I'm terrible, I know, I kept you waiting AND I haven't proofed this copy oo don't kill me! I'm sick and tired of this chapter! I really liked writing this draft, but I've written and rewritten this chapter nearly five times and I'm SICK of it! So please, I'm pretty sure there aren't any really terrible mistakes, but if there are, forgive me, point them out, and if I deem them worthy enough to fix for later readers, I will change them. I'm positive there are spelling errors, because I am me, and I am a horrid speller -- so forgive me for that too, if you can't desipher what I was trying to come across with, tell me, I'll change it. Is this one too rushed?-bites nails- oh dear, i hopenot. Let me knowif you think so!that is something i HATE so I'll fix it!!Well, on to chapter four!

Chapter Four: Curses!

"Surprise love!" Said Draco in a mock cheerful voice, grinning broadly as he watched her expression quite intently. He drank in every detail he possibly could decipher, something he was quite accustomed to doing. He found that Granger often wore her expressions on her sleeve, and by analyzing her, was able to pin point what would aggravate her the best.

This task could have been quite difficult to others, those who were not quite aquainted to Granger's fine line of anger and calm disposition, for sometimes she was able to feign an impartial temperament, oh but he had grown accustom to how she truly was, considering he had known her for nearly half his life. He had Granger nearly figured out.

Nearly.

There were times where she surprised him, to say the least. And in some, sadistic, morbid way, he enjoyed it when she was able to astonish him.

Though that time when she hit him in third year…that he hadn't particularly enjoyed. Nor did he find it funny when she infested his bed in seventh year with ferrets when they shared a dorm as Head students. Though he knew the Wonder Trio had probably helped her with that, along with the Weasel twins.

Curse them.

But at this precise moment, he felt it was his duty, no, obligation, to pay her back for all those times where she put him in his place. Draco Malfoy felt the need to give her a reality slap to remind her that the world revolved around him.

And to this, he smirked inwardly, but it was quickly removed when he realized that she was giving him a reality slap.

Curse her.

He expected her to scream or yell at him, and probably a few hexes with it (though he did not really want to suffer through the pain she could cause him) but this was far worse.

She just looked at him.

How dare she! How dare she do something he had not already anticipated?! The nerve of that Mudblood! It just boiled his Pureblood!

Draco returned her stare, held it fast, his lopsided grin still intact. But he found he had never quite held one of her cold stares before, and to his dismay, he felt she was quite intimidating. He scoffed the thought of her intimidating him of all people! But there he was, feeling a bit twitchy.

Granger did not glare at him, her glares he could handle, but she had this look of annoyance, as if he were some cumbersome inconvenience she had to bare. A look his Father had given him before. Her lips were a thin line, and her hazel brown eyes were looking at him in a very cold transfixion of distaste to his existence. Her brow was arched, in a sort of expecting manner, a look that a mother gave her child when she found him doing something against the rules. She even held her hand on her hip! Merlin, he already had parents! One murdered him, and the other was in a white padded room for all he knew!

He was raised by nutters…oh. Merlin. He was just as bad off as Granger was! Mudblood and all, he was DEAD! Murdered by his noble father!

This was not time to think of that. He had Granger to annoy, but that plan seemed to have backfired.

His grin had long since faltered, he now sported a very pouty persona, arms crossed and all. He knew he must look ridiculous, SO?! He ruled the world after all! Erm…maybe not rule but close enough. One day all would name him king!

Merlin, he sounded like Voldemort…

A resounding silence, as oxy-moron as that is, filtered the atmosphere, Draco decided he did not appreciate being on the intimidated end of a silence such as the formerly mentioned. He wracked his brain for something extremely witty that had to do with the present relativity, but he was extremely irritated when he could not come up with a single one, so he muttered a defiant, "Mudblood!" in turn of making him sound, and feel, like a complete git.

Granger, in turn, did not so much as bat an eyelash at this rather irrelevant and rude comment. She swiftly unlatched her cloak, and with a swish, tossed it in Draco's direction, it landed on his head, draping over his face so he could not see.

He spluttered a bit, cursed a few times at how she out did her again and…for just a moment, inhaled deeply, inviting her sugary scent to fill his lungs.

Curse her!

Distracting him from his annoyance at her cloak! It just had to smell so good!

He ripped it off his face as fast as he possibly could, ready to send some nasty comment her way, but found she had already quitted the room and was nearly at the top of the stairs, which probably lead to her bedroom.

Draco sat there for a moment, wondering for a bit why he had not previously thought of raiding her knicker drawer! Well, he did have till Christmas!


Seeing Draco Malfoy in her sitting room was not something Hermione really anticipating when she Apperated home, but she did try with all her might to not let it bother her.

Oh who was she kidding?

Seeing that blonde git in her living room eating her week old take-out was something that absolutely baffled her! Though, she was quite a bit more angered at the site of him, than shocked.

How did he get there in the first place? More importantly, why was he there? She hadn't the slightest inkling on why he would drop by, she knew it was not for a friendly visit, it was one o'clock in the morning, after all. And Malfoy's don't do 'friendly visits', especially in a Mudblood's home.

She gave out an impatient sigh and decided she did not care, nor believe that Draco Malfoy was watching television and eating take-out in her living room.

Curse that cookie!

Curse Fred and George!

It was bad enough she had been rendered unconscious for quite a few hours, but now she was hallucinating that a blonde pig was in her house!

Hermione entered the Master Bath, which door was located to the left of her bed, and splashed icy water across her extremely fatigued face. As she did so, her eyes caught her reflection in the mirror. She had to say she looked a fright at this late hour, but she felt even worse.

She had seen the complete aggravation she had placed into Malfoy's façade, she saw for a brief moment in his dull gray eyes (though she could hardly call them dull, but she chided herself for thinking so, even deep down that they were anything but dull.) something akin to intimidation burning beneath the surface. Only a moment of it was brought to her attention, had she blinked, she would have missed it.

She, Hermione Granger, had intimidated a Malfoy, if only for a moment. Well, hallucination Malfoy, anyhow.

And it seemed that she presented herself well enough to hide the fact she was deeply intimidated herself.

He always had a way of making her feel ugly. No, ugly was not the word, for she felt she was relatively presentable, nothing gorgeous, but pretty enough (though she knew Malfoy would never find her pretty...not that she cared of course.) Worthless was more the word to her liking. Or rather distaste.

She never cared to be thought as beautiful around him, no, that was Zabini's secretary's job. She snorted, those two were both scum. She was loaded with twice the work because Zabini's secretary did nothing! Well, except shagging both the vice and president of the company…so while these little rendezvous occurred, she was swamped with twice the work. She was proud to say she was not a bimbo like, what was her name? Courtney? Britnee? No, it was Trixie.

She hardly doubted her real name was Trixie.

But that was not the point, she was always inferior because she was smart, she was efficient, and she was quite intellectual. Had she been a Pureblood man, she probably would have bought out Malfoy Industries by now.

The truth was, she wasn't, and she dealt with it every day. She was treated less than mediocre, but she was far above that. The only men who ever treated her with such respect were Harry and Ron. She loved them both dearly, and possibly, just possibly, she could see herself romantically involved with one of them, but neither were, at the present time, available to be in a 'romantic relationship' with her. Harry was seriously dating Ginny, and Ron, well, Ron was single and very much liking it.

Besides, she didn't want to date Ron anyhow. They dated once before, but that ended rather quickly.

Not a good story for the moment.

How was it that Draco Malfoy, even in her own home, could make her feel worthless?

Oh she hated him. She really, really hated him.

She had many reasons to hate that wanker, but the current one that feasted on her emotions was how he was just so…oh she hated to admit it.

But he was just so perfect!

And it wasn't fair. At all.

They both matched wits in equality, she had even been ahead of him in her school years, he was second to her. But he had been born to Pureblood heritage, which gave him the advantage.

Not that she'd trade any moment she had with her Muggle parents for a Pureblood life…but it was just so unfair!

He was such a bigot, and so was the rest of the world, she loathed it. She would be working in the Ministry still, had it been for that great git called Minister Fudge. He hadn't been such a bother when she worked in the Auror field, but any other he probably would treat her so terribly.

Probably because she tried to have him sacked a few times.

Pity she failed.

Curse Fudge!

No wait, Curse Malfoy more, for he was the reason she was tearing herself apart like this!

'Goodness,' she thought, 'get yourself together Hermione; you're above all this Malfoy junk!'

She stiffened her posture, quitted her room and regally stepped down the stairs to observe if Malfoy was truly in her home.

She let out a sigh of pure relief as she found the living room empty. She chided herself for being so silly as to think Malfoy had been in her home, stupid cookie…

But then she realized she had tossed her cloak across the room to where hallucination Malfoy had been, and it was no where to be found. Also, there was an empty take-out box on the coffee table.

Merlin, No!

Suddenly, Malfoy rushed out of the kitchen with a knife in hand, which he brandished like a sword, wearing her cloak, and terrorizing her cat.

It was priceless, seeing him like that, oh she wished she had her camera on hand!

Crookshanks ran up the stares, brushing past her leg, hissing and spitting, and Malfoy's eyes followed the cat all the way to her, where his gaze stopped abruptly.

She was smirking at him.

And he was looking quite sheepish, brandishing a cooking knife wearing her cloak like a long swishing cape. He was quite the sight to behold.

"Enjoying yourself?" she drawled before she realized she was not only smirking, but speaking like he does.

Malfoy regained composure quite quickly and unlatched her cloak as he cleared his throat and shrugged. "Stupid cat scratched me." He muttered.

"Would you like to tell me what in Merlin's name you are doing here?"

A look of thoughtfulness swept over his face, mocking her question. "Hummm. No. Not really."

She raised her eyebrows and gave him 'the look' again, which manipulated anyone.

Even a Malfoy.

"Just kidding Granger, sheesh, no need to give me that look of wrath you have. Tell me, is that how Potter defeated Voldemort? He stood behind you as you gave that foul look to the Dark Lord? Impressive!" He clapped his hands to mock her, which only increased the satisfying image of Malfoy being tortured in various ways.

"Yes, it was something like that." She snapped. "Now, I believe you were telling me what you are doing in my house?"

"Well, it is really quite a lengthy story, but I'll sum it up for you, just for you."

"Oh how courteous of you." Hermione replied, quite sarcastically.

He cleared his throat, indicating he was ready to begin his tale.

And what a tale it was.

Once he had finished telling the story, he gave a mock bow and said, "well, there you have it! That's why I'm here!"

Hermione just stared at him, she didn't give him 'the look' like she had done previously, she just stared at him incredulously. "Let me get this straight…You're dead."

"Yup."

"but you got another chance in life."

"Mmhmm."

"But only if the person who hates you most, or, me, misses you?"

"Yes, that is precisely what I said, ten points to your house, Miss Granger." Said Malfoy, being his annoying self.

Hermione stared at him a bit more, not sure if she should laugh in his face or not. She was almost certain that was what he believed she would do. That or fall into his arms and confess her undying love to him, he was such a conceited prick. So she decided to take a different approach, surprise him once more.

"Well," she said smiling as sweetly as she could at the albino snake in front of her, "good luck with that!" Before he could protest to her comment, she quitted the stairs and ascended back up to her room with a contented smirk playing on her lips. The last thing she heard from him was a muffled, "Curse you Granger!"


Well know, off to reviews and such. BUT FIRST ME!! haha ok ok, i just want to give a brief sum of my vacation in California, it was great fun! We went to Carlsbad California, and we stayed in a resort right off the beach (thank you grandma!) haha anyway, some family came w/ us, and we went to Disneyland and California Adventure, which was soooo fun. I had never been to California Adventure, it was CLASSIC. Oh I love that park!

And now to the reviews!

DracoMalfoyIsHot888: no Dani, I won't put your stinking letters in wEiRd format because it's too COMPLICATED right now! lol thank you for your kind reviews, yes I stole your house, but cummon, I'm not brave, I'm smart, but not really all THAT into my studies, I'm most certainly NOT a hufflepuff..I'm too mean for that hahaha sooo Slytherin! Nooo Draco has nothing to do with my choice the c2 idea was brillient, wasn't it? I absolutly go post crazy on the c2 heh!

Delayed Action Ninja: Yes, hugs AND kisses!!! JUST FOR YOU! mwahaha! because no one else mentioned them. So here passes a hand cuffed Draco to you (heh a bit dirty don't you think?) now, i'm sharing, which isn't in my nature haha. Yes, I'm really excited to write when they realize their feelings for each other, but FIRST they're going to drive each other insane!!!! Thank you for your review!

Kate-Felton: haha yes, well, i soiled the story by mentioning Ron, didn't I? Well, it was in a derogitory sence, so I suppose its ok, right? I really don't like him much...Idk he's growing on me. A bit. But not Ron/Hermione. Thanks for the review!

BabyGooGoo2: Your review cracked me up, YES I'm a HP obsessed dork! And YOU are a loyal reader and reviewer of my story, now what exactly does that tell you? haha thanks for your erm lovely comment.

trapt-in-a-dream: Yes, seeing your dead boss would be a bit erm, odd, don't you think? Well, at the time, she didn't know he was dead, so that's a good thing. Thank you for your review!!!

sweetytweety013: Here's the update! Thank you for the nice review!

avocado75: I always love hearing from you! You're one of my favorite reviewers I had a really fun time in California, and writing Draco and his discovery of Muggle contraptions was quite fun ohhh how i love writing that boy onto paper. thank you for your loyalty!

NitenGale: Yesssh I'm sugar high Oo what about you? lol I'm sorry to disappoint you, I hope I pleased you with the interaction here. I promise, it'll get better, and you will LOVE it!

LillaBella: heh thank you I hope this chapter met up to your expectations!

witchchild280: Thank you for your input!!! I'm trying to shoot everything from a more original perspective, soBlaise will come off a bit differently than the normal Blaise I have seen. I'm not one partial to slash, but I'm reading a Hermione/Draco where Blaise is bisexual, it'smore for humorthan hard core slashing.Ah yes, braces...just a few more months until mine are gone.You're the second person here that's considered me tall! I don't find myself really 'tall'I'm more average where I come from I suppose.shrugs thank you for your comment

Galixia: Thank you for the nice comment, but I must ask, where is Death Curse at? heh I normally stick to for myfanfiction needs, butit wouldn't hurt to check this place out thanks once a gain!

American-born-confused-desi: Ahhh but writing cliffies are sooo fun! reading however...not so fun. lol I'll try not to do TOO many cliff hangers. Well, just as long as I continue the next chapter quickly heh thank you for the nice review!

cold-eyes-for-you: Heh yeah, I really liked that line too, sorta why I used it the fun is not over yet, I promise there will be lots more humor soon

canadian-desert-princess: Just tell me what you want to know, and I'll tell you go ahead and give me an e-mail, and do let me know when you start a fiction!

slyswn28: I'm glad I was able to paint a vivid picture! I do try, I hope this one isn't too rushed. Thank you!