Chapter 5

A/N: I cannot believe all the positive comments I'm getting. I really didn't expect it at all but thanks so much!! Special thanks to:

vkh214- Thanks for reviewing!

Lila- "A Walk to Remember" is my favorite movie. It is so sad and depressing though. But I love the songs from it, and that is why I chose to add that in, LOL. Thanks for the compliments, and don't worry, I am random too!!

Erica- Thanks so much!!!!!!!!

Raven- I'm glad you like this. Thanks for reviewing!

shauna b- I know, it did go fast but I think you may be surprised by this chapter. I decided to do something about how fast they were moving. I hope it's alright. Thanks for reviewing!

snowyangel83- I'm glad you like the plot, and I appreciate you saying that I kept them in character well. I try to keep good grammar because it does make it easier to understand. It's hard reading a story with bad grammar. Draco's wound was, unfortunately, a cliche, but I like justifying his attitude by saying his father is so horrible :)

...and of course, I must include kole17- Wow, I miss our conversations so much!! I hope you start getting more of a chance to be online so we can talk more!!!!! Thanks so much for everything!!!!

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Hermione gathered her things and headed to the library. It had taken awhile, but she had finally convinced Harry that she would be all right this time. The library was practically empty with the exception of Madame Pince, and now, Hermione. She sat down at the table, took her Arithmancy book out of her bag, and began to do her homework. She glanced up as Draco entered the library, but then averted her eyes back to her book.

"Let's get this over with," he said, making her head jerk up.

"What?" she asked in disbelief.

"Just go back to your reading, Granger. 59 minutes to go," he snapped. Hermione's jaw dropped. She'd thought things were okay between them. What about the ball? It was just this morning he asked, wasn't it? Had she fallen asleep and dreamt it all? She looked into his eyes; he was glaring at her, but when her eyes met his, she noticed a trace of guilt. Maybe even a bit of remorse. Now she was really confused. He looked away.

She decided to ask him about what exactly was going on. She knew he had asked her to the ball. She knew they had gotten along.

"What's going on?" she demanded. He looked taken aback by her boldness. It seemed he wasn't going to get off easy. He had wanted to avoid any situation that could make him feel sorry. He decided to put up his emotional block.

"This afternoon, I was thinking. We'll never be friends. It's just not going to happen. You'll have to find someone else to go to the ball with," he said, rather coldly.

Malfoy had been insulting and torturing Hermione ever since first year. But not even the name "Mudblood" had hurt as bad as these words. Her eyes were brimming with tears. She packed up her bag and fled the library. It hadn't even been 10 minutes.

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At nine o'clock that evening, Hermione received a message from Dumbledore. He wanted her to report to his office. When she arrived, she noticed that there was another person talking to him. He was seated with his back to her, so that all she could see was some silvery blonde hair. How she wanted the smack the back of his head. However, Dumbledore looked up and smiled at her.

"Ah, Miss Granger. How nice of you to join us. Please sit down," he said, gesturing at the chair beside Malfoy.

"I'd rather stand, Professor," she said, smiling sweetly.

"But I insist," he said, peering over his half-moon glasses at her. Reluctantly, she sat down, taking great care to not look at Malfoy at all.

"Now, I have resources to tell me that you were 54 minutes short of an hour for today. May I ask for an explanation?"

"Well, you see, Professor, she just ran out of the library for no reason. It wasn't my fault," Malfoy explained, putting on his innocent act.

"No, I never would have run away if he hadn't been so horrible to me!" Hermione protested angrily. Malfoy glared at her and folded his arms over his chest.

"Being that you both share a bit of fault, we must stick to the rules of the program," Dumbledore said. Hermione's heart skipped a beat. Oh no, she thought. Oh no, oh no, oh no! She knew what was coming.

"You must spend an entire week together. I am insisting that you go to the ball together, and after the ball, arrangements will be made for your week," Dumbledore said.

"What?!" Malfoy yelled, jumping out of his seat outraged. "You can't do that! It's not fair!"

"Mr. Malfoy, please lower your voice. It will be as I said, because I cannot let your war of six years go on any longer. It can become dangerous," he said. "Now, you best be off. The ball is in two days, and you should be preparing."

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"...and so now, I have to go to the ball with Malfoy and spend an entire week with only him!" she finished. Back in the common room, Harry and Ron had been waiting for Hermione to return. She had explained everything from the scene in the library to her visit to Dumbledore's office. Harry volunteered to go talk to Dumbledore right away, and Ron was set on bloodying up Malfoy, but Hermione shook her head.

"No, Dumbledore is dead set on this, and I am not letting you two get in trouble on my account." Neither of the boys bothered to disagree with her; she did not look in the mood.

"I'm going to bed. Tomorrow, I'm going shopping with Lavender and Parvati, and I am not letting Malfoy ruin this for me!" she said defiantly. And she left. Ron and Harry were a bit shocked at her boldness and defiance, but they decided to leave it alone and went to bed.

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"Ooh, look at this one!" Parvati said in awe. She was eyeing a long, auborn-colored gown. It was strapless, and the shoes to match were high- heeled, with 3 straps weaving in and out of each other from the toe to the heel.

"That would look great on you," Hermione agreed, and Lavender nodded.

"I'm getting it," Parvati declared. Lavender had already picked out her dress. It was a light-brown color, but the way it was decorated made it breathtaking. The light-brown was like a tan color. Hermione was the only one who hadn't found a dress yet. She passed up the red one; too bright. The orangish ones were flat out ugly in her opinion. Suddenly, Lavender grabbed her arm and pulled her into the next display.

"This is perfect!" she cried, showing it to Hermione. She had to agree. This dress had spaghetti straps, and it reached to the floor. The color of the dress competed with the color of honey. Parvati insisted that Hermione try it on. It fit like a second skin, all the way until it reached her calves, where it slightly fanned out to her feet. It was a perfect fit, and they all agreed she looked fantastic. That was all she needed to hear; she bought it, along with the shoes to match.

The whole way back to the school, they chatted excitedly about the ball: their outfits, hair, make-up, and everything else. Hermione didn't even think of Malfoy the whole day.

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A/N: Wow, this was alot longer when it was written out on paper. Oh well, the ball is next!! I decided I could keep the plot more interesting if I made Draco and Hermione's relationship backslide. I hope you all liked this. R/R!!