What are you looking at Granger? Draco thought to himself, as he shifted in his seat at the Slytherin table. Hermione's glare was piercing and full of contempt. Draco looked away from her, nonplussed. He knew very well what she was thinking, and he didn't care. She and the rest of the wizarding world would have to get used to the changes that were to come, now that Voldemort had returned.

Hermione's hands were shaking. She tried to keep her glass steady but it was no use.

Dumbledore had asked the students in the Great Hall to stand and honor Cedric's memory with a toast, but many of the Slytherins had remained seated...defiant...flat out refusing to honor the boy that had died at the hands of Lord Voldemort.

She wasn't the only Gryffindor to notice, but no one wanted to make a scene. They were all exhausted, tired from their sleepless nights of mourning Cedric, and wondering what was going to happen now that Voldemort had returned.

Pansy Parkinson whispered something into Malfoy's ear, and he stifled a laugh.

A vein in Hermione's temple throbbed.

Malfoy and the other Slytherins would go home this summer, and listen to their parent's plots...former Death Eaters now ready to rejoin Lord Voldemort. They would become accomplices to their parent's crimes, then return to Hogwarts at summer's end as if they'd taken no part in anything at all...

Hermione's blood chilled as Draco's gaze fell on her. He gave her a weary look, letting her know that her anger made no difference to him, Cedric's death meant nothing to him. She wasn't surprised, but still...there was something that unsettled her. Their meeting at the Yule Ball had shifted something between them.

Hermione looked into her glass, and the sounds of the Great Hall faded away as she let her thoughts wander back to that night...

MONTHS EARLIER, THE YULE BALL

Ron was shouting at her, but she was no longer listening. He had come up with the ridiculous notion that she'd betrayed Harry by accepting Krum's invitation to the ball.

"You're going to help him win the tournament!" Ron shouted.

Hermione gaped at him.

As if she wanted Viktor to win over Harry!

And speaking of Harry, he was no help. He was sitting next to the pair of them, staring up at the ceiling, hoping that the argument would end as quickly as possible.

Hermione stood. She'd had enough. Ron was completely irrational and he was spiraling out of control.

She ran away from him, tears burning her eyes.

Why did he have to ruin everything?

It had been a perfect night with Krum until now.

Hermione left the Great Hall and stormed down a corridor.

She knew Ron was jealous. He wished he'd asked her to the ball himself, but he didn't have the guts. He was too afraid to tell her how he really felt, and she was tired of waiting.

"I see you got your teeth sorted out, Granger," said a familiar, drawling voice.

Hermione froze. She'd stormed blindly down the halls, not seeing where she was going. She spun around. Malfoy stood behind her, a smirk on his face. He was the last person she wanted to see, especially now that she was in tears and caught unawares.

She looked at him coldly, remembering the fight he'd had with Harry in the dungeons. They'd tried to jinx each other and Malfoy's spell ricocheted and hit her full in the face, causing her to sprout fangs. Luckily, Madam Pomfrey had sorted her out quite nicely.

Malfoy took note of her tear-stained face. "Who made you cry, Granger? I'd like to thank them personally."

Hermione wiped the tears from her eyes and marched up to him. "Very funny Malfoy, why don't you get lost and find your date? That is if there was anyone desperate enough to attend the ball with a ferret!"

She knew full well he'd taken Pansy Parkinson to the dance, but still, she enjoyed watching his face flush red with anger.

He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut across him.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I'll be on my way..."

She pushed past him and thought that was the end of it, when he shouted, "Forgetting something, Granger?"

Keep walking, Hermione told herself, but curiosity got the better of her. She spun around. Malfoy was holding a pair of earrings in the palm of his hand. She recognized them at once. They were her mother's earrings. She had leant them to her for the Yule Ball. They were an iridescent blue that matched perfectly with her periwinkle gown.

She must have dropped them when she ran away from Ron...

"I thought you might like them back," said Malfoy, extending his palm out to her.

Hermione looked at him suspiciously and made to take the earrings, but he swiftly moved his hand out of reach. "Tell you what Granger," he said. "I'll duel you for them."

Hermione couldn't believe her ears. First Ron, now this. She was exhausted. She hadn't even said goodbye to Krum. All she wanted to do was go to her dormitory, shut out the lights and pretend the argument with Ron had never happened.

Malfoy stepped closer to her.

"Unless you don't care for them? I'm sure my date, Pansy, would like them."

Hermione's blood boiled. She'd rather die than let Pansy Parkinson wear her mother's earrings. She pulled out her wand. Malfoy did the same.

"Stupefy!"

"Protego!"

Malfoy ducked her spell and bolted into the classroom behind him.

Hermione chased after him.

It was pitch black inside and she let out a yelp of pain as she crashed into a desk.

"Lumos!" she shouted, and the lights went on. She looked everywhere but Malfoy was nowhere in sight. Then a voice behind her shouted, "Expelliarmus!"

Hermione's wand flew out of her hand. She spun around.

Draco emerged from the desk behind her.

"Well, well Granger, that lasted all but what, two seconds?" he said, now holding her wand. "I have to say I expected a bit more out of you."

"Give me back my wand Malfoy!" she shouted.

Draco laughed. Hermione looked uneasily at him, she could still hear music coming from the Great Hall. The dance hadn't ended yet. If things got too out of hand she could call for help.

Malfoy seemed to read her mind. He smiled, an idea occurring to him. "Enjoying the ball, Granger? Why don't you dance?"

"W-what?"

"Dance!" He raised his wand, "Voltare!"

Hermione started spinning uncontrollably. She collided into chairs, desks, and finally a large bookshelf, unsettling a heavy globe perched right at the top. She watched it teeter at the edge of the shelf...it was going to fall right on top of her...

Suddenly, something heavy crashed into her chest, and the wind was knocked out of her.

She blinked.

It was Malfoy.

They both went flying backwards, and the globe landed on the floor with a sickening crash.

Hermione's heart pounded violently. Just a few seconds longer and she would have taken a blow to the head. Her brow furrowed. That globe looked like it weighed a ton, she could have been hurt! What was she doing here dueling with Malfoy, anyway? What did h—

That's when she noticed something that horrified her. She and Malfoy were standing impossibly close. His hands were at her waist, and she could feel his chest rise and fall. His heart was pounding as loudly as her own. Their eyes locked and all Hermione could think to do was yell at him.

"You could have killed me! You stupid git!" she shouted, pushing him away with more force than was necessary.

Malfoy's eyes widened in shock, then he recovered himself and stood to his full height. "You should be thanking me Granger," he said, dusting off his robes, as if touching her had contaminated him in some way. "I could have easily let that globe fall on that bushy head of yours."

Hermione let out a scream. "You are insufferable!"

She lunged at him and made to wrench the earrings out of his hand. Malfoy held her at arm's length, but she was tired of playing nice. She kicked him hard in the leg. He howled in pain and started hopping up and down on one foot. She prized the earrings from his hand and made for the door, but not before he grabbed the skirt of her gown and yanked her backwards.

They both landed in a heap on the floor. Hermione saw her wand hanging out of Malfoy's pocket. She reached for it, managing to take hold, but then Malfoy seized her arm and they struggled with each other.

She was about to kick him again when the door flew open.

"I heard shouting, I—" Viktor Krum stopped dead when he caught sight of them. "Herm-own-ninny! Let go of her!"

Viktor raised his wand, ready to curse Malfoy.

"Viktor don't!" pleaded Hermione.

Draco released her and scrambled to his feet.

Krum marched up to him.

Draco paled, seeing that Krum was a whole head taller than him.

"Malfoy stole my wand, but I have it back now," said Hermione, rushing to stand between them. "Let's just go, okay?"

Krum looked ready to hex Malfoy into oblivion, but then he saw the anxiety on Hermione's face and lowered his wand.

She steered him towards the door, but before they left, she turned to look back at Draco.

He gave her a searing look, letting her know that things weren't over between them.

Hermione followed Krum outside, failing to control her rising anger.

She launched into a tirade all the way back to the Great Hall, cursing Malfoy's ridiculous behavior, but Krum was silent.

"Is something wrong?" Hermione asked.

Krum stopped walking. "First Harry, and the article that Skeeter lady wrote, saying you ver together...and now theese blonde boy. How many boyfriends do you haff Herm-own-ninny?"

Hermione's mouth dropped open in shock. "If that's what you really think of me then—then going to the ball together was a mistake." And with that she stormed off to the girl's dormitory, leaving Krum looking crestfallen.

PRESENT DAY, GREAT HALL

Hermione refused to be grateful to Malfoy for pushing her out of harm's way, seeing as he had put her in that predicament in the first place. Still...he could have let her get hurt. So why didn't he? Was it an involuntary impulse? Fear of a life sentence in Azkaban in the event of her death? Or was it what she feared?

Throughout their years at Hogwarts Malfoy had always insulted her. His words were cutting and cruel, but there were times when she caught him staring at her in class, in the halls or during dinner. Also the night she made her entrance at the Yule Ball. She had always told herself he was only thinking up new ways to torture her, but after the ball she couldn't ignore the truth.

She had some kind of hold over Draco Malfoy.

She didn't know exactly what he felt towards her—curiosity or obsession—but she would use it to her advantage.

A war was about to begin, and information was power. Hermione didn't know how, but when the next term started she would gain Malfoy's confidence, and learn his family's plans. It wouldn't be easy, but she had to try. She knew Lucius had been one of Voldemort's top supporters in the past, why shouldn't he be again? She'd pass any information she had to Dumbledore, Harry and the Order. She knew they had already set their own plans in motion to stop Voldemort...

She just had to devise a solid plan over the summer, and when term started she'd put it into action.

She only hoped Hogwarts was still standing by that time...

SUMMER, MALFOY MANOR

"The papers have confirmed it, Potter won't be returning to Hogwarts," said Lucius, slamming a copy of the Daily Prophet down on his desk. "No doubt Dumbledore has stashed him away somewhere."

"I don't see why anyone is going back to school at all," said Draco lazily, sitting across from his father and playing with a thread on the edge of his sleeve.

Lucius ignored him. "We'll find out where he's hiding. Our good standing with the Dark Lord depends on it. But we must not arouse suspicion. We can't be seen to take sides, at least not yet. And that's where you come in."

"I don't understand," said Draco wearily, suddenly giving his father his full attention.

"The Granger girl is key. She must know where Potter is hiding," Lucius looked at his son as if seeing him for the first time. "It's a relatively simple task the Dark Lord asks of you."

Malfoy knew exactly what his father was implying.

He shook his head. "It would never work, she's too clever."

"More clever than you?!"

"You expect me to entangle myself with that mudblood—"

"The Dark Lord has risen and we will gain information in whatever way we can. You will seduce the Granger girl. I don't care how you do it, I don't care how long it takes. Tell her you renounce your family, tell her you want no part in the Dark Lord's plan...tell her you need her help. You will make her love you Draco. You will win her trust, and then she will lead us to Potter."

Draco gazed into his father's face, he observed the heavy lines on his forehead, the streaks of white in his hair...brought on by years of plotting to rise higher and higher in power. He didn't care who he served—Voldemort or a wealthy politician—as long as it meant a personal gain that's all that mattered.

"You know the consequences for us if you fail," said Lucius gravely. "Voldemort is not one to forgive. And we must survive by any means necessary."

Draco knew that by the end of the war, neither one of them would be the same. For better or worse he did not know. All he knew was that everything was going to change.

AUTHOR'S NOTE:

Thank you so much for reading! Hope you take a sec to review :) Who do you think will make the first move, Draco or Hermione?