"Would you look at that?"

Harry looked up from his potions essay to see Ron shooting disgusted looks at the two sitting a little down the table from them.

He smiled and shook his head before returning to torturing his brain. "Get over it." The green-eyed boy looked up again. "What happened anyway?"

Ron didn't seem to have heard him at first, but when Harry nudged him hard with his elbow, he whipped around. "Oi, what was that for?"

Hermione and Draco both turned to look at them. Harry put a finger to his lips before shooting his Head Girl friend an apologetic look.

"I asked what happened between the both of you," gesturing at Hermione, when they had turned back and minded their own business.

Ron sighed happily and smiled. "Nothing. We cleared everything up and…" There, the redhead paused and a tinge of a blush spread across his cheeks. He mumbled something and Harry had to lean forward.

"What?"

"Shegavemeakissonthecheek."

Harry furrowed his eyebrows, then when he finally understood, couldn't help but grin.

"Oh… okay," Harry said, turning, with the broad gin still plastered on his face.

Ron's blush vanished and his eyes narrowed. He grabbed his best mate in a headlock. He smirked when the raven-haired boy gave a yelp.

"Not one word of this goes out, or else…" and he rubbed the dark head with his knuckles.

Harry gave another yelp of surprise and struggled to get free. Then when Ron moved to tickle him, he started laughing.

"Keep your voices down, you two!"

The two boys immediately stopped their noise at Hermione's warning. "Sorry," they mumbled.

Harry smiled at Ron, and he received one back.

"I dare you to a game of chess."

Harry smirked. "You're on."

They quickly gathered their stuff and made to leave.

"Where are you going?"

They turned to see Hermione and Draco looking at them, although Harry had a feeling the boy was looking more at him.

"Uh… we're… going to… finish our work in the common room! Too noisy here," Ron hastily explained and bolted.

Harry smiled apologetically and gave his bushy-haired friend a small wave, then turned and ran out after Ron.

Well, this would make everybody happy.

Draco gritted his teeth as he tried to concentrate on his work. What were the two of them doing running off like that as if they had some secret? What, their company too overpowering for them? It's not as if they were kissing or something. Draco fought the urge to shudder at the image of him kissing Granger.

"Draco!"

The Slytherin boy snapped out of his mental rant to look at the bushy-haired girl across from him.

"Yes?"

"Uh, well… I was just wondering if you were feeling okay. You look a little pale."

Draco closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm fine, Granger. Just fine."

He went back to studying the huge book spread in front of him, occasionally scribbling something on his parchment.

"Um... Dr-Draco…"

The Head Boy clenched his teeth and squeezed his eyes shut before willing himself to relax. He looked up. "Is anything the matter, Granger?"

The girl seemed to contemplate something, then swallowed. "Well… I was just thinking. We've been working closely for a month and more now, and we're going to be that way until we graduate. So I just thinking… maybe…"

Draco raised an eyebrow inquiringly. "Yes?"

"Maybe… you know, you should… call me by my first name," she said. And it was as if the girl who had asked him for a study session together was non-existent, for the girl before now was determined, confident and downright gleeful.

The blonde narrowed his eyes as he regarded his companion seriously. Until now, he had never noticed the sparkle in those brown eyes when the girl was either happy or planning something. But that much was obvious, what with all him always staring at the Boy-Who-Lived.

"…Draco?"

The blonde snapped out of his musings to find the brown-eyed girl waving a hand in front of his face.

"So, what do you think?"

"Well… Granger…" And Draco was amazed at the evident change in the girls' features at his indirect refusal. He thought about how Granger would run whining to her two best friends about how he refused to call her by her first name, and how Harry would react.

'Most probably hate me more. Then he'll ignore me for the rest of our lives… Not that he isn't now,' Draco thought bitterly. The Head Boy felt something move in his stomach at the thought of his crush hating him more.

"I… I find that fine… Hermione." 'Is it?'

And the Slytherin Prince was once again left to be amazed at how evident the change in the girl's features was.

Hermione grinned, then looked down at her book. She looked up and grinned again. "Well, Draco. It's time for my patrol. Bye."

She packed up and rose to leave. But when she was a few steps away and Draco was back to pretending to read his book and mentally berating himself for such a stupid decision all because of his mentally thought-out consequence (which might not even happen, mind you), she turned back.

"And Draco?"

Draco stopped his mental self-kicking and looked up. "Yes?"

"Thank you."

And with a sweet smile, she turned and swished out of the great hall, leaving in a wake, a more-than-distraught Slytherin Head Boy.