Hermione heard the Gryffindors as they entered the common room, whooping and yelling. The game had meant a lot to them; any chance they had at outperforming the Slytherins was an opportunity to take advantage of. Hermione knew all this, and she felt horrible for avoiding Harry and the team, but she just didn't think she could face them in the mood she was in.

She was in a bad way. Every thought she had was consumed by thoughts of Malfoy that grew even stronger every time he looked in her direction. He was not the person Harry and Ron thought he was, Hermione thought. Malfoy had a gentle side that nobody knew about. Unless he pulled the same massage crap on other girls…Hermione's face turned red; she was humiliated at the thought she might have let Malfoy take advantage of her in her own room. The room that she was in now. Drat, she thought, looking around at her bed and her table, why did I have to come back to this room to hide? I can't focus in here anymore, knowing that he kissed me here.

And her thoughts circled on like this, often dwelling on the kiss itself, a memory that she was too ashamed to put into actual words. Hermione laid down on her bed and sighed, listening to the din from the common room, and wondering what Draco was doing at that moment.

After the noises downstairs started to die down, Hermione finally worked up the courage to get off her bed. She figured she could have a brief talk with Harry, and then slip off to the library or something. She wouldn't go looking for Draco, but she wouldn't mind running into him, if he happened to be up and about. At least then maybe she could get the whole kiss incident straightened out in her mind, or maybe have a repeat episode-

What was she thinking? She exploded at herself, forcing her face into a smile instead of the lovesick expression she got every time she thought of him. She jogged down the steps, anxious to get through the party as fast as she could to once more be alone with her thoughts. Even though her thoughts seemed to betray her lately…

Harry and Ron looked up to see Hermione racing down the stairs toward them.

"Done with your paper?" Ron asked nonchalantly, although anyone who knew him could see the real worry behind his question.

"Not quite," Hermione said, with a fleeting smile. "I still have to go get some books from the library before I can finish. Oh, and congratulations on your catch, Harry. It was brilliant."

Harry smiled. "Thanks, Hermione. It was a piece of cake, with Malfoy looking the other direction the whole game. I doubt he would have noticed if the Snitch had hit him in the back of the head."

Only Ron noticed the look that crossed Hermione's face when Malfoy's name was mentioned. He didn't say anything that might have embarrassed her, but he did mark her expression in the back of his mind for later examination. Curious, he added, "Yeah, Malfoy sure was distracted out there. Bet he'll catch a lot of grief from the rest of the Slytherins. They're not exactly known for their understanding and forgiveness."

"Who knows, his screw up might even chase all the Slytherin girls away from him for a while. They wouldn't want anyone less than perfect," Harry said.

"Yeah, but they're a lot denser than Gryffindor girls," Ron countered. "They wouldn't know perfection if it was wearing a name tag and a bright purple jumpsuit. All they care about is looks."

"So you think Malfoy's good looking?" Harry said jokingly. Both boys noticed when Hermione blushed. They glanced at each other, but decided to shrug it off until later.

"Better looking than you," Ron joked back, although he really didn't believe that. "What do you think, 'Mione?"

She paled. "I think you boys have better things to worry about than people's appearances. Like those essays Snape assigned us, which I'm going to go finish right now."

"Want us to come with you?"

"So I can do all your work for you? No, you two stay here and enjoy the festivities. I'll be in the dungeons-err, I mean the library."

Once again, Harry and Ron glanced at each other, aware that something was awry. They waited until Hermione had clamored through the portrait hole, her bushy hair trailing behind her, to discuss her unusual attitude.

"What do you think is eating at her?" Ron asked Harry. They were careful not to be overheard by their still-partying friends. "Every time Malfoy's name comes up, she starts acting all strange."

"Maybe he hexed her or something, and she's still angry about it," Harry replied. "With Malfoy, it could be anything, but I'm sure he's pulled something fishy."

"If it was a hex, why wouldn't she tell us about it?" Ron asked.

"Malfoy told her to keep quiet?"

"Nah, she still would've risked it. Maybe she's embarrassed about it…could've been a really bad one, like that time she turned herself into a cat with that Polyjuice Potion."

"Hermione's a good witch though. You really think she wouldn't have been able to stop him?"

"Not if he came up from behind. Slytherins are known for their sneakiness, after all. They can't live up to anything, and they certainly can't face their opponents dead on."

"Which isn't doing much for my ego, considering the Sorting Hat wanted to put me in Slytherin, but you have a point. Anyway, there's only one way to get to the bottom of all this, if Hermione won't tell us."

"What's that?"

"Confront the source. Or sorcerer, in this case. C'mon, let's go grab the invisibility cloak. We're going to the dungeons."

Little did they know, their bushy-haired friend was already well on her way to the dungeons to confront the source of her problems, and possibly to comfort a dejected wizard on his Quidditch loss that day.

AN: Glad to see I still have readers (and reviewers), even though I put this story on hold for a few months. I'm out of school now, so I have much more time to write. I realize this is moving a little slow, since there hasn't even been a second Hermione and Draco confrontation yet…but what can I say…next chapter?