Hermione was both dreading and looking forward to the next Friday. Part of her was simply eager to see what the headmaster would have planned for them, while the other part of her really didn't mind spending a few hours in the company of one Draco Malfoy.

On Saturday morning she sat with Ron and Harry in the Great Hall, trying desperately to push the kiss she'd shared with the blonde Slytherin out of her mind. It would not do well to be in the presence of two people who hated him and be thinking about how soft you thought his lips were.

"How was your so-called date, Hermione?" asked Harry once they were all happily settled.

"It went fine, actually. The only movie playing was a chick flick, so he was subject to some rather disgusting romantics," Hermione replied as Harry gave her a knowing smile. She sincerely hoped he didn't really know what she meant by romantics, since she wasn't just referring to the movie.

"What about you guys? Have fun on your muggle outing?" Hermione was aware that they'd gone together, since the Headmaster had thought it wise to pair a student with little muggle background with a student who could find their way around the muggle world.

"It was interesting," said Ron slowly, clearly stating what he really thought.

Harry gave a small laugh. "We were sent to a fast food joint. One of those old-fashioned diners. Ron was not impressed, by the music, the food, or the checkered tablecloths."

"Oh dear. Hopefully you'll be sent somewhere more entertaining this time around. Though I would think," she began to add, turning to face Ron, "That any place where you can eat is good."

"Very funny. You've had hamburgers, right? Strange things, those," Ron replied, digging in to his breakfast.

"He'll be an expert in muggle studies in no time, wouldn't you say Harry?"

"I'd have to agree Hermione. I'd have to agree," Harry replied before turning to his own food.

The week passed by rather uneventfully. Hermione was shocked by how quickly it had come, but eager to see where'd they'd be going. She was surprised by the letter, and even more surprised by the package that came with the letter. The note read as follows:

Mister Malfoy and Miss Granger,

You will be sent to a pleasant city in Canada. There you will attend one of their hockey games. Hockey is a sport, in case you were wondering, involving lots of equipment, the occasional fist fight, and lots of noise. It is played on ice by players wearing skates. (See next sheet for a brief layout of the rules.) Enclosed also are two jerseys, which you are not required to wear but which might help you fight in a little better. Also enclosed is Canadian currency, hopefully enough to get you a few refreshments.

Sincerely,

Headmaster Dumbledore

(For my readers who don't know how hockey works, here are the basic rules, a continuation of Hermione's letter)

There are five a side, plus a goalie, which means two defense and three forwards. There is a small rubber disk about the size of a good-sized cookie and the width of a good-sized book. Each player has a hockey stick with which to hit this puck; whether to pass it or shoot it on net. The hockey stick is curved at the bottom and is fairly easy to hold. Here is a list of penalties that may be given out by referees (of which there are three) at any point in the game, along with standard calls:

At this point Hermione stopped reading as Malfoy had just entered the room.

"What's the package for?" He asked, setting his books down on a small end table.

"It goes with our date tonight," Hermione replied, scanning quickly over the rules. "Don't read it all though," she said quickly as he reached for the letter and she began handing it over. She looked up at him. "We're going to a hockey game; read the basic rules, and then I'll find a spell to process all the information on hockey in the library into our heads. Isn't that easier than getting there and trying to figure it out?"

"I suppose," he replied, murmuring. Then he reached for the package. "is there a solution for everything in books?"

Hermione smiled, and nodded. "Or at least an easier way. What do you think of those?" She asked, gesturing to the jerseys he had just pulled out. He held one up against him, hating the Ravenclaw colours on the jersey.

"Blue and white. Bah!"

"Oh, you'll get over. Go ahead, put it on." He slipped it over his head easily, as did Hermione.

He gave a short laugh to look at her, and said "It's huge on you! You look like you're drowning!"

"Drowning in Ravenclaw colours," Hermione mused softly. Then she looked up at him. "You should get this gel out of your hair," she said, reaching forward and ruffling his hair. She gave him a thoughtful look while he glowered like a little boy whose over-sized and over-energetic aunt had just ruffled his hair and pinched his cheeks. Soon, though, he remembered himself, and caught her wrists.

"Don't ever touch me again, Granger. Ever." Then he smoothed back his hair and shot her a disdainful look. She slowly peeled off her own jersey, nodded, and backed up towards the door.

"I'm going to go find some books."

"You do that Granger."

By the time Hermione got back, it was nearly time to leave. She found Malfoy sitting in the common room reading, his jersey on the couch beside him. Hermione plunked down the large pile of books and sat down across from him.

"Check the letter. What time are we supposed to be in front of the school to be transported?" Hermione asked as she flipped through pages.

"It says…6:30, because this game starts at 7:00," he responded, and then set down the letter. "Do you have a spell to integrate this junk into our minds?"

"Yes. Close your eyes and clear your mind," Hermione replied, opening the last of the books. She hadn't been able to find more than two books just about hockey, but she'd been able to find books about all known sports and their origins. "Claro Liber Libri," Hermione muttered, waving her wand in a circular motion around Malfoy's head. Satisfied, she asked him some test questions to see if her spell had worked. He answered them all correctly. She then performed the spell on herself, and the two set off for the main floor.

"Hullo Hermione!" Hermione turned to face Ron and Harry who were hurrying towards her. They both gave her huge smiles, and she returned them.

"Hello Hermione," said Harry, and then gave a curt nod to Malfoy. "Hello Malfoy."

"Potter," Malfoy said, returning the nod. Hermione smiled and Ron seemed to be controlling some emotion. "Granger, we have to go right now, Dumbledore's waving at us."

"Right then," Hermione replied. "G'bye you too, have fun!" Pretty soon all pairs had been sent off to various parts of the muggle world for various muggle activities. Hermione and Malfoy arrived and let themselves into a large building. "This place is huge," Hermione commented as they weaved their way through an outer hallway. It circled the entire arena and had various places to buy food between periods. "We're looking for section 23, row E, right?"

"Right," Malfoy replied, giving the two tickets a quick look. When they'd first arrived, a short woman had ripped their tickets and given them brief directions. She had also said something along the lines of 'A first, eh?' he was absolutely flabbergasted as to what that might have meant, especially the last word, and decided to ask the self-proclaimed Queen of Everything. "Granger?"

"Hmmm?" She replied from a few steps ahead of him, eyes focused on the signs above narrow stairways.

"What did that women mean when she said 'A first, eh?'"

Hermione gave a short laugh at his imitation of the woman, and his poor attempt at a Canadian accent. "I think she meant first date, and the word 'eh' is a Canadian thing."

"A thing? More like a speech impediment," he muttered, and she gave a small smile. Once they had finally found their seats, (after pushing away men who were miraculously already drunk, annoying young children with loud stick that they were banging together, and various teenage couples making out,) they surveyed the ice surface.

Both teams were warming up, and the entire arena was buzzing with all the conversation. Soon an announcer had come on, the game had started, and both were thoroughly engrossed in the game. Nothing special happened until late in the third period when they decided to use the Kiss-O-Meter. It was a silly game, where the camera men zoomed in on couples who were then shown up on the big screen. Once the couples realized they were on the screen, they would kiss, and a small meter would go up on the side of the screen. It was measured by the intensity of the kiss as judged by the crowd's cheering. The 'hottest' kiss won a prize.

Malfoy and Hermione, as is to be expected, soon found themselves on the screen. They had watched others on the screen, and so knew what was expected of them. Draco was shaking his head and giving Hermione a disbelieving look. Hermione shrugged into the camera, then turned around and gave Draco the most passionate kiss he'd ever experienced. Needless to say, the crowd went wild and they won the competition. Once the game had ended, with neither saying a word to each other, they collected their prize. Hermione was surprised to be handed a TV, and so she promptly handed it over to Malfoy.

They made their way to the appointed spot and were soon whizzed back to Hogwarts. By the time they had hauled the large box back up to their common room, Malfoy was complaining about his tired arms and Hermione was close to shutting his mouth with a spell. Once they were both seated comfortably in their favourite chairs, Malfoy began to speak.

"I knew you wanted to kiss me again."

"I won us something, didn't I?"

"I suppose. But you know it was all about the kiss."

"Don't be such a prick."

"Don't deny it."

"There's nothing to deny!" Hermione exploded, clearly quite aggravated.

"You want to hold me, you want to kiss me…" Malfoy said in a sing-song voice, dancing around the room.

"I'll tell you what I want to do…" Hermione muttered, and Malfoy smirked.

"Do you ever get tired of talking Granger? Honestly?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Hermione said, close to screaming and full of self-righteous fury.

"This," Malfoy said, before striding across the room to kiss her. She, of course, kissed back.

By the next morning, both were sufficiently rested from their make-out session (nothing more!) and ready to face the day. Hermione was up long before Malfoy, and he found her mid-morning, seated on her favourite couch, reading a book. Oh, why was he not surprised?

"Morning sleepyhead," was Hermione's greeting.

"Hello Queen of Everything." He bent down to the box which held the TV and began to read the instructions.

"What are you doing?" She asked curiously.

"Figuring out how to work this thing, what's it look like?"

"Muggle technology won't work in Hogwarts," Hermione replied. "It says so-"

"-In 'Hogwarts, A History.' I know, I know. But I'm sure there's some spell I could use to make it work…"

"Men!" Hermione said.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"All men have thiscomplex about putting things together. You don't even know what that is, let alone what it does, but you still feel a burning desire to fix it up."

Three hours later Hermione had gotten fed up with Malfoy's apparent lack of common sense. Not once had he asked her for help; though it was to be expected, that was another one of those 'guy' things. She helped him fix it up, find a few spells to cover the technology, and a way to hide it whenever anyone else was over. She was dismayed to find, however, that the only channel they had showed classic TV shows.

It surprised her though, when Malfoy was quick to develop a crush on one of the Brady Bunch girls, to decide Mr. T was his hero, and that I Dream of Jeannie, though completely unrealistic, was perhaps one of the greatest shows out there. Hermione retreated to her book.

A/N: Line stolen from Dawson's Creek, I forgot to put this at the top. Also, I'm going to try to update all my stories pretty soon, but I had the hockey idea for this one so I wanted to get it down. Please review and all that jazz.