length between the last update and this one and the shortness of this chapter. I hope the content is good eough to leave you all satisfied for the time being. I'm getting my own computer soon...it's either the Dell which everyone hogs or the Mac that is about eight years old and hardly works so between the two of them I hardly get a chance to write these days! Once I get my own computer (which will be soon) knock on wood my updates will come much faster than before.

Chapter Two: The Seed

Draco was sitting outside the Quidditch waiting. He had long ago spotted his prey, a Hufflepuff second year named David Eakny who was watching the Hufflepuff team's practice with starry-eyes. Eakny had eagerly tried out for the Hufflepuff team that year only to not make the cut. It wasn't that he was a lousy player but that he was only a second year and didn't have a broom of his own. The Hufflepuffs had figured it was better to give the position to an elder player who had a broom, even if didn't play as well as the second year.

Draco's task was a simple one. He had to use every manipulative bone in his body, every ounce of Slytherin cunningness to plant the seed for the IHC Project. That and give away his prized broomstick, the Nimbus 2001. He grimaced. He wasn't particularly pleased with the task, especially since the kid they were using was a Hufflepuff, but Hermione had had several good reasons for using him.

"Out of all the houses," she had insisted, "Hufflepuff is the least partisan per say. Also Ernie told me all about this broom situation of his the other day when I bumped into him by the lake. David is the perfect candidate, he'll spread it to his best friend, Lyle Peters who has an older sister in Ravenclaw named Gianni Peters who is best friends with Padma Patil. Padma will tell Pavarti and before lunch time the whole school will hear that some kid saw a Gryffindor and a Slytherin hugging."

He had nodded along his concession not truly following. He was still rather reluctant about the whole idea, especially the fact that he was the one playing Juliet.

Practiced ended, and Draco saw the tired but happy Hufflepuff team slowly descend to the ground. Eakny leaped from his seat in the stands down to the pitch in what had to be record speed and congratulated the team on an awesome practice, and making many exuberant declarations that they were sure to pound Ravenclaw in the first match of the season.

Draco clung to the shadows of the pitch, willingly for no one to see him. "You do not have to be invisible to not be seen Draco." His father has often told him growing up, and now he was putting that philosophy to practice as best he could.

The Hufflepuffs hit the showers and Eakny left the pitch with a bittersweet smile on his face. You could tell how much he wanted to be on the team. As soon as he was out on the grounds Draco grabbed hold of his arm.

He jumped in surprise having not had the slightest idea that the Head Boy was nearby. "Is your name David Eakny?" he asked in a firm tone.

The sandy-haired boy was obviously intimated by the blonde Slytherin, "Y- Yes." He stuttered nodding up and down.

"Excellent." Draco replied clasping his hands together, "Come along then."

David followed Draco on the path towards the lake trying to not look as terrified as he truly was.

"How would you like a broom?" Draco asked when he stopped in the middle of the path, out of the ear shot of anyone.

With this David grew slightly less intimated. 'Would I!" he exclaimed.

"And not just any broom," Draco added, "A Nimbus 2001."

"Blimey." He breathed softly, "That's better than anyone's on the team.' He paused for a second, "Wait a second...what's the catch?"

Draco smirked, "You're a smart kid, I like that. It's not a very hard task to accomplish here. All you have to do is spread a rumor."

He gave him a hard cold look, "It's not hurtful is it?"

Draco stared at him unblinking, "No," he replied not trying to keep his disappointment at that fact out of his voice, "All you have to do is say you were in the Charms corridor heading towards Professor Flitwick's office because you had a question about homework or something and say that you saw a Gryffindor and a Slytherin hugging."

He gasped, "A Gryffindor and a Slytherin would never hug each other!"

Draco rolled his eyes, he seemed to be doing that a lot lately. "They didn't actually all you have to do is say that you saw a Gryffindor and a Slytherin hug each other. And when you see Hermione Granger in the Great Hall or somewhere you have to say that it was most definitely her, you recognize the face, and some blonde fellow."

"And that's all I have to do to get the Nimbus?" he asked suspiciously.

"That's all you have to do." Draco replied.

"How much does this all mean to you?" Eakny asked getting somewhat greedy.

'Hey, I could go to someone else!" Draco reproached.

David shot him a sour look. "I'm in." he said finally, "By this time tomorrow the whole school will know about it."

Draco shook his hand to magically seal the verbal contract between the two wizards and said, "You drive a hard bargain Eakny, I hope to do business with you again in the future."

"Likewise." Replied the second year.

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Hermione plopped down on one of the couches in her and Draco's shared common room with a heavy sigh. Her head was overwhelmed with thoughts and ideas about the whole plan. Just what had she gotten herself into?

She wasn't sure if she could convince the entirety of Hogwarts school that she was mad about Draco Malfoy. They had hated each other basically since they had set eyes on each other. Then again, what was it that Ginny always said...? Opposites attract or some other nonsense? It wasn't like Malfoy wasn't good on the eyes. He was perhaps too good on the eyes in some ways.

His skin was an absolutely flawless ivory, and although she preferred the more Slavic looking men, the drastically pale seemed to have become her second category. His hair was actually quite nice when he didn't have every strand perfectly gelled into place and his smile, when he used it in a pleasant way was quite nice.

So she could sort of understand how the other girls thought he was a right looker and how she...she shook her head vigorously and muttered, "Dead puppies!" under her breath before working out further plans for the IHC Project.
Author's Notes: The next update is in the near future, I promise. For those of you who got the dead puppies joke, I'm glad you did. Thanks for reading and remember the polite thing to do is review.