Hermione looked at the rose with a mix of emotions. "What the hell is that?" she whispered to herself. "Does he really think that- that that thing is going to make up for what he said to me? That dumbass..."

She sat down on the bed and glance back at the rose. Her expression, stance and voice softened. "It is pretty though... And I guess it would take some sort of courage to actually put it in my room. And the note was sweet... sort of. And that's the first rose of apology I've had in... ever. No one's ever given me a rose before. Its... beautiful."

Hermione stiffened again at her own words. "But he can't think that a rose is going to make up for calling me a..a... I don't even want to say it to myself. He's a complete asshole if he thinks that that will make up for it. The dumbass attacked me completely unprovoked and deserved more than a scare. He could die for all I care." She had made up her mind.

She walked to the door of her room, walked into the Common Room and quickly realized that he was not there. She knew he wasn't in the bathroom because she couldn't hear the shower on and her bathroom door hadn't been locked, which was something that always magically happened when they were showering. It would unlock as soon as the water in the shower stopped, but until then the doors were locked. Hermione had a sneaky suspicion that it was to keep the Head Boy from walking in on the Head Girl and vice versa.

She flopped down on a sofa in the Common Room. "I don't want to go to his room. With my luck he'd have some random girl in there or something. Or be completely naked..." she smiled. "That would be a nice sight though. But, no. Going into his room would be wrong. I'd be putting myself so close to trouble that I might not be able to stop. It'd be like trying to stop a rock from rolling down a hill. Without magic."

Hermione stood up and walked back into her room. She grabbed her bathroom caddy and went to go take a shower to clear her mind. She moved to the shower, turned the water on, removed the rest of her clothing and stepped into perfectly warm water. The water streamed down her body and she let her mind roam. The water felt so good, like a refreshing swim on a hot day.

"Malfoy," she murmured to herself. That's all she could think about. He was a dumbass, completely pompous and worse of all a Slytherin. But he was smart, good looking and sweet. And the note he had left. Was it real? Or was it another one of his moments, a joke? He had left it with a rose... The rose. It was beautiful; full and red, long and elegant. She had never been given anything like it.

Sighing Hermione finished washing her body and hair and stepped out of the shower. She got her towel and wrapped it snuggly around her body. She walked over to the mirror and began brushing her teeth.

She moved into her room and put on a pair of deep red, fleece pajama bottoms and a black camisole. She pulled her hair back into a messy ponytail. It was bushy and would be impossible, but she would deal with that later. 'Besides,' she thought to herself. 'It looks fine in a ponytail and it's not like I have anyone to impress.'

But even as she thought those words a picture of Draco flooded her mind. She looked into her mirror again. She reached for her wand, hesitated and turned on her heel. What did she care? Even with all the changes she had undergone that summer and in the past year she wasn't going to start dressing up every time she felt like leaving her room. That'd be too much.

Hermione left her room and walked into the Common Room. Draco still wasn't there. 'Damn, whatever he's doing, he must be enjoying himself,' she thought to herself. 'Whatever, he deserves some fun. He's not too bad a guy, I guess. And he did give me the rose.'

She picked up her book, not surprisingly a different one than the one she had been reading the day before, and began reading again. She had read nearly 50 pages when she shifted her book and a pain that almost felt good shot up her.

Looking down at the cut on her stomach the fire that had been temporarily put out rose again. "No way he's getting off that easy. I'm going to tell him what an ass he was. If he thinks he can make up for every mess up he's ever had with a flower and a little note, he is dead wrong. If he thinks every girl is going to melt when he writes down some pretty words and leaves a stupid garden plant he has another thing coming. Someone has to let him know that he's not the greatest thing since floo powder."

She got to her feet, put down her book on the table and tightened her ponytail. She walked slowly and confidently to the door opposite hers. She reached the door and sighed. She raised her hand to knock and let it drop. 'What am I doing?' her eyes dropped and her hand ran across her stomach. Hermione lifted her hand again and rapped hard on the door 3 times.

The door opened and a very sleepy, very disgruntled looking Draco was standing behind it. "Can I help you?" he grunted. "I'd like to go back to sleep."

"You... you had no right to think that that rose would make up for what you said to me. If you think that will make up for it then you are sadly mistaken. And I-" She raised her hand and slapped him and continued on ranting- not making any sense and constantly repeating herself.

Draco reached up and caressed the cheek Hermione had slapped gently. He was still slightly dazed and wasn't sure what was happening. Hermione was at his door and he noticed that she was looking sexier than usual with her pajama's on and her hair all fly away.

He started to tune back in and realized she was talking about the rose he had left her. He cursed at himself inwardly. He had just thought it would be a nice gesture to help make up for his asshole moments, he wasn't trying to offend her anymore and certainly didn't think that he could leave a rose for every time he messed up. That was the first time he had ever left a rose, or any other flower for that matter, for anyone to apologize for something.

"I think you got the wrong idea," he mumbled.

Hermione never heard that and just continued ranting on, mixing concepts and ideas, never making sense. Even while yelling at him though, she never stopped looking at him. When she raised her arm again, Draco flinched and she dropped it sighing.

"I wasn't going to hit you again."

"You were contemplating it," he grumbled, rubbing his raw cheek.

"But you-!" she started and began ranting again.

Draco sighed, it would be a long night if he had to stand there listening to her rant on, looking at her body. It would be torture to allow him to stand there looking at Hermione at her sexist, when she was wild and had a fire burning in her eyes. He was very well aware that he was standing at his bedroom door wearing only a pair of long pajama bottoms. He wasn't worried. He had seen Hermione checking him out, admiring his ripped stomach and well-built arms. The knowledge that she enjoyed looking at him and admired his body sent ripples of happiness through him and he had to fight to keep a smile from appearing on his face and making the situation worse.

Hermione continued raving on about his imperfection in the apology, not calling it an imperfection but making it clear that she saw it as a weakness. "And I have to tell you, because you obviously didn't listen the last time someone tried to tell you that you aren't the freaking greatest thing since floo powder. Sorry, just not going to happen, get over it."

Draco's hand moved up to Hermione's lips and stopped her from talking by placing just one finger over her lips. "Granger, just shut up," he said and his face was coming closer to hers; gradually closing the gap between them.