Author's Note: I have nothing much to say, really. I just need to have an author's note no matter what.

Disclaimer: All I own is this silly little fan fic that pales in comparison to the real Harry Potter series. So, uh, don't sue.

For the first time in her life, Hermione failed to pay attention in any of her classes.

For instance, in Potions, she appeared to be listening intently to Professor Snape as he droned on and on about…eh…whatever it was he was droning on and on about. To anyone who might have happened to steal a glance at her, they would have assumed that she was furiously scribbling down his every word, in fear that he might spring a pop quiz on them spur-of-the-moment. However, had anyone actually glanced at the parchment that lie on the desk in front of her, what they would have seen instead of Potions notes would have made them shudder.

Apparently (Hermione had found out during this very class) there are many different ways to combine her name with Draco Malfoy's. Hermione Malfoy. Hermione Jane Malfoy. Hermione Granger-Malfoy. Hermione Jane Granger-Malfoy. Mrs. Draco Malfoy. Mrs. Hermione Jane Granger-Malfoy. Really, the possibilities were endless, and she had managed to scrawl nearly every single combination down on paper, complete with hearts everywhere, big and small. Luckily for her, she was sitting by neither Harry nor Ron, but some Gryffindor girl she had never bothered to get to know. This unidentified girl did glance over at Hermione's notes a couple of times with a strange expression, but that was all. Had Harry or Ron seen what she had been spending all of Potions class doing, they most likely would have stupefied her again.

Feeling a pair of eyes on her, Hermione turned around in her chair and glanced around, sincerely hoping those eyes didn't belong to either of her two best friends. It wasn't long before she realized who was staring at her so intently, and she practically sighed in relief: Draco. Hi, she mouthed to him, her lips then forming into a pleasant smile.

Draco slowly grinned and nodded in response. He glanced up at Snape, whose back was turned to the class as he walked back up toward his desk, still talking about some kind of potion or whatever. Draco held up a folded piece of paper and winked at her. He then lowered it to the ground and proceeded to levitate it just low enough so that it didn't register on anybody's radar. When it gently landed on the floor next to her desk, Hermione took a quick glance around the room to make sure no one was paying attention, and then leaned over quickly and picked it up.

The girl-with-no-name beside her gave her a funny look again as she proceeded to carefully unfold the paper. Hermione shot her a glare that clearly said, mind your own business, nosy bitch. The girl just rolled her eyes and went back to intently concentrating on Snape's lesson.

Hermione felt a blush creeping up to her cheeks when she read Draco's words: You know, you are the most beautiful girl in this class.

She smiled and wrote back: Oh really? More beautiful than Pansy Parkinson? She levitated the note back to him.

Draco snorted when he read it, eliciting a look from Professor Snape. Hermione held her breath, waiting for the vile teacher to reprimand Draco, but of course he just ignored it and went on talking. Professor Snape had always had a soft spot for Draco Malfoy, and he hated to take points away from his own house unless he absolutely had to. Draco looked at Hermione in relief before proceeding to scrawling something in response and once again levitating it back to her.

I said you were the most beautiful girl – I said nothing about pugs. Hermione couldn't help but giggle. Snape spun around again and glared at her.

"Did I say something amusing, Miss Granger?" he drawled.

Hermione's smile faded. "N-no, Professor, I just -"

"Ten points from Gryffindor for Miss Granger's disruption of class." Snape didn't even try to hide his smirk as every Gryffindor in the class groaned.

Hermione was crestfallen. "But Professor -"

"And another ten points for attempting to argue with my decision."

Hermione opened her mouth to protest once more, but both Harry and Ron shot her looks that clearly told her to shut up. She glanced over at Draco, who gave her a sympathetic glance, mixed with some guilt. Hermione almost didn't recognize that expression on Draco, as he had never looked sympathetic once in his whole life. But his expression quickly vanished and was replaced by a sincere, almost flirtatious smile. Hermione couldn't help it – she blushed furiously again and returned the smile.

Unbeknownst to them, Snape had watched their silent interaction with great disdain, and was relieved when the bell rang a few seconds later. "Class dismissed."

As everyone stood up and started packing their books into their bags, Snape added, "Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasel – please remain seated. The rest of you may go."

Harry and Ron exchanged confused glances, and then glanced up at Hermione, who wanted nothing more than to go catch up with Draco. Sadly though, he was quickly whisked away by Blaise Zabini, and disappeared out of sight before she could even wave goodbye.

Hermione frowned. "I'm going to go see if I can find Ginny," she said to Harry and Ron. "I'll meet you guys in the common room." Both Harry and Ron eyed her suspiciously, but nodded. They really had no choice but to let her go.

She smiled to herself. She was actually very anxious to talk to Ginny, figuring that she would probably help Hermione come up with a plan to help sneak her out of the feast tonight. With a small wave she turned to leave. When she was finally gone, the boys simultaneously turned to Snape with fearful looks in their eyes.

"Mr. Potter, Mr. Weasley," Snap said, "would you be so kind as to fill me in to what is going on between Mr. Malfoy and Miss Granger?"

Harry breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh. That." He glanced at Ron. "Well, we aren't really sure, sir. All we know is that at this time yesterday, they still loathed each other. But when we found them outside of the Three Broomsticks last night, they couldn't keep their hands off each other."

Ron nodded in agreement. "We think Malfoy has put some sort of a love spell on Hermione, Professor."

Snape sat back in his chair and looked at the two boys as if he thought they were crazy. "And why would Mr. Malfoy do such a thing?"

Harry shrugged. "We don't know, sir. Perhaps…perhaps it's some sort of twisted plan to make Hermione fall in love with him so that he could humiliate her in front of the entire school. Who knows why Malfoy does the things he does?"

"Hmm." Snape furrowed his brow and appeared to be deep in thought. After a few moments of awkward silence, he said, "And what makes you think it was Mr. Malfoy who hexed Miss Granger? Could it not have been the other way around?"

"No way!" Ron exclaimed. Realizing he had spoken too loudly, he lowered his voice and said, "Er, I mean, I don't believe so, sir. Hermione hates Malfoy more than anything. There would be absolutely no reason for her to put a love spell on him."

"Ron's right," Harry said. He stopped for a second, thinking. "Actually, when you think about it, it really makes no sense either way. Sure, Malfoy could have hexed Hermione in order to humiliate her…but wouldn't he humiliate her more if he just ignored her advances? Why would he risk his reputation by playing along like he is?"

Snape gently massaged his temples. He never in a million years would have thought he would be talking to Harry Potter and Ronald Weasley about a romantic relationship between Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger. This apparently wasn't good for his health, as he was feeling a migraine coming on. "Well," he said finally. "I think that whatever is going on between them is being caused by neither Miss Granger nor Mr. Malfoy, as they both seem to be genuinely affected. Rather, I think there has been a third party involved. Perhaps somebody slipped them a love potion."

Harry and Ron raised their eyebrows. "Third party, sir?" Ron asked quizzically. "Who in their right mind would want to make Hermione and Malfoy fall in love?"

Hell if I know, Snape thought bitterly. "I do not know, Mr. Weasley. If I knew, I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you right now. Instead, I would be out trying to find a cure."

Harry felt a sense of relief. "Does this mean you will help us find out what has happened and fix it?"

Snape stood up. "Of course, Mr. Potter. If I have to teach one more class with Mr. Malfoy and Miss Granger ogling each other, I may have to take sick leave. Besides," he brushed past Harry and Ron and headed for the classroom door. "I think it would be best for all parties involved if this little incident is taken care of before it is brought to the attention of Lucius Malfoy."

"You want me to lie to my brother?" Ginny asked with a smirk.

Hermione shook her head. "Not lie. Just omit the truth."

Ginny giggled. "Why am I agreeing to help you? I shouldn't be helping you, you know. Ron and Harry have every reason to be worried about you. I mean, c'mon Hermione – yesterday, you loathed Draco Malfoy, and now you love him! Doesn't that sound absurd to you?"

Hermione smiled dreamily. "That doesn't sound absurd at all. People fall in love all the time, Ginny. What's so different about me and Draco?"

"You two hate each other's guts!" Ginny screeched. "Remember all of those times he's called you a mudblood? Remember that time you slapped him in third year? Ron said it looked like you were going to kill him. How can your feelings for each other just change magically over night? I mean…er…without magic?"

"I don't expect you to understand, Ginny. I don't expect anyone to understand, really. I mean, I don't completely understand this myself. But…" Her voice trailed off. "I don't know what's happening to me, but I like it. I really, really like it. Just the thought of seeing Draco again makes me want to jump up and down with joy. Whenever I glance over at him and our eyes meet, my heart skips a beat and my breath catches in my throat. I feel like I am going to go crazy if I go another minute without seeing him or touching him. He…he completes me, Ginny."

Ginny knew that she should have been gagging at what Hermione had just revealed, but instead she sighed dreamily. Sure, it was Draco Malfoy they were talking about, but her friend was in love, and Ginny couldn't have been happier for her. She leaned forward and threw her arms around Hermione. "I just want you to know that I support you know matter what, Hermione, and I will do whatever I can to help you tonight."

Hermione's eyes glazed over with happy tears. "Oh, Ginny, you are so full of greatness! It must not run in your family."

Ginny chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it."

Hermione couldn't help but notice Draco's absence during the feast that night, and her mind was racing with all sorts of theories as to what could have happened to him – anything from receiving a brutal beating from his fellow Slytherins, to being out somewhere snogging some other girl. She sure hoped neither theory was correct. She decided to just shrug it off and try to enjoy the feast. Luckily, Harry and Ron provided a decent distraction when they sat down beside her at the table.

"Hey, you two!" she exclaimed. "I haven't seen you since Potions. Why did Snape keep you guys after class?"

Harry and Ron glanced at each other, as if trying to come up with a good answer. Finally, Harry said, "He, er, wanted to give us detention."

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "What? What for?"

"Uh…" Ron said nervously. "For, um, cheating. Yeah, cheating. On the test he gave us last week. He could tell that I copied off of Harry." Ron mentally slapped himself, forgetting that the professors usually cast anti-cheating spells on everyone's quills before they take a test. Luckily, Hermione was too horrified by the word "cheat" that she had seemed to forget that little fact as well.

"You copied off of Harry!" Hermione yelled, acting as if that was the worst crime anyone could ever commit, ever. "Ronald Weasley! How could you do something like that? How do you expect to get through life by claiming other people's hard work as your own? You're never going to learn anything that way! And you, Harry! How could you -"

"Right," Ron said, interrupting her. He knew if he didn't interrupt, she would never shut up. "So Harry and I are serving detention tonight."

Hermione stopped lecturing. Harry and Ron couldn't help but notice her face light up a little. "Oh, really? Well…good! You deserve to serve detention for this!"

"So what are your plans tonight, Hermione?" Harry asked.

Hermione shrugged. "Actually, Ginny and I were planning on having a girl's night out tonight. Or, rather, in. We thought we would maybe look up some simple girly spells and perhaps perform makeovers on each other."

Ron snorted. "Sounds bloody terrific." He rolled his eyes at Harry, who just smiled in response. They were both very relieved that Hermione bought their little story.

Hermione, meanwhile, was relieved to find out that Harry and Ron had other plans for the evening. If they were in detention, there would be no chance of them following her to the Astronomy Tower.

At the thought of the Astronomy Tower, Hermione frowned. Draco still hadn't appeared over at the Slytherin table. What if he had forgotten about their little rendezvous tonight? No, she assured herself. He would not forget something like this. After all, it was his idea. She managed to convince herself that he would show up, but then another thought struck fear in her heart: what exactly were they going to do in the Astronomy Tower? This would be the first time they'd be alone together without anyone interrupting them, which meant that anything could happen. Only what you allow to happen, she reminded herself. She wasn't exactly the most experienced girl at Hogwarts (in fact, she was willing to bet she was the least experienced), and the fact that Draco Malfoy wasn't exactly the most inexperienced boy at Hogwarts (in fact, she was willing to bet he was the least inexperienced) made her slightly nervous.

"Hermione?" Ron waved a hand in front of Hermione's face, trying to get her attention. Hermione quickly snapped back to reality.

"Huh, what Ron?"

"Are you okay, Mione?" Harry asked. "You look anxious."

"Who, me? Anxious? Why would I be anxious? What possible reason would I have to be anxious? Honestly, I have no idea what you are talking about. Anxious. Ha! Really." Realizing she was blubbering like an idiot, she stood up. "I, um, I'm going to go find Ginny."

Ron looked at her as if she had gone completely bonkers. "Ginny's right there," he said, pointing directly across the table at his younger sister. Ginny gave an innocent smile.

"I know that," she snapped. She turned to Ginny. "Ready to leave?"

"Um…" Ginny hesitated. "Sure. Yeah." She stood up and began to follow Hermione to the Hall's exit.

"Have fun with your girly spells," Ron called after them, a hint of playfulness in his voice.

Once Hermione and Ginny were outside of the Great Hall, Hermione collapsed against the wall. "Have you seen Draco?"

Ginny blinked. "No. But I noticed he wasn't in the Great Hall."

"I noticed too. Oh, Ginny, what if he has changed his mind about us?"

"I'm sure he hasn't," Ginny said reassuringly. "Why don't you just head up to the Astronomy Tower right now? I'll bet he's already up there waiting for you."

Hermione chewed on her lip. "I really hope you're right, Gin."

"Of course I am right!" Ginny laughed. "Now go! Shoo!"

Hermione grinned. "Wish me luck."

"Oh honey, believe me. You won't need it."

Meanwhile, in the Great Hall, Harry and Ron were feeling very glad that Hermione was gone.

"You stupid git!" Harry scolded Ron. "You almost blew it with that whole cheating excuse."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. But she bought it. That's all that matters."

"So why do you suspect Snape is bringing us to Hogsmeade tonight?"

Ron shrugged. "I have no clue. But he seems to think he knows how to solve this. And if he does solve it, you are going to have to restrain me from giving him a big sloppy kiss of gratitude."

Harry stared at his best friend in horror, and decided it would be best if he just pretended like he hadn't heard that comment come from Ron's mouth. His gaze then shifted over to Professor Snape, who was already glaring back at him. He sighed.

First, Hermione had fallen in love with Malfoy. Now he and Ron were in cahoots with Professor Snape? Harry honestly never thought he'd be alive long enough to ever witness either of those things.

Next Up: Snape gets to the bottom of things in Hogsmeade, and Hermione and Draco get to the top of things in the Astronomy Tower. ;)