Disclaimer: If Harry Potter was mine, I wouldn't have to worry about getting a job.

A/N: I know I took a long time with this but I've been really lazy again. Hope you can forgive me. I don't know if I really like this chapter, I might edit it soon and repost it, but I really wanted to post something soon. Thank you to the wonderful person to emailed me their review. They totally motivated me to type the next chapter. Enjoy

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Draco was lying on the couch in the common room staring into the crackling fireplace. It was four in the morning and he hadn't gotten a minute of sleep. After a few hours of attempt he gave up and went down to the common room, hoping that after an hour of reading his history text he would begin to feel drowsy. But that didn't happen. All he could do was think about what had happened with Granger earlier.

He had no idea what had come over him in that hallway, it was as if he was in a trance and he couldn't control his emotions. For some reason, at that moment, just talking to her and being so close to her made him feel differently about her. Draco had admitted to himself a long time ago that he didn't hate her, and he could even admit now that he didn't even really dislike her, but that definitely did not account for how he felt with her in the hallway. He didn't get this sudden pang of undying love for her, but he had become consumed with an overwhelming desire to kiss her. He was just so confused.

Draco knew he had no romantic feelings for Granger. The only reason he had written those things in that letter was so that it would be more believable. That, and so she would never guess that he was the one that had sent the necklace. But even though this was true, he was still happy that she had worn the necklace. It was the only way he could think of that he could think of to keep her safe within the castle if he wasn't around. It wouldn't help with everything, only if the person who attacked her wasn't wanted to inflict serious harm upon her.

Draco sighed and ran his hand through his now curly hair (straightening charms only lasted for so long). He still wasn't entirely sure why he felt so protective over Granger, but he supposed he would do the same thing for Pansy, Millie, and Ginny if he ever needed to, but he was sure that wouldn't happen. Maybe deep down he cared about her as much as he cared about the other girls.

'Yeah, deep, deep down' he thought, greatly frustrated.

And then there was that kiss. What the hell was up with that? She wasn't the best kisser he had come across, but he knew it was leave a lasting impression on him, and that was saying some; he had kissed a lot of girls. He didn't know why though. Ok, he did know why, it was the first time he had ever been nervous while kissing a girl. He shrugged it off thinking that he was just nervous that she was going to hex him at some point. But besides that, it was a very nice kiss, too sweet for two people who are not supposed to like each other. And since they hadn't let it run its natural course, and hadn't spoken about it, he was more curious than ever about it. He hadn't been as surprised as he should've been that she had responded to him and it bothered him. Actually, everything that had happened that day with Granger had bothered him, which is why he had left her once Ginny had left.

Draco had walked around the castle for a while trying to clear his mind. He had even stopped by Professor Snape's classroom.

flashback

"What a surprise to see you down here Draco, especially on a weekend. What can I do for you?" Professor Snape said he looked up from the exams he was grading as Draco sat on a table near the professors desk.

"I was just wondering if there were anymore projects that you would like me to help you on." Draco replied cringing inwardly. This reason sounded fake even to him.

"Oh? I was under the impression that you didn't particularly enjoy doing extra work, even for me." Professor Snape replied, still grading the exams.

Draco sighed. His mentor would always see through him. "I just need something to keep myself busy for a while."

Professor Snape stopped grading the exam he was currently on and put down his quill. "Would this need of a distraction have to do with a certain Miss Granger?"

Draco narrowed his eyes; nothing Snape did these days surprised his. "I though you had stopped reading my thoughts after the war Severus."

Professor Snape laughed. "I must have hit a nerve if you're calling me Severus, Draco. I don't need to use legilimens to know what you are thinking. All I need to do is observe you in class. You seem to be distracted by her a lot lately."

Draco didn't know what to say. He had no idea that his distraction had been so apparent. "I assume there is no point in trying to deny it, you know me too well. Something just happened between us." Draco started.

Professor Snape held up his hand. "Just talk to her, Draco. That is all the advice I can give you." He picked up his quill and turned back to the exam he had been grading.

Draco stood up from the table and walked towards the door of the classroom. He should've known Snape would not be able, or willing, to help him. Just as he reached the door, the professor spoke once more.

"Miss Granger is a beautiful and extremely powerful witch, Draco. It would serve you well to be on friendlier terms with her."

end flashback

Draco had the feeling that the professor had some sort of underlying meaning in that last comment. Everyone who had fought in the war knew how powerful Granger was. It had come as somewhat of a shock when he had first seen what she was capable of. Who knew someone so small could possess such a powerful amount of magic. But what did that have to do with how good looking she was? Draco knew she was beautiful, he had let himself admit it, but he didn't see how it really had to do with anything. Snape was right about one thing, he did have to talk to her, but he wasn't too keen on the idea.

Draco lay there for a long time trying to make sense of everything. He knew it would be impossible to try and distract his thoughts by reading coursework, so he didn't even bother turning to the book on the coffee table next to him. Finally, after too much time of not making and progress, he attempted to clear his mind. A few minutes into his breathing exercises he heard footsteps behind him.

"Can't fall back to sleep either?" came a soft voice.

"Never fell asleep to begin with." He replied.

"Oh"

He heard her sit down on the couch to the right of him, but he didn't dare look at her. He just didn't know what to say. They sat without speaking for a moment.

"Christmas holiday begins at the end of the week." Granger said breaking the silence.

"I know." Draco answered wondering where the conversation was going.

"I think we should have a party for all the seventh years staying. We can probably invite a select group of sixth years so Ginny doesn't feel weird."

"Sounds like a good idea."

"We should probably take everyone's wand at the door since there will most likely be drinking and give the invited guests the password to our dorm. We can change it afterwards."

"I like our password; I don't want to change it."

"Sometimes change is good."

Draco looked over at her then, noticing that she was staring at the rug while she was playing with the hem of her t-shirt. She looked as uncomfortable as he felt. At that moment Draco just wanted to go over to her, hug her, and tell her everything would be alright.

'What the hell is wrong with me' he thought before he spoke.

"Granger, we should forget about what happened today. We… made a mistake."

"Right." She simply said. Draco thought she looked a little relieved.

"I mean, things don't have to change and we don't have to mention this again after tonight."

"It'll be like it never happened."

"Exactly."

"I'm going to go back to bed, I have a feeling I'll be able to sleep now. Goodnight, Malfoy." She stood up and walked back to her bedroom. He felt a small twinge of regret as he watched were walk away.

"La bonne nuit, belle (good night, beautiful)" he said softly when he heard her door close. He lay back down feeling a little, but not totally, better.

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Hermione had a miserable week. She was tense every time Malfoy was near her, which occurred much more than she realized. With their Head duties, meetings and planning for the party, he was everywhere. They were careful not to speak to each other unless it was necessary, but even the silence irritated.

She knew she had no reason to be angry, after all they had both agreed that they should forget about the kiss. But she was a little annoyed that he had suggested it first. She has thought it was amazing, not the most passionate kiss, but she one of the best she had ever had.

'Maybe it's amazing because it is amazing that Malfoy kissed me in the first place' she had thought sometime during the week.

And what was up with that. He had been the one to kiss her and now she was supposed to forget about it without some kind of explanation?

"Ugh" Hermione groaned. "I am such a bloody girl!"

"What?" asked Ginny with an amused smile. Hermione had been so wrapped up in her thoughts that she had forgotten that she was sitting in her common room with her friends. They had just finished getting everything together for the party that evening and they were just sitting around until it was time for them to get ready.

"Nothing, I was just thinking about something."

"Ok… we need to do something. As much as I love you all I can't just stare at your faces for the next hour."

"Why don't we play a game?" Harry suggested.

"Yeah! What about truth or dare?" Pansy asked excitedly.

"What are we, ten years old Pansy?" Malfoy asked in his usual drawl.

"You probably wouldn't want to answer what I have to ask you, you bastard." Hermione said under her breath.

"If you have something to say to me Granger, why don't you say it loud enough so I can hear it?" Malfoy said in a cold voice.

Hermione smirked. "I said that you probably wouldn't want to answer the question I have to ask. And I think I called you a bastard somewhere in there." The common room went silent.

Malfoy laughed. "I hope you're not suggesting that I might be afraid to play a little question coming from you. Why don't you just ask it?"

"Oh it's nothing." She waved her hand dismissively. "I was just wondering if you were gay." Hermione heard a gasp somewhere in the background.

"What?" Draco said in a low, angry voice.

"Well, it's a fair question. You haven't brought a girl here for months so I figured you finally realized that you didn't like them."

Draco walked towards her. "Oh that's a new one. So because I don't like you I must be gay. Well you know what? Yeah, if it came down to being with a guy or with you, I'd choose him! Probably would be more feminine than you could ever be."

"You are such an arrogant piece of shit!"

"Oh because, I'd rather be gay than be with you? Get used to it because it will happen a lot."

Hermione pushed him hard in his chest and stormed up to her bedroom. She heard him yell "Keep her away from me!" before she slammed her door. She threw herself onto her bed and just stared at the ceiling, not believing what just happen. It was like she had just snapped. Of course, she didn't believe the things she said, but she figured that he was probably being honest with her.

There was a knock on her door. "Hermione? It's Ginny, can I come in?"

"Yeah it's open" she said loudly.

Ginny walked into the room, closed the door, and sat next to her on the bed. "What just happened out there?" she asked.

Hermione sighed. "I don't know Ginny I just snapped."

"I'll say, can I ask you why?"

"I don't know Ginny."

Ginny began to trace the pattern on the bedspread. "I know something weird happened with you two last week. I could tell when I saw you. And you two have been weird all week. Don't worry I didn't tell anyone."

Hermione raised her eyebrows.

"Ok, I told Blaise, but he already figured something was going on seeing how you were weird when you got back to the common room."

"I don't want to talk about that day."

"That's fine; I really just wanted to talk about what happened just now. That was really awful what you said to him down there."

Hermione sat up. "Oh so now you're on his side? He said some horrible stuff to me too."

"That's true, but you started it. You guys need to lay off of each other, you know, try and be friends."

"You know that's impossible."

"I don't see why. You guys are both great people. You know what he did after you left?"

"What?" Hermione asked, curiously.

"Well he started yelling a whole lot of stuff; honestly most of it didn't even make sense. But after he stopped, he gave Blaise his wand and told him to keep it until he calmed down. Then he left."

"He gave Blaise his wand? Malfoy is too neurotic to go anywhere without it."

"It seems wanted to make sure he didn't hex anyone, I'm guessing most likely you. You're being too hard on him. Maybe if you become friends with him you'll realize he cares more about you than you think."

"Are you trying to tell me something Ginny?"

"Nope, just saying that he really is a sweetheart, when you're not around that is. Well I'm going to go get ready for the party."

"Wouldn't it be easier to get ready here?"

"Maybe, but you know how I like to get the other girls in my room. They all want to go to the Elite Eight's Extravagant Extravaganza!"

Hermione started to laugh. "The what?"

Ginny shrugged. "That's what they are calling it. You know everyone wants to be around us. I'll see you later."

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Draco thought that they had pulled off a great party. Every seventh year student that had stayed over the holidays as well as the few sixth years they had invited had attended. And it looked as if everyone was having a great time.

Draco had invited a cute blonde sixth year Slytherin named Nicole to the party. She was a transfer student and had noticed her a few times in the hallways and while in the Great Hall. She wasn't the most interesting girl in the world, but it's not as if he was looking for a relationship.

"Thank you for inviting me to your party, Draco." Nicole said as he handed her a cup of rum punch.

"You're welcome, thought I can't take all the credit for this. My friends and I put this all together."

"Ah, the notorious Elite Eight." Nicole smiled. "Can you show me who everyone is?"

Draco was surprised. "Are you serious? I thought everyone knew who we were."

"Yeah, well you were the only one who interested me." She definitely knew how to get onto Draco's good side.

Draco smiled. "Ok, over by the steps are Blaise and Ginny, the red haired guy and black haired girl dancing are Ron and Millie, and the couple on the couch looking like they are about to eat each other's face are Harry and Pansy."

"The great Harry Potter, I've seen him around. Not as good looking as you though." She said with a flirty smile.

"Well not everyone can be as handsome as me." He replied with a wink.

Nicole laughed. "You only showed me six people."

"That's because I try to forget that the other one exists." Draco looked around until he spotted her by the doors that led to the balcony. Once again he had to admit that she looked beautiful. Tonight she was wearing a red tube top with a border. Written on it was 'Gryffindor Good Girl' in gold script. She also had on a black mini skirt. The whole look was accentuated with gold jewelry, well except for the necklace he had given her. She wore her hair natural, falling in curls a couple of inches past her shoulders.

"The girl in the red, black and gold is Hermione."

Nicole looked at her thoughtfully. "So she's the greatest witch of our time? Doesn't look like much to me. Is it true she's a mu—muggle-born?"

"Yeah."

"Even so, she looks to be popular with the guys." Draco looked back over at her and saw that she was indeed talking to Dean and Seamus. He was pretty sure that the conversation was one-sided; the two boys looked to be just staring at her. Maybe that was why she seemed to be taking a drink after every sentence.

"I guess, let's go dance."

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Draco was beginning to get annoyed. Nicole had been talking for about twenty minutes about a topic that he was not remotely interested in. Also, even though she was holding back, he could tell that she was just as prejudice as he used to be. He had been trying to think of a polite way to end the conversation but he hadn't thought of anything yet.

"Yo Draco! Come over here for a second!" Draco smiled. Thank goodness for Blaise and his good timing.

"Nicole, I'll be back in a little while. Why don't you go over and talk to Pansy and Granger for a while." He said and walked over to Blaise without waiting for an answer.

"Blaise, thank you for getting me away from that girl. I think she is the most shallow girl I have ever met, and that is saying a lot."

Blaise laughed. "Happy to be of help. Now I called you over to get one of my famous drinks." He said handing him a cup of a dark liquid.

"Do I even want to know what's in it?"

Blaise smiled as Draco took a sip. "Probably not."

"WHAT!" Came a voice from the other side of the room.

"Who the hell is that?" Draco said trying to determine where the sound was coming from.

"Uh oh, looks like Mya had more than a few drinks." Blaise said pointing over Draco's shoulder.

Draco turned around to see Granger looking furiously at Nicole.

"WHAT BITCH? SAY THAT AGAIN BITCH! SAY IT AGAIN!" Granger yelled.

Draco could see Pansy trying to calm her down as he and Blaise walked closer.

"You heard what I said the first time; I'm not going to repeat it." Nicole smirked.

Blaise turned to Draco. "We should get Mya before she does something she'll regret?"

"Granger won't do much to her, she doesn't have her wand."

"You and I both know she doesn't need a wand to do damage."

Draco looked at him as he thought about what he did. He reacted quickly grabbing Granger around the waist just as she was about to lunge at Nicole. He held her tightly against him as she struggled to get away from him. After a minute she calmed down.

"Let me go. I won't do anything to her." She said. He released her and she walked out onto the balcony and closed the door. Draco turned back to Pansy and Nicole.

"Draco, you need to take your bitch out of here." Pansy said.

"What? She started it!" Nicole said.

"Is that true, Pansy?" asked Draco.

"I don't know, I stopped listening to her after a while, she's annoying." Pansy replied.

"Ok, let's go Nicole." Draco said taking her arm.

Nicole looked at Pansy. "Come on, Pansy. You know I didn't do anything."

"Nancy, that might be so but you pissed Hermione off, so you have to go." Pansy said in a bored tone.

"My name is Nicole!"

"No one cares, just kick her out Draco."

Draco pulled her towards the door. "Draco, you don't even like her. I don't see why I can't stay." Nicole said pleading.

Draco pushed her out the door and smirked. "You see, Nancy, it doesn't matter. You get on one of our bad side's; you get on all of our bad sides. I guess that's what makes us notorious. Oh, you'll get your wand whenever Pansy feels like giving it back to you." Draco closed the door.

Draco walked back through the crowd to pick up his drink and another before he went over to the balcony. The party had resumed as if nothing had happened. That is how you know a party is good.

Draco opened the door to balcony and closed the door behind him. Granger was standing by the railing looking out towards the lake.

"I brought you a drink."

"Thanks." She said taking the cup and taking a sip.

"You're pretty feisty after having a few drinks, cursing and everything."

"Yeah well she pissed me off."

"What was she saying that got you so angry?"

"Nothing worth repeating."

"I don't doubt you. I don't think anything she's ever said has been worth repeating."

Granger laughed. "Sorry I had your girlfriend thrown out."

"She's not my girlfriend and I was looking for a way to get rid of her."

They both stood in a comfortable silence for a while, just looking out to the lake.

"You know I didn't mean what I said earlier, right?" she said after five minutes.

"Yeah, I didn't mean what I said either. Let's just forget about it, no apologies."

"Do you think we could try being friends?" she asked softly.

"I thought we talked about this already."

"I mean real friends, without all this anger towards each other."

"I guess I can do that." He held out hand. "Friends?

She took his hand and shook it. "Friends."

"Just a few things you should know though. I will jump into this friendship immediately; I do not do the awkward transition bull. I am very touchy with my female friends, almost as much as with my girlfriends. I am an extremely jealous friend so I expect there to be things between us and only us. With that said, I will continue to annoy and bother you, and I will keep calling you Granger most of the time. But don't worry; things will be different between us. Anything you want to tell me?"

Granger blinked. "Well, that was quite a speech. No I don't have anything to say. I'm still shocked that you agreed so easily."

"Yeah, well it just makes life easier. But now that we are friends, I need to show me your tattoo."

Granger laughed. "That was unexpected. You'll have to be more specific, which one do you want to see."

"I already know what the phoenix looks like, we all have them."

"Well that leaves two others."

"You have three tattoos?" Draco was shocked. Guess she isn't a total good girl, regardless of what her shirt currently said. "Well I'm talking about the one on your hip."

"Oh, Lumos." She said waving her hand by the candles on the balcony to give them some light. She pulled the band on her skirt down so that her tattoo was visible and Draco kneeled in front of her in order to get a better look.

Draco snickered. "You got a tattoo of a baby panther playing with a ball of yarn?"

"No, I got a tattoo of a baby panther." She paused to take a drink. "I have no idea where the yarn comes from, it only appears when I'm happy."

"What do you mean?" Draco said, still watching the cub play happily with the ball of yarn.

"The tattoo changes according to my mood, when I'm happy the yarn appears and he plays with it."

"Oh I see." Draco lifted his hand and began to softly stroke the tattoo watching as the yarn disappeared and the cub rolled over to that his belly could be rubbed.

"What are you doing down there?"

"I just wanted to see how it would react if I pet it. Since it rolled over, I would guess that you like it a lot."

Granger snorted. "Oh please. It is a cat after all."

"Hmm…"Draco said as he stood back up, this time much closer to her. He looped his fingers into her belt loops and pulled her against him.

"What are you doing Malfoy?" she said nervously.

"Well, I think the only issue standing preventing us from being friends is that kiss from last week, we weren't able to finish it. I know we agreed to not speak about it, but look at all the tension it caused between us. I have a theory that if we were to finish it, it will leave our thoughts. Want to try?" he said softly.

"Ok"

Draco smiled. "Nox" he whispered putting out the light before pulling her into a kiss.

The kiss was the same as the last one, soft and sweet. The only difference was that Draco was no longer nervous. He could taste the alcohol on her lips and thought he had never tasted anything so sweet. He caressed her tongue with his and smiled against her lips when he heard her sigh. He then gave her a quick peck and whispered "Are we ok now?" as he pulled away.

"Yeah, I think so." She softly replied.

Draco heard a throat clear by the door. He saw Granger's shift to his left and he turned to the door where Blaise and Ginny were standing.

"Are you two finished talking?" Ginny said. "What the hell is going on?"

"Malfoy and I decided to try being friends." Granger replied weakly.

Blaise smirked. "And being friends requires that kind of kissing?"

"Well you know I'm an affectionate person to my friends." Draco said.

"You never kissed me like that." Ginny grumbled.

Draco raised his eyebrow. "Do you want me to?"

"Hey, don't even think about coming near my girl!" Blaise said putting an arm around Ginny's waist.

Draco laughed. "Look it wasn't a big deal. We just need to settle something."

"And did you?" asked Ginny.

Draco looked at Granger who gave him a smile. "Yeah we did."

Blaise and Ginny gave each other a look. "Well come inside so we can start playing some games." Blaise said, he and Ginny walking back through the doors.

"Come on." Draco said to Granger. He put his arm around her and they followed.

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Thank you for all of the reviews from both AFF and FF.

Bob: I think you are my fave reviewer. thanks for the clarification. I'll try to listen to some of the band you mentioned. Don't know if I'll like it, but it never hurts to try new things.

i: in my world Hermione and Draco have a long way to go before they can become romantically involved, see how long it took for them to even become friends. I'll try to keep the story realistic.

Death Angel: thanks for the kind words, I hope that you continue to like the story

Anon: I reread the chapter after I read your comment. I didn't realize how annoying it was to have to scroll down to check the translation. Thanks for the suggestion

Stephanie: I feel the same way, though Spanish is numero uno for me!

Shannon: He does look good I must admit. Glad you liked the chapter.

DizzyDawn007: thanks for the kind words

sesshomaru'shugamejacket: wow, that is the longest pen name ever, but I like it. Thanks!

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Please review!