Saturday came and the whole school was out in the stands, anxiously awaiting the start of the biggest match of the year: Slytherin versus Gryffindor. Both teams had started off the season with great matches, and the cup all came down to this match. Would Gryffindor take another win, or would Slytherin find glory that dewy morning?

Hermione sat with Ginny Weasley and a few other Gryffindors, feeling very excited. She wanted desperately to be able to mock Malfoy at their next lesson for his lack of skills as Seeker. She had a weird grin on her face as she imagined his expression when Slytherin lost all because of him. Ginny nudged her, snapping her from her fantasy. "Look, 'Mione, the game's about to start!"

Indeed it was, as the Gryffindor team flew out of the locker rooms in a cloud of scarlet to face the blur of green that was Slytherin. The tension was thick and a silence fell over the crowd as Madam Hooch stepped onto the pitch.

"I want a fair game from everyone involved, understand?" She gave a tense look to each captain and forced them to shake hands. The balls were released, the whistle blew, and the crowd erupted in cheers.

The game was going well enough. No team had done anything particularly nasty yet, and Hermione made a comment to Ginny that this may actually be a fair and clean game. She had spoken too soon: it was only twenty minutes into the game when a Gryffindor beater - it was hard to tell who - smacked an irate bludger towards the Slytherin Seeker. Draco, too busy looking for the snitch, realized too late the events that were about to occur. He turned just in time to see the bludger inches from his face, and the impact could be heard around the stadium, eliciting a lot of gasps and a few cruel laughs. That's when it happened - Draco Malfoy fell off his broom through at least fifty feet of air and hit the pitch with a sickening crunch, which earned a few more groans from the crowd.

All Hermione could think about as Professor Snape dragged an unconscious Draco off the pitch and towards the hospital wing was what she had told Draco only four days ago. The words replayed, like a twisted form of self-induced torture, "I hope you fall off your broom on Saturday, Malfoy." She was certain that she had somehow cursed the seeker. Sure she had been incredibly pissed, but she hardly wanted Draco to be seriously hurt, and definitely not killed. The game went on despite a protesting Slytherin team, and Hermione couldn't watch. She knew Gryffindor would have to win, as Slytherin didn't have their seeker. Guilt washed over her like a sudden downpour of rain, and she got up to leave the stands. She offered no explanation to her confused friends, and nearly ran towards the castle.

She did not know where she was going until she was outside the doors leading to the hospital wing. Hermione realized her guilt could only be quelled if she checked on Malfoy's status, and pushed open the door in a timid manner. Madam Pomfrey hovered over Draco muttering something about violence and sports and Professor Snape stood back looking bored, but a look in his eyes gave away his worry.

"What's wrong with him?"

Madam Pomfrey looked up at the slick man. "Oh, a number of breaks and fractures in his arms and legs, I think a cracked rib or two, some nasty cuts, and a bit of a concussion. He'll have to stay in here a few days, I'd imagine. Damned barbaric sport, honestly, can't believe they still play it." Professor Snape nodded curtly and left the room, cloak billowing behind him, without even so much as acknowledging Hermione.

She approached the bed where Draco was laid up. He was a mess. Madam Pomfrey had yet to clean him up yet, and there was dried blood and dirt on his face from where his nose and cuts had bled. There were grass stains all over his Quidditch robes, which were hung over the back of a nearby chair. There were blood stains on his white undershirt and Hermione saw a few still bleeding cuts on his arms. There were bruises beginning to form all over his pale body and she knew he'd be in a lot of pain when he awoke. His pants were torn in a number of places from where they had been cut by small rocks on the pitch. His hair was messy from the wind and there was a stray piece of grass caught in a strand. Hermione suddenly felt her guilt multiply at the sight of the mangled boy.

She stepped forward, feeling a motherly impulse, and removed the leaf of grass from his hair, smoothing it away from his face. Madam Pomfrey turned around to clean the wounds when she spotted Hermione.

"Dear, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to leave. Mr. Malfoy will be needing his rest." Hermione took a step back and nodded.

She reached the door when she turned around. "Madam Pomfrey? Will he be ok?"

The nurse looked at Hermione curiously. "Of course, dear. It may take him a few days but I can mend him up just fine." With that, Hermione turned around and left.

The clock in the common room struck two, and the celebrating students were mostly cleared out. The Gryffindor win had been exciting, but Hermione was simply anxious for everyone to go to bed. Finally, Professor McGonagall stepped in to stop the party. "Look, this is great, I know, but you'll be needing rest! Go to bed!"

Hermione used this as her chance to sneak out the portrait hole. She slid on Harry's invisibility cloak; she hoped he wouldn't go looking for it tonight. Making sure she couldn't be seen, she crept down the hall towards the hospital wing. Yes, she was a prefect, and yes, she could do almost anything she wanted, but she'd have a hard time explaining why she had to see Draco at 2 AM. Before entering the wing, she tucked the cloak behind a suit of armor.

She gave a small sigh seeing that Draco was asleep and not looking much better than he had that morning. Hermione opened a nearby window to let in the full moonlight and pulled a chair next to Draco's bed. She had brought a copy of a book to read: Oops! Accidental Curses. She was positive that she had somehow cursed Draco when she wished he'd fall off his broom.

Draco opened his eyes and blinked a few times. He heard the sounds of music playing softly from somewhere next to him. He turned his head towards the source and was shocked to see Hermione curled up in a chair reading, earphones on her head and a muggle CD player on her lap.

That, however, wasn't what shocked him. What he was most surprised to notice was her beauty. The moonlight hit her at a flattering angle, and he noticed she no longer had the bushy hair of her childhood, but the loose curls of a woman. She had filled out her once awkward body and formed it into something beautiful and graceful. Her deep brown eyes sparkled in the starlight, like precious gems lain on deep velvet. The way her face wrinkled in concentration brought a new feeling to Draco's body; she looked so adorable, so innocent, but still incredibly determined and sexy. He didn't understand how he had missed that, and regretted not noticing her while she blossomed into what he saw before him.

Hermione was four chapters into the book and had yet to read anything about what she had done. She looked up and was surprised to see Draco was awake, and staring at her intensely. She removed the earphones. "How long have you been up?"

Draco shook the thoughts from his head; he couldn't be attracted to Hermione. "Why are you here?"

"Well... I was concerned... and I felt bad that you fell off your broom."

He gave a weird sort of grin. "I thought that's what you wanted?"

"Well, actually, that's what I was reading about... I mean, maybe I accidentally cursed you."

Draco chuckled. "Hermione, if you could kill someone by telling them to do something, it would be a lot easier to kill or hurt people. There is no such thing."

Hermione realized that she had been absurd to think she had cursed Draco by telling him to fall off his broom. She chuckled and shut her book. "I guess you're right."

He looked at her CD player curiously. "How are you listening to music? I thought muggle machinery went haywire around here."

"It does..."

"But that would mean that you-"

"-used magic to make it work." She grinned sheepishly.

"How are you in Gryffindor, with all this sneaking around and breaking the rules?"

"Well... I didn't really break a rule, just...found a loophole. I found this spell in a book, and I used magic during the school year to fix it so... and hey, I don't have to use batteries anymore."

He started to laugh, but it hurt his still healing chest. A look of pain crossed his face. "Oh, I'm sorry, listen you go back to sleep."

"Hey, Hermione, could I listen to what you were just listening to? It sounded really... well, beautiful."

She was shocked. "Sure... here..." She put the earphones on his head and pressed play. Draco closed his eyes and began to drift off. Half an hour later, when she was certain he was asleep, she took her CD player and with one parting glance she slid out of the door.

Wednesday came, and Draco was awaiting Hermione before their next lesson. He still had a few bruises, but they had faded with the help of magic and time. They were tolerable to each other but not yet friendly - the wounds of the past would not heal in one night. The lesson went smoothly and Hermione's hand was on the doorknob when Draco spoke up.

"Hey... can I borrow that CD player? I really enjoyed the music and was hoping I could learn how to play it on my guitar."

"Sure- wait, guitar?" She gave him a confused look.

Draco's cheeks went pink. "Yea, well, we were in New York the summer before 5th year, and I heard this muggle song that was so... haunting. So I convinced Mother to buy me a guitar, 'cause I wanted to be able to play something like that, something beautiful... so I've been listening to muggle music here and there, but I've never heard anything like that CD."

She handed the CD player over to Draco. "Here... and I've only got these CDs right here, and they're both by Coldplay. I assume you know how to work this, then?" He nodded and thanked her, and she left. Hermione set off for the common room grinning; had she just seen the softer side of Draco Malfoy?