Author's Note (because I just cannot seem to post a chapter without one): So yay…I am sick with a cold right now, so half of this chapter was written under the influence of Aspirin, Sudafed and ginger ale. So in other words, I cannot possibly be held responsible for any mistakes or poor writing that occurs in this chapter. Um…yeah. So that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it. :P

Thanks once again for the reviews! And in response to HogwartzBoizRHottiez's question: you will have your answer by the end of the story. ;)

"Bloody hell."

Draco Malfoy woke up the next morning on the hard cement floor outside of the Slytherin common room. Apparently, Ron's theory of him being found by Crabbe, Goyle, or Pansy (or anyone else, for that matter), was highly inaccurate. He was surprised that not even a prefect had stumbled upon him. Actually, it was more likely that one had, but had decided not to wake him, figuring he deserved to remain passed out on the cold, hard floor. Slowly, he stood up. His whole body was aching, but that pain paled in comparison to what Potter and Weasley would be feeling by the end of the day.

Hermione. The thought of Scarface and Weasel suddenly reminded him of their best friend, the mud…the mudbl…the mu…the most beautiful girl in the world. He smiled absent-mindedly as the memories of last night came flooding back. It was weird. At this time yesterday morning, Hermione wasn't even in his thoughts. And even the few times he had seen her during the day, he'd felt nothing but loathing and disgust. But now…now, she was all he could think about, and he couldn't wait to see her again. He thought of heading straight to the Gryffindor common room immediately, but figured he should probably get ready for classes first.

"Venom," he mumbled the password to the portrait in front of him; the goofy smile still playing at his lips. But that smile faded quickly as soon as he stepped through the portrait hole, and was attacked by a big, blonde pug dog. Or, more accurately, Pansy Parkinson.

"Drakie! Where have you been? Ohmygod I have been soooo worried about you!" She threw her arms around him in a huge bear hug.

"Pansy, leave the poor boy alone," Blaise Zabini said, grabbing the back of Pansy's robes and tugging at them gently until he had pried her off of Draco. "I'm sure he has a perfectly good excuse for not gracing us with his presence last night. Like…maybe…he was shacked up with some random hot chick he met in Hogsmeade last night?"

Pansy's face fell. "Random hot chick? No way. He wouldn't. Right Drakie? You weren't with some whore last night, were you?"

"No," Draco said with a grin. His expression became dreamy. "I was with the most beautiful girl in the world."

"Humph!" Pansy huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

Blaise's eyes lit up. He ignored a seething Pansy and patted Draco on the back. "Tell me all about her. What does she look like? Is she a good kisser? Did you two…you know…"

Draco dropped down on the couch. "Well…she is absolutely beautiful. She's got the most amazing brown eyes – you could get lost in them. And her hair…she's got the most luscious brown locks. A bit unruly, but it just makes it so much sexier, you know? And…she's smart. Really smart. Sort of bookwormish. But I actually find that to be attractive, you know? She's like one of those sexually repressed librarians who's just waiting to let her hair down and go wild. And yes…she is a bloody amazing kisser." His smile widened at the sudden memory of having Hermione pressed up against the side of the Three Broomsticks. "But we didn't get to take it any further. Her two stupid best friends came along and put a stop to it by stupefying me. Can you believe the nerve of them? I didn't think it was even humanly possible, but I honestly think I hate them even more now than I did before last night."

Blaise, who sat across from Draco, was staring at his best friend as though he had gone completely daft. "If I didn't know any better, I'd think you had just described the mudblood Granger."

Draco's smile wavered slightly. "Don't ever call her a mudblood again, you ignorant prat."

Pansy cried out in horror. Her Drakiepooh had just defended the mudblood! And his description had matched Granger perfectly. She grabbed onto the side of the couch for support. This could not be happening.

The color had drained from Blaise's face. "You cannot be serious. You did not just describe Granger."

"Oh, I did."

"Are you bloody insane?" Blaise exclaimed.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Oh please. You sound just like Potter and Weasley. Why can't everyone just accept the fact that I'm in love with Hermione Granger?"

Nobody even noticed when Pansy passed out cold on the floor in front of them.

Blaise leaned over and studied Draco carefully. After a few seconds, he smiled wickedly and said, "Ah, I get it. This is some sort of trick, isn't it? You're playing the mudblood. Making her think you're in love with her so that you can then turn around and break her poor Muggle heart in front of the whole school. Right?" He chuckled. "Oh, this is classic. But don't feel like you have to hide this from us, Draco. I'm your best friend. I promise I won't tell anyone. I won't ruin her surprise for you."

Draco frowned at the use of the word "mudblood" again, but he let it slide. He shook his head. "I'm not playing anyone, Zabini. Hermione is…" His voice trailed off as though he were searching for the best words to describe her. "She's everything."

Blaise snorted. "You're right. She's everything: she's a know-it-all bookworm. She's a mudblood. She's a bitch. She's probably a little whore, too -"

Before he knew what was happening, Blaise suddenly found himself thrown up against the wall with Draco's hand clutching at his throat.

"If you ever…EVER…speak about Hermione that way again," Draco hissed, "I will kill you in your sleep." He let go of Blaise's robes and stepped back. He shrugged slightly, almost acting as if his little outburst hadn't just taken place. "I'm going to go shower and get ready for breakfast. I'll meet you guys in the Great Hall." With that, he left the room, leaving Blaise staring after him in bewilderment.

"Damn, Pansy, that bloke needs help."

When he received no response, he glanced over to the couch and saw Pansy lying on the floor next to it, still unconscious. Not concerned in the least, Blaise just stepped over her body and headed down for breakfast.

"Draco…Malfoy?" Ginny Weasely emphasized on the word "Malfoy". Surely when Hermione had just told her she was in love with Draco, she was talking about a different Draco. Surely she couldn't have meant the boy who had tormented her for nearly seven years.

Hermione grinned from ear to ear. "Yes! Isn't it fantastic?"

"Erm…" Ginny tried her best to fake a smile. "Yes, Mione. That's wonderful. I'm so…happy for you?"

"Seriously?" Hermione asked with a gasp. When Ginny nodded, Hermione lunged forward and threw her arms around her. "I'm so glad at least somebody approves. Harry and Ron have been so rotten about this. Would you believe that they actually took shifts guarding me last night, to make sure I didn't leave the premises to go look for Draco? Unbelievable, those two."

I don't blame them, Ginny thought to herself, but said, "Well, you know how boys are. They're just…protective of you, Hermione."

Hermione sighed. "I know, Ginny. But I'm a big girl, and I can take care of myself. I don't need them to protect me. Especially from Draco. Draco's really just a big teddy bear."

Ginny stifled a giggle. She was pretty sure that Hermione was the only person in the entire world who had ever compared Draco Malfoy to a teddy bear. Well, maybe if the teddy bear was possessed by the spirit of an arrogant, callous git…

Hermione glanced around the common room. "So where are my bodyguards, anyway?"

"We're right here, at your service." Ron said in a cheerful voice as he entered the common room. Harry was following close behind.

Hermione groaned. "Oh. I was hoping you guys had already left."

"We love you too, Mione." Harry gave her a playful pat on the back. "So how are you feeling this morning?"

"I'm feeling fine," she snapped. "No thanks to you guys."

"You're not still…you know…" Ron's voice trailed off.

"You're not still in love with the ferret, are you?" Harry finished for him.

Hermione threw up her hands in exasperation. "I refuse to talk about this with you guys!"

"Fine, fine," Ron mumbled. He exchanged a glance with Harry, but Hermione ignored it. She pushed past them and headed for the portrait hole.

The minute it opened up, she was greeted with the most glorious site: Draco Malfoy.

"Draco!" she exclaimed. She threw herself at him and pulled him into a great big hug.

"Guess that answers our question," Harry muttered.

Draco was grinning from ear to ear. He pulled away from her and held her out at arm's length, looking her up and down. "Wow," he whispered. "You look beautiful today."

Hermione blushed and glanced down at herself. "Thank you. But…I don't look any different than any other day."

Draco smiled. "I know."

Ron turned a pale shade of green and said loudly to Harry, "I think I'm going to be sick."

Draco ignored his remark. He reached inside his robes and pulled out two objects. One was a single red rose; the other, a piece of paper. He handed her the rose.

Hermione gasped with delight. Nobody had ever given her flowers before. Well, anyone besides family members. She took it in her hands gingerly. I'm keeping this forever.

"I, um…I wrote you a poem," he said shyly.

Ron couldn't help but snort. Ginny elbowed him in the ribs. Draco glared at him, before turning back sweetly to Hermione. "Would you like to hear it?"

Hermione's jaw practically hit the floor. First a rose, and now a love poem? She could get used to this kind of attention. "Yes! Yes, of course I want to hear it!"

"Okay." Draco cleared his throat as he unfolded the piece of paper in his hand.

"Oh, this is going to be good," Ron whispered to Harry.

"I call this poem 'Loving You': Loving you is easy because you're beautiful. Making love with you is all I want to do. And every time that we -"

Mortified, Ron quickly jumped in front of Hermione. "All right Malfoy, that is quite enough!"

Harry, meanwhile, was shaking his head in disbelief. "You didn't write that poem, Malfoy. Those are lyrics to a cheesy Muggle love song."

Draco shot an icy glare towards Harry. "Cripes, Potter. What the hell is your point? It still perfectly conveys my feelings for Hermione. Who are you to judge?"

"Really, Harry," said Hermione. "Stop being such a jerk." She turned back to Draco. "I thought it was lovely."

It was Draco's turn to blush. "Thank you." He took her hand. "Shall I escort you to the Great Hall?"

"I would love that," Hermione replied with a smile.

"Actually," Ron piped up, "we were going to -"

"Sod off, Ronald," Hermione called over her shoulder. And then, she disappeared through the portrait hole. With Malfoy.

Ron was seething. "We have to do something, Harry."

"I know, Ron. We'll go talk to Dumbledore as soon as possible."

"I actually think they are kind of sweet together," Ginny said dreamily.

"We didn't ask for your opinion, Ginny," Ron snarled.

"And Hermione didn't ask for yours," Ginny snarled back. "Perhaps you two should be a little more careful with this situation. You could end up losing her as a friend, you know."

"Don't be so naïve, Gin. After Hermione finds out that she's been hexed by Draco Malfoy, she will be thanking us and begging for our forgiveness."

Ginny snorted. "Yeah, right. It appears as though I'm not the only one who's being naïve."

This morning's walk to the Great Hall was possibly the best walk to the Great Hall that anyone at Hogwarts had ever experienced.

At least, in Hermione's opinion.

"I thought about you all night," she said softly to the boy walking beside her. "I was so worried about you."

Draco frowned. "Damn those friends of yours. Why you bother to put up with them is beyond me."

Hermione shrugged. "They're just concerned, that's all. They think…well, it's funny, but they think that you've put some sort of spell on me."

Draco looked at her incredulously. "Why would I do such a thing?"

"I know! That's exactly what I said to Harry and Ron! But they're convinced that we're not really in love."

Draco chuckled. "That's crazy talk. Of course we're in love!"

Hermione nodded. "I mean…granted…it's a little weird. It seems like just yesterday I couldn't stand you and now…" She looked at him. "Now I can't stand to be away from you."

Draco squeezed her hand. "I know how you feel. I can't stop thinking about you. And I can't stop thinking about last night. I mean, most of it's a blur, really. But I do remember the kiss."

"Mm, me too." Hermione smiled at the memory. But her smile quickly faded as they reached the entrance to the Great Hall. Most of the students were already there, and Hermione couldn't help but notice quite a few Gryffindors and Slytherins glanced up upon their arrival – and none of them looked too pleased.

"Well, I guess this is where we bid adieu," Hermione said sadly.

"For now." Draco quickly let go of her hand. He took a few steps forward, then stopped. "Hey," he said, turning around. "Why don't you meet me in the Astronomy Tower tonight? It will give us some alone time without our friends there to hassle us."

Hermione grinned. "Sounds bloody wonderful. How about after the feast?"

"After the feast it is, then." He returned her grin before entering the Hall. She entered soon after, and they both went their separate ways.

She was already counting the hours until their secret rendezvous tonight. Now her only problem would be escaping from her two best friends…

A/N: The "poem" Draco wrote for Hermione really is lyrics from a cheesy Muggle song. It's called "Loving You" by Minnie Ripperton. Actually, it's a very lovely song. :)