I'm so sorry I took to long. Christmas shopping, cleaning, schoolwork, I have exams coming up...Actually all that is a lie. I've just been lazy. I'm almost done with the 12 chapter so it will be up by Christmas. I'm making it about 6 pages long. Yeah. Enjoy! Review kindly, and SO much love to my reviewers. MERRY XMAS! Or anything you celebrate!

A Smirk is Worth a Thousand Words - Chapter 11: Why's your breath green?

Harry burst through the Gryffindor common room portrait in a swirl of black robes.

"Harry!" Ron moaned, as his four-foot tall card tower crashed to the floor in a pile of rubble.

Harry didn't even look up. He just led himself straight to fire, and flopped down in a comfy armchair.

"Harry?"

Harry mumbled something incomprehensible.

"Harryyy?" Ron abandoned his cards and walked over to him.

Hermione laughed as her breathe game out purple against the cold winter sky. Fred and George had a new product in store, "Bright Breath." It's chewing gum that turns your breath miraculous colors when the air is cold. Or so they say.

Hermione tightened her coat and sat down on the damp snow. She fumbled about with a packet, and pulled out another piece of Fred and George's gum.She sighed, and let herself fall back to the fluffy white ice. Winter was great.

Just as she was dozing off, she heard a set of footsteps crunching up behind her in the snow.

"Come on, Harry." Ron waved his hand in front of Harry's face. "Out with it!"

Harry silently pushed his arm away gently, and sank even deeper in the couch.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"Bet I would." Rom grumbled, and folded his arms. "Well, if that's the way you want to be about it…" He huffed and stomped up to the dormitory.

"Ron! Ron, come down! Come on…" Harry sighed. "You have got to be kidding me."

Ron seemed to be waiting for Harry to call after him, because he ran down the stairs as soon as he had gotten up to the top.

Hermione's eyes fluttered open and met with a pair of ice blue ones, sheathed in blonde hair.

"Hey." Malfoy said quietly, taking a seat beside her.

"Erm.."

"Look, I know what happened earlier was awkward, but we agreed not to talk about it anymore." Draco's eyes left Hermione's and made home to the ground.

"Yeah, of course." Hermione took note of how sincere his voice was. And how gorgeous his eyes were. And how masculine his broad, bare shoulders were when they were sandwiched together on the --- focus. Must focus. You don't like him. At all. Maybe just a little. No. No no no.

"Hermione..?"

"Hm."

"I know…I know that you hate me---"

"I don't hate you."

"What? But you---"

"No, I don't hate you. I just severely dislike you." Hermione laughed.

"Oh."

"I was kidding…"

"So you'd call us friends?"

"Well, I wouldn't say friends, but if you keep this sort of façade going, I'm bound to think better of you."

"Really?"

"What's this about, Draco?"

"Nothing." And it was true. This was just nothing right? A stupid bet with friends. Well, not really friends, but you know. He couldn't possibly…like her?! No. No way. Maybe. Maybe a little. Argh.

Hermione fell silent, feeling the need to shut her mouth all of a sudden.

Draco sighed. "It's nothing." He heaved himself up with a grunt and began to stride away.

"Wait, you know what? It's not nothing." Draco said quietly, just so only Hermione could hear. "It's definitely something."

He slowly turned around and walked towards her, and held out his hand.

She gave him a skeptical look, but accepted, and he pulled her off the ground.

"It's definitely something." He repeated these last words, as he leaned in to her freckled face slowly, painfully slowly, his toned arm on her shoulder, and he planted to tender, warm kiss on her cheek. He was surprised to see that Hermione didn't jerk away or yell, "Oh my Gawd, you bastard!" and give him a shiner. In truth, she was enjoying it.

Harry had been walking back to the castle from Hagrid's hut when he saw it. He hid behind a tree and watched a smile spread across both their faces, as Draco whispered something in her ear, and she nodded in acceptance.

"So you'll go?" Draco asked, smiling.

"I suppose…" Hermione tried to keep from smiling, but she gave in and let her pearly whites shine. "It's not like I had anyone to go with or anything…."

"Great." Draco flicked his hair back. "Why is your breath green?"

"Oh..erm. Bad dinner last night. You know, onions, liver, the works."

"We had turkey last night.."

"Right. Yeah, um. See ya tomorrow?"

"Sure thing." Draco squeezed her hand, and strode off towards the castle before any of the slytherins could see him.

Harry waited until they both were out of seeing distance, and ran as fast as he could to the castle.

Harry was still considering whether he should tell Ron or not. But now that he had him downstairs and eager to hear something, he would need to make something up.

"So what's up?" Ron asked, scratching the back of his neck.

I..Um..you..car..Hedwig..dead…no..I heard that Dumbledore was..erm.."

"Spit it out, Harry!"

"Dumbledore's car died!"

"What?"

"What?" Harry questioned.

"You just---"

"I'm tired, are you tired?"

"Not really…"

"Too bad. Go to bed." Harry ran up to his dorm and shut himself in the bathroom until her heard Ron's snoring die down and the rustling of the bed stop, which meant Ron was fast asleep.