Draco watched Hermione as they sat side by side in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Ordinarily this wasn't the seat he would have chosen, but their teacher, Professor Ames, had insisted that each pair of students chosen to work together should sit together each class period so that they could discuss their projects during down time. He had to admit, however, that he couldn't have been given a better partner, as Hermione was quite possibly the only one equal to the task of matching wits with him. Their knowledge combined could produce no less than an Outstanding grade.

"This project is focusing on your skills at creating spells," Professor Ames was saying. "This type of magic requires an extreme focus on what you expect your end result to be, as well as a detailed study of the more prominent Latin roots. Over the next few weeks, you and your partner will be studying Latin, in order to get a good grasp on these roots, and you will eventually come up with a name and purpose for a spell that has not been created. It is very important that you have your spell approved by me before you attempt to use it, otherwise there could be some serious mishaps. Once your spell is approved, you can begin practicing it, and make the necessary adjustments until it works."

Draco smirked at Hermione, who was feverishly taking notes. "Why don't we invent a spell to produce an orgasm?" he whispered, breathing hot air into her ear as he did so. Hermione glared up at him for a moment, but immediately continued taking notes. Draco shrugged. He thought it was a good idea…


Hermione smiled as her red headed friend approached her. She was having a late lunch in the Great Hall, and was glad to see someone she could to talk to while she finished eating. Ginny smiled back and sat down at the table next to her.

"So, we have a lot to talk about," she said, smiling knowingly at her friend. Hermione smiled back, blushing a little bit. "What's going on with you and my brother, hmm?"

"Oh, come on, Ginny, you know how I feel about him," she said, giggling slightly.

"Yeah, I know, but I just like hearing you say it," Ginny replied with a mischievous grin. "But not even just that, what is going on with you and Malfoy? I heard he was whispering 'sweet nothings' to you during class."

"Who did you hear that from?" Hermione asked in surprise, laughing at Ginny's mocking expression.

"My oh-so-jealous brother," Ginny answered, ruffling Hermione's hair playfully. "And speaking of jealous, Harry tells me he saw Lavender checking Ron out today in class. What's that all about? Did you see anything?"

"No," Hermione admitted, slightly downcast. "Although I have to admit I was paying more attention to Ron himself than those who may have been watching him."

Ginny grinned. "No worries, Hermione," she said consolingly. "I'm sure it's just Lavender being Lavender, you know? She flirts with everyone. Ron wouldn't give her a second glance, he's crazy about you."


Her footsteps echoed against the stone floors as Lavender made her way through the hallways towards Professor Ames' office. She had the perfect way to set her plan on the right track. These groups in Defense Against the Dark Arts would give her the perfect opportunity to become close with Ron without arousing anyone's suspicion.

Professor Ames had not assigned Lavender to work with Ron or Harry, in fact, she had assigned her to work with Millicent Bulstrode. This idea, naturally, was not Lavender's favorite, and she had decided to take it upon herself to have it changed. After many hours of pondering how best to change these accommodations, Lavender had decided that it would be best for her to partner Ron. Arranging to partner Harry would indeed bring her closer to her goal, however she could ruin it by seeming too persistent, and that would not do. No, she would have to partner Ron, which would help her original plan.

Working with Ron would be easy and fun, and he would no doubt tell Harry how wonderfully brilliant she is. Lavender smiled to herself as these thoughts crossed her mind. And people said Hermione was the smartest witch of their age… Lavender scoffed. By the time Lavender got through with everyone, it would be her name spoken in admiration, not that bloody know-it-all's.

Sure, Hermione was nice when she wanted to be, but there was no denying that she was a bit snooty. Who wouldn't be, if they were in her position? Lavender sighed. How frequently she had wished that she had become such close friends with Harry and Ron. What more could a girl ask for than to have two such attractive men as best friends?

"I could be her," Lavender said, smirking to herself. "I could be her better than she could. She doesn't know what she has."

As Lavender's thoughts continued to travel in this direction she began to ponder what it would be like if she took Hermione's place. She imagined herself, sitting in the common room, one of them on either side of her, filling her head with compliments and sweet words. A smirk crossed her face once again. Yes, if she were in Hermione's place, she would use those boys to their full potential.


Lavender was soon seated in a chair on the other side of Professor Ames' desk, having a nice chat with the amiable professor.

"What can I help you with today, Miss Brown?" Professor Ames asked with a smile, as she poured Lavender a cup of tea from a tea pot she had conjured with her wand.

"Well, I'd like to speak to you about the project, actually," Lavender said, looking at the office around her. There was a warm fire crackling away merrily in the fire place, and scattered on shelves around the room were several of the dark detectors she recognized from the D.A. meetings in her 5th year.

"The project?" Professor Ames repeated, surprised. "I thought I explained it properly in class, Miss Brown, did I leave something out? I should hate to have misled any other students…"

"No no, that's not it at all, Professor," Lavender said quickly, to assure her anxious teacher. "It's just that… well, Millicent and I have had a bit of an argument, you see. We don't seem to see eye to eye on the project, and I don't think I can work well with her. I'm afraid that our project will suffer because of our differences."

"Well, don't you think it would be best if you two were to work these differences out?" Professor Ames suggested gently. "After all, true learning only comes from the ability to persevere through difficulties. You may learn more by working with her."

Time for drastic action, Lavender thought.

"I… I suppose," she murmured, tears welling up in her eyes. "It's just… she said some very rude things to me, and I don't think I can… I mean, I'll try…"

"Oh, my dear, what did she say to you?" Professor Ames asked, feeling awful that she had not considered it a possibility that there may truly be a serious disagreement.

"I'd rather not say, Professor," Lavender said, eyes wide and tearful as she looked up at her professor. She knew that tears were the way to go in order to get things done. "I hope you understand."

"Of course," Professor Ames agreed sympathetically. "Is there anyone you feel that you may work better with?"

"I was thinking perhaps Ron Weasley," Lavender said, wiping the tears from her eyes, trying not to look to triumphant. "He's always been so nice to me, and we've worked together on projects before."

Professor Ames thought about this for a moment. "I suppose it's doable," she said, placing her chin in her hands. "Ron and Harry are partners at the moment, and I don't see the harm in splitting up that group. Yes, you will partner Ron, and Harry will partner Millicent. I will announce the changes at the next class."

"Please don't tell them I requested it," Lavender pleaded quickly. She needed to cover her tracks, if anyone knew what her true intentions were she didn't even want to think what would happen. "I… I don't think I could bear it if Millicent found out."

"Of course," Professor Ames agreed immediately.

Lavender smiled to herself as she left Professor Ames' office. Her plan had worked out beautifully. Harry would now be partnering Millicent, which would keep him out of trouble while she worked her magic on Ron. She would have him all to herself for the next few weeks as they worked on their project, and would thus be able to get closer to Harry through Ron with ease. Everything was falling into place beautifully.


"What are you and Harry going to do for your project, Ron?" Ginny asked. She was snuggled in Harry's arms while they, Ron, and Hermione were enjoying the fire in the Gryffindor common room. It was late; the common room was quieting down seeing how most students went to bed around this time.

"We're working on a spell to make a broom fly faster," Ron said, grinning widely at his sister in excitement. "It's going to be wicked, can you imagine Harry using it when he needs to catch the snitch before Malfoy?"

"Honestly, do you two ever think about anything besides Quidditch?" Hermione asked, only slightly annoyed, as she absent-mindedly traced the chain of her new necklace.

"I know what Hermione's thinking about… or should I say who?" Ginny teased, smiling broadly at her furiously blushing friend. Hermione glanced at Ron to gage his expression be he seemed to remain blissfully clueless. She sighed to herself and looked back at Ginny, who was now standing up, and dragging Harry to his feet as well.

"Is it time for bed already?" he asked, looking at his girlfriend in confusion, as she pulled him towards the staircase.

"You two aren't going up to bed… together, are you?" Ron asked, raising an eyebrow in stern disapproval. He began to stand up, as if to try and stop Harry and Ginny, when Hermione tossed herself lightly across Ron's lap to keep him in place.

"Come on, Ron," she said, letting a careless hand reach up and caress his cheek lightly, to distract him while Harry and Ginny scurried up the stairs. "Let them have their fun. Harry's good to Ginny and you know it."

"I'm not sure I want to know just how good Harry is to my sister," Ron mumbled, but was suitably distracted by Hermione's wandering fingers to stay seated. His cheek seem to tingle at her touch.

Ron gazed down at the young woman who's head lay in his lap. Her curly hair was fanned out over his legs, and she smiled up at him with perfectly straight teeth, her eyes meeting his squarely. He smiled, perfectly content at how comfortable they were together. They could stare into each other's eyes without feeling awkward; they simply were who they were. He felt his hand trail up her arm to interlock fingers with the hand she had placed on his cheek.

He was struck by the realization that his actions were no longer in his control. It was if their bodies were magnetized. He was hypnotized by her presence, by her eyes, and as his fingers ran lightly over the skin of her shoulder and collar bones he felt as though he never wanted to stop touching her. He saw her eyes shut in pleasure, and swallowed a huge gulp of air painfully, hoping she wouldn't notice how her presence was affecting him.

He ran the fingers of his other hand through her hair, and bent down slowly to place a light kiss on her forehead.

"Hey, guys!" a voice chirped from directly next to them. Hermione's forehead crashed into Ron's nose forcibly as she sat up in surprise.

"Lavender?" Hermione asked, rubbing her forehead and staring at the other girl in surprise. "What do you want?"

Lavender giggled slightly and sat down on the couch between Hermione and Ron. "Nothing, nothing," she said, still giggling. "I just wanted to say hi! Parvati's already gone up to bed, and I felt like some company. You don't mind, do you? Am I interrupting something?" She looked to Ron's reddening face back to Hermione who had a peculiar look on her face.

"No, of course not," Ron said quickly, notcing once again that he was blushing profusely. "We were just talking."

"Oh, well that's wonderful," Lavender said brightly. "I thought I might ask you two what you were planning on doing in each of Defense Against the Dark Arts projects! Millicent and I are having an awful time, she won't help me a single bit, and I've no idea where to begin on my own."

"Well, er… Harry and I were planning a spell to make brooms fly faster," Ron said, trying to be as helpful as possible. Hermione merely rolled her eyes and kept silent.

She observed Ron and Lavender as they spoke to each other and became more and more frustrated by the moment. Lavender, although the words she spoke were meant to seem as if they included Hermione in the conversation, was focusing her attention on Ron, and trying to weed Hermione out.

Hermione watched them carefully, observing how Lavender would lean into Ron as she spoke, and brush his shoulder casually, giggling at every little thing Ron said. In contrast, Ron didn't seem to know how to react to these attentions, in fact every time she touched him he would look up at her with a mixture of confusion and fear. He seemed truly terrified of Lavender, and Hermione snorted with bitter laughter.

She regretted this instantly when Ron's and Lavender's attention became focused on her instead. "What's so funny?" Ron asked, a hopeful smile playing at his lips. He was beginning to regret being so friendly with Lavender, as he had recently realized that this had spoiled his moment with Hermione.

"Oh, nothing," Hermione said, forcing a smile. "I'm just going to go to bed. I'll see you guys tomorrow morning."

Hermione stood up from her chair and walked up the stairs without another word. Ron moved as if to try and stop her, but Lavender pushed him back down in his seat.

"You're a lot of fun, Ronald," Lavender said, putting more emphasis than necessary on his name. "Why haven't we hung out like this before?"

"I, er… well," Ron mumbled. "I don't know, I suppose you're usually—"

"We really should hang out more often," Lavender said, giggling and looking up at him fondly. "You make me laugh."

"But you always laugh," Ron pointed out, not sure what to make of her statement. "But look, I'm going to go to bed too… early classes and such."

Lavender sighed to herself as Ron disappeared up the steps to the boy's dormitories. This was harder than she had thought. Although it's true that while Hermione was downstairs, things had been going smoothly, she could tell there would be slight problems. Hermione had been more than slightly put out that Ron was ignoring her, and Lavender had reveled in that feeling. She had always enjoyed being the center of attention, and nothing pleased her more than pushing someone else out of the spotlight.

She hadn't realized until after Hermione went to bed how much a friendship between Ron and Hermione could be for her. If she were going to get closer to Harry through Ron, she would have to do something about Hermione as well. With Hermione hanging around, Ron would always be confused as to who he should pay attention to. If Lavender could make Hermione look less appealing to Ron, things might fall into place easier.

How could this be accomplished, she pondered? Perhaps if Hermione herself were to be distracted by another person, that would keep her away from Ron long enough for Lavender's plan to work. Her thoughts rested briefly on Draco Malfoy. She had seen them together in class, and noticed that there was a great amount of interest, especially on Draco's part. Perhaps Draco Malfoy was just the distraction she was looking for. She smirked slightly, loving the way how everything was beginning to slowly but smoothly be put into place.


"Nothing happened, Ginny, and I really don't think anything ever will," Hermione said the following morning at breakfast. She and Ginny had left for breakfast before Harry and Ron were ready so that they could have some "girl time". Ginny had been anxious ever since the previous night to find out if anything interesting had happened between her best friend and her brother.

"What do you mean nothing happened, everything was perfect, what went wrong?" Ginny demanded, truly crushed at the news that nothing had happened.

"Lavender showed up out of nowhere," Hermione said, taking an angry bite out of her toast. Ginny raised an eyebrow at her in confusion. Hermione threw her toast back to her plate, finished chewing, and began to rant. "I don't understand, Ginny, she has never shown an interest in any of us in the past and all of a sudden here she is, flirting with Ron. What does she think she's doing?"

"You know, it seems strangely similar to your situation with Draco Malfoy," Ginny said pensively. "Draco is showing an uncharacteristic amount of interest in you, just like Lavender is showing interest in Ron."

"What are you saying, Ginny?" Hermione asked with a slight grin. "That I'm too ugly for a man like Draco Malfoy?"

"You know what I mean," Ginny said, smiling back. "It's just strange. I wonder what they're up to. Do you think they're working together?"

Hermione giggled. "That'll be the day," she said, rolling her eyes. "When two minds as mysterious as theirs combine, we'll all be in a lot of trouble."

"Speaking of trouble," Ginny said, looking past Hermione with a look of amusement. Hermione turned and saw Harry and Ron walking towards them. Hermione rolled her eyes and returned to her food.

"Hey Gin," Harry said, giving his girlfriend a hug. He and Ron sat down and joined them, each grabbing some toast and butter. Ron gave Hermione a small smile as he gulped down his food, but she gave him no more than a grimace in return.

"Whatsamatter, Hermione?" Ron asked, his mouth full of food.

"Oh, nothing," Hermione said, putting on an obviously fake, perky smile. "How was your late night snog with Lavender?"

"What?" Ron demanded, choking on his food.

"Never mind," Hermione mumbled, gathering her books. "See you later, Ginny." She stood up from the table and crashed head first into none other than Draco Malfoy.

"Granger," he said, arching a spectacular eyebrow at her. "I wondered if I might have a word with you about our project."

Hermione glanced over at Ron, who was glaring at Draco suspiciously, his mouth full of toast, and crumbs stuck to his lips.

"Of course," Hermione said, wrinkling her nose in disdain at Ron.

Ron, Harry, and Ginny all watched in varying amounts of interest as Hermione walked out of the Great Hall with Draco Malfoy. Lavender, who was sitting a few seats down from Ron, observed all of these happenings as well, taking special note of the way Draco was looking at Hermione.

"What's her problem?" Ron asked, still shoving food into his mouth as if it were his last meal. Harry and Ginny exchanged glances.

"Ron, did you, or did you not ignore Hermione last night, in favor of Lavender?" Ginny asked in a whisper, so that Lavender would not overhear.

"What? No I—oh God," Ron said, realization dawning on him. "What do I do now?"

"Apologize?" Harry suggested, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Come on, mate, it's Hermione. You're crazy about her, just prove it to her."

"You guys had better get to class," Ginny said, grinning at her friends, "Ron has some making up to do."


"I have a small change to make before we begin class today," Professor Ames said at the beginning of their class. "I'd like to change two of the pairs around a little bit. Now, Harry Potter will be paired with Millicent Bulstrode, and Ron Weasley will be with Lavender Brown. Please change seats now."

Hermione looked up in surprise when she heard this. Harry was now seated across from her at a table with Millicent. He glanced over at her and shrugged as he caught her eye.

"This class you may take to talk amongst yourselves about what spell you will be choosing," Professor Ames was saying. "By the end of the class, I would like a paragraph written on what the purpose of your spell will be, and how you hope to use it in the future. Please work as quietly as possible."

Hermione turned to Draco, who was already smirking at her, his eyes glinting mischievously.

"So, what mind-blowing spell shall we create?" he asked, propping his chin in his hand. "I still stick by my original idea of the orgasm spell, but you didn't seem to be too fond of that, so what can I say…"

"Draco, can we be serious for one class?" Hermione sighed, rolling her eyes. "We need to invent something practical, that we'll be able to use every day."

Draco stared at her for a moment, a grin spreading across his face. "Hermione, I would love to perform an orgasm spell on you every day if it were an option," he said.

Hermione tried not to giggle but couldn't help it. She had to admit, when Draco wasn't being an asshole, he was actually kind of fun to be around.

"What about a spell to read minds?" she suggested. Draco perked up at this idea.

"That could be extremely useful," he said slowly, pondering her words. "Wouldn't that be illegal, though?"

"Only if we could read their exact thoughts," Hermione said, noting the truth in his objection. "However, if we were able to create a way to read emotions…"

"I think we may have something here," Draco agreed.


"I think I may have created a slight problem," Ron said uneasily that night in the common room. He and his friends were once more seated by the fire, doing homework and discussing the things that had happened during the day. Hermione was still upset with Ron, and up until he had said these last words, had been ignoring him. She looked up and met his eyes, almost afraid of what he would say next.

"What did you do?" Ginny asked, glaring at her brother.

"I may have accidentally allowed Lavender to invite herself to Hogsmeade with us this coming weekend," Ron confessed, flushing scarlet yet again.

Hermione and Ginny groaned. "How did that happen?" Ginny demanded, slapping her brother on the shoulder. "What were you thinking? She's going to want to bring all her little friends too, and I just don't feel like dealing with them, to be perfectly honest!"

"Well I'm not sure how it happened, really," Ron admitted, avoiding everyone's gaze. "She was asking about the candy I was eating, and let it slip that I bought it in Honeydukes this weekend. She wondered how we got there, so I told her about the map, you know, and how Fred and George had shown you the way out, so she said she'd like to come with us this weekend. She didn't say anything about bringing her friends though, so maybe it'll be alright."

Ginny snorted in derision. "We'll see, Ronniekins," she said, rolling her eyes. "If nothing else, it'll be a good story."

The conversation died for a moment, mostly because there was still a discernible amount of tension between Ron and Hermione. Ron looked at Hermione shyly, knowing he needed to apologize about the night before.

"Hermione, I'm really sorry," he said quietly. Harry and Ginny pretended to be distracted by each other so that Ron could speak to Hermione without feeling pressured. "About last night, I mean. I didn't mean to make you feel left out."

Hermione looked resolutely away, and for a moment, Ron was afraid she wouldn't respond. He saw a slight flush creep up on her cheek, and she finally turned to him with a happy smile.

"It's ok," she said softly. Ron took pleasure in noting that as she spoke, she touched the necklace he had given her. "I'm sorry for being so rude." As she spoke, she reached out and placed a hand gently on Ron's arm to show her forgiveness. He smiled, knowing that all was right in the world as long as Hermione was happy with him.


Lavender sat with Parvati at a chair on the other side of the common room. She was watching the four friends, especially the interactions between Hermione and Ron. She sighed as she saw Hermione's hand come to rest on Ron's arm.

"What's the matter, Lavender?" Parvati asked in concern. She wasn't used to seeing Lavender so pensive. In the few years they had known each other, Parvati had always considered Lavender to be her happiest friend, but lately things had changed. She had noticed it over the last few months, most especially since Lavender's tragic breakup with Dean Thomas. Since then, Lavender had become more reserved and less prone to the fits of giggles the friends had enjoyed over their years at Hogwarts. This change worried Parvati, although she rarely mentioned it to Lavender for fear of upsetting her.

"Nothing's the matter, Parvati," Lavender said, sighing again. She glanced at her friend for a moment, and a mischievous smile came across her face. "I have a crazy idea… how do you feel about a trip to Hogsmeade again this weekend?"

"Well, sure," Parvati agreed. "Should I ask some of the other girls too?"

"No," Lavender said quickly. She realized that she was going to have to let her in, in order for her to help keep things moving. "This trip is different. We're going with Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Hermione. What I need you to do is distract Hermione and Ginny for me. I have plans for those two boys."

"What are you talking about?" Parvati asked doubtfully, raising an eyebrow.

"Here's the deal, Parvati," Lavender said, smirking. "But you can't tell anyone. I want Harry, but Ginny is in my way. When we are at Hogsmeade, I need you to keep the girls away from him and Ron so that I can become closer with the boys."

"You want to break Harry and Ginny up?" Parvati asked in disbelief, trying to make sure she had her story straight. "But why? They're such a good couple."

"Do you want to help me or not?" Lavender asked bitterly. "It'll be fun, I promise. And, if you help me get Harry, I'll help you get Dean. I know you like him."

"Wh- what?" Parvati repeated, turning pale.

"It's ok, I'm over him," Lavender said, plastering a smile on her face. "Like I said, if you want to be with him, I'll help you if you help me, I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine. No big deal."

Parvati agreed, but was in more than just a little bit of shock. She had been under the impression that Lavender was still bitter over her breakup with Dean, and even though she liked him, she would never have considered going after him because of Lavender. She was both pleased and surprised at the thought of being with Dean, with Lavender's blessing, and so she was more than willing to hold up her end of the deal.

Lavender smiled to herself as she watched Parvati mulling these things over in her mind. She wasn't sure what had made her offer Dean as a bargaining chip, but she was impressed with herself for finding possibly the only way to convince her friend to help her. She must used all the resources that she could in order to get what she wanted. She'd worry about the details later, but she considered Dean a minor loss in exchange for the affections of Harry Potter.