Terms of Agreement

When Hermione reached for the door handle she hadn't expected it to open, so when it did, she jumped, and then looked up to see Draco looking down at her. She tried to hide her shock, but it was too late. Draco was equally surprised, but more adept at hiding his reaction.

"You're early, Granger."

"So are you." She looked at him for a second as if expecting an attack, then, receiving none, pushed her way past him into the compartment. Draco inwardly groaned and shut the door.

She'd already made her way over to the bookshelf and was choosing a book to read when Draco turned around. She herself turned around to find Draco giving her a very intense look.

"So, Granger…" He moved closer.

"Yes?"

"That shirt, it's very…" He paused.

"Red?"

"Revealing."

She scowled at him and made no attempt to hide her disgust. "No it's not."

"Actually it is. Take my word for it."

She ignored him and sat down to read her book. Draco took a seat directly across from her and proceeded to look her over.

Well, well, she certainly looks different, he thought as he scanned her body. From the top of her head to the tips of her toes, she radiated this new aura—of what? Perhaps she didn't, but for Draco it was as if he were seeing her for the first time. He'd never had a reason to study her in the past, and so he never did—after every insult he'd flung at her, the most he would watch was her face to see if any upset had been caused there. But now that he was looking at her, well, he didn't mind what he saw. Probably wouldn't be too bad in bed either, he thought. Draco noted with surprise that she wasn't unattractive as he'd always assumed she was. As he recalled, last year he felt nothing but repulsion and anger when he looked at her, but now…Hermione sat with one leg crossed over the other, her foot nervously twitching as she read, and seemed completely oblivious to his regard.

Oh gods, is he really looking at me? Hermione had actually stopped reading just as soon as she'd started, when she realized that Draco's gaze was locked on her. She was feeling rather uncomfortable under his scrutiny. She was patently convinced that he could be doing nothing else but forming some scheme to embarrass and annoy her. Hermione couldn't concentrate when she knew his eyes were on her, but she continued in her efforts to read nonetheless.

A sudden bump in the train ride broke his concentration, and she took it as an opportunity to say something.

"Ma—"

"Say, Granger, what book are you reading?" he asked, cutting her off.

Oh. He was trying to read the cover. That's why he looked so confused. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Just a little poetry."

"Uh huh…I must say you've changed quite a bit."

"Really?" She looked up, waiting for what he would say next.

"Yes, you might even be good for a shag now."

Hermione instantly recoiled. Had she just heard what she thought she did? "Yeah, well you can clear your head of that delusion right now because it's not going to happen," she said, deciding to take this strange comment seriously—and reject it, of course.

"What's wrong Granger? Surely you like to shag? And the chance to do so with the Draco Malfoy…"

"Draco Malfoy…" her eyes trailed down his body, "your fly is open."

"Oh, damn!" He looked down and hurriedly zipped up, cursing under his breath.

Hermione rolled her eyes. The morning had barely begun and he'd already managed to lay someone. She hadn't believed that his libido was really what it had been reputed to be, but here was the proof right in front of her. And apparently it was worse than before, if he could imagine himself touching someone who wasn't a pureblood.

"I wasn't shagging anyone, for your information," he said, as if reading her thoughts.

"Oh. I thought you were."

"Nope. Which leaves you free to—"

POP! Professor McGonagall Apparated into the compartment. Draco looked at his watch. Damn. 9:10 on the dot.

"Miss Granger, Mister Malfoy, I'm glad to see you two are on time." The professor conjured a chair and sat down so that she could face both of them. "First of all, let me offer my congratulations on being this year's Head Boy and Head Girl."

"Now," she said, clasping her hands, "let's get right down to business. As you may have guessed, this year's goal is unity. You two will be working, together, to unite the school. And I know you have your differences, but I would ask you to please cast them aside. Professor Dumbledore will talk to you later in more detail about your Head duties. For now, I will just give you this overview of the year." She handed them each a lengthy piece of parchment. "So, look those over, and then you're free to do what you want. You may stay and get to know each other better—which I would suggest—or you may return to your own compartments." She stood up. "Any questions?"

"No, professor," Draco and Hermione said simultaneously.

"Then I will see you two in the castle." With another POP! the professor Disapparated, and a second later her chair disappeared too.

"I suppose this means we'll have to get along," Hermione said.

"I suppose."

"Well, we can start by going on a first-name basis."

Surprisingly Draco didn't object.

"And no more calling me mudblood."

He didn't say anything to that either.

"And you have to be civil to Harry and Ron."

"Whoa, there…Hermione. Why should I be civil to Potter and Weasel?"

"Weasley," she corrected. "And we're supposed to be promoting school unity. You can't do that when you're constantly insulting them."

"I don't know about that," Draco said. He thought for a moment. "How about I just ignore them?"

"You know the funny thing is that would be an improvement," Hermione said.

"Alright, so I agree to all of your terms. Now you have to agree to mine."

"Shoot."

"It's only one…" She met his gaze. "How about a nice shag?"

"That's not a term of agreement," she said, narrowing her eyes.

"You know I was serious when I said that you'd changed, Hermione."

"No 'shagging'."

"Surely you're not afraid?" Draco stood and walked over to stand in front of her seat.

"Of course not," Hermione said, "I just have no desire whatsoever to do that." She shrunk back into her seat, then peered at him. "And are you even serious, Ma—Draco?"

"Of course. And I'll even tell you why we should, Hermione…"

"So there's a reason now?"

"Yes of course."

"Well, it's irrelevant. I need to change now." She stood; once again they were face-to-face, or rather, face-to-chest. "I'll see you later." She rushed off to find her robes, leaving a very irked Draco standing alone in the Heads' compartment.

It was a good thing that Draco hid his emotion so well, because he had only gotten angrier as the conversation had progressed. Who the hell did she think she was?

So maybe she was smarter than him. Ok, she was definitely smarter than him, and everyone else he knew. But did she also have to walk in and suddenly become so attractive? Since when did brains and beauty mix? To top it all off, she hadn't even flinched when he suggested they shag to seal the deal.

This was why he couldn't stand the girl, he realized. She'd dismissed him just like that, and it was so bloody infuriating. Even if her looks weren't horribly repulsive like he'd originally thought, Hermione still managed to anger him in every other aspect. She talked to him as if he were the scum of the earth, even when he wasn't going out of his way to annoy her. Maybe this was why he never felt sorry for insulting her, even if he didn't really believe what he was saying. Maybe this was why he actually enjoyed seeing the few crumpled expressions he'd managed to get out of her in the past. The girl needed to be taken down a notch. She was so incredibly proud; he could see it flashing through her eyes.

Draco knew for a fact that every girl in Hogwarts wanted him, and she wasn't an exception. Hermione only thought she was. That was probably what had annoyed him the most about her. Putting the encounter temporarily out of his head, Draco returned to his compartment to dress for their arrival at Hogwarts.