Thank you for reviewing those of you who did.I don't own Harry Potter, but I am in J.K. Rowling's will to inherit everything… Kidding! kidding! don't flame me. so anyways, this is pretty long compared to some of the others i've written. hope you enjoy! oh, and the story's going to get better now, thank you all for sticking with me!

----- Chapter 16: Dominic ----- (Draco's POV)

After breakfast, I left the Head Table and went around the side of the castle to the greenhouses for Herbology. Professor Sprout wasn't there yet, so I stood leaning up against the wall waiting for her to come and unlock the door. While waiting, I flipped through my textbook. The first half seemed to be about muggle herbs and flowers. I read on to find out that we would be studying a few muggle plants to get to know their magical properties that had most recently been discovered.

When I was a child, my parents had taken me to the botanical gardens in London once a year. As I got older and my father became more involved with the Death Eaters, we visited muggle places less and less. I almost never set foot outside of the manor until I was 11 and my parents dropped me in Diagon Alley, right after buying my supplies and clothes, leaving me there for another week before the train left for school. I went to the gardens every day and learned as much as I could. I learned every name of almost every flower I saw. When I looked though the chapters, I noticed that I was familiar with every one of the plants we would be studying.

'Finally, something I know that Granger doesn't. Maybe I can impress her. Show her that she's not the only smart person in this school,' I thought. Speaking of the witch, Hermione came around the corner followed by Professor Sprout and a couple other Gryffindors. She looked upset about something, but as soon as she saw me, her expression changed, as though she was trying to hide her distress. 'And she accuses me of having mood swings.'

The class filed in after Professor Sprout as she unlocked and went through the door to Green House 2. Hermione walked over to me slowly and looked up at me, smiling weakly, "Looking forward to your date?"

"Haha, very funny," I said light-heartedly. She started to turn away but I pulled her back towards me, "What's wrong?"

"I knew you were going to ask me that."

"Well. If you don't want me to ask, then tell me."

"Alright. I don't want you to ask."

"Just because you don't want me to doesn't mean I won't. Maybe today's lesson will cheer you up."

"Herbology is doubles with Slytherin, how would that cheer me up?" she said as a crowd of Slytherins headed by Blaise, and Pansy Parkinson started around the corner.

"I meant what we're learning," I called after her as she turned and walked into the greenhouse. I let the group pass me and followed them in as the bell rang.

"Dracooooo! Sit with me here, Draco," simpered Pansy Parkinson.

The only two vacant seats were next to Hermione, who was at a table with Potter and Weasley, and next to Pansy Parkinson, who was sitting with Blaise and who I assumed was his girlfriend, Diana. Then a new kid with black hair and an earring walked past me and sat in the chair next to Pansy, who didn't look too happy about it.

I did what anyone else would do. I sat down next to Hermione. Looking up, I met a glare from Ron, a gaze from Harry, and a weird smile from Hermione, though her eyes were not on me.

"Alright, everyone! Open your books to Chapter One and we will begin today's lesson. It's pretty much self-explanatory, so I think you will all do a splendid job on your own. I have quite a bit of catching up to do in Green House 3 which is right next door. If you need me, give a shout. This is just a simple exercise of learning basic information about the new plants we will be studying and experimenting with. Alright! On with it then!"

Hermione and I turned on our stools to face the table and Ron and Harry who sat across from us. As we started the lesson, Hermione whispered, "Don't you think we're spending enough time together as it is?"

"Obviously not," I whispered back, "I wonder who that new kid is."

Clearly not expecting an answer, I was surprised when Hermione said, "Oh. That's Professor Snape's nephew. His name is Dominic. His parents died over the summer and he has to stay with Snape until they figure out who his legal guardian will be."

"How do you know all of this?" I whispered back.

"He's one of my friends. He went out with Raz for a while, too."

"But I thought only you and Raz knew she was a girl."

"Exactly," she started to laugh. "I guess Dominic knew she was a girl all along. He's more clever than I thought. And here I was this whole time thinking that he was gay."

My hand slipped at that and my book was sent tumbling to the floor. "How can you be alright with all of this?" I muttered as I reached down to retrieve the fallen book.

"Maybe you should become more accepting," she spoke in a normal tone.

"Shut up, Granger. Just because I'm not as 'open-minded' as you are, it doesn't mean I can't be open to new ideas," my voice was rising.

"Yeah, right, like you would ever tolerate anyone who didn't conform to your standards."

"Alright," I said softly. "You win. You're right. But you know what? I can name every one of the flowers that we will be studying."

"That doesn't make them any more beautiful," she replied venomously and turned back to her book.

How could she do that? I mean, just put me off like that? Not even give me a moment with the notion that I knew something that she didn't. Sitting on a stool in thong underwear was killing me. How could I have let her talk me into this? Ah, right. I still had time to win the battle… I would have to get her back. But how?

Harry and Ron were just sitting there staring at us. "What?" asked Hermione.

"Nothing," they both replied and turned back to their textbooks.

As soon as the bell rang, I stayed behind and took my time putting away the plants set out on our table. 'What do I have on her? I need to do something drastic, but not overly so. I need to save the big guns for later. What can I use against her right now? The thong? No, she said she didn't care. But if the whole school knew she was wearing one, that would be kind of embarrassing. I mean, why not? But how could I tell everyone really quickly? If I told some of the biggest gossipers in school, like Lavender, or Padma and Parvati, they're her friends and would probably tell her. What about a flashing marquee above her head? Or, better yet, a simple sign. A sign on her back. With a chunk of Spell-o-Tape to hold it there. Yeah, that's it.'

I went over to Professor Sprout's desk and brushed some of the dirt off of the parchment she had laid out. I took my quill and slowly wrote:

KISS ME!
(I'M WEARING A THONG!)

I tore off the piece of parchment and took a roll of Spell-o-Tape out of the desk drawer. 'There, that should do it.' I smiled to myself as I proceeded out of the greenhouse and up the front steps of the castle. Now all I had to do was find Granger.