Hey all! Sorry it took me a little longer to get this chapter out. I wasn't sure which way I wanted it to go and then I decided I wanted to focus on Draco and Hermione becoming friends. The next few chapters will be the same way with the both of them growing closer :)

Thanks for ALL of your reviews!! They make me so happy! Once again, if you have a story out and you want me to read it, definitely just say so. I'm always looking for new fanfics to get into!

Chapter 7: Compromise Between Friends

Payback time! Hermione finally woke up before Draco and she was craving revenge. She was pretty sure she embarrassed him the night before, but that still meant he was up by one. She crept over to Draco's room and quietly opened the door. She knew exactly what to do.

Hermione slowly pulled the covers back from the sleeping Draco. Seeing him sleep in only boxers, Hermione grinned to herself. Well at least we're even on that part. Now, for the fun awakening... She pointed her wand at his boxers.

"Radiamento!" She said it softly but with force.

At first, nothing happened. Draco stirred a bit and turned over. Hermione stood and waited excitedly. He turned over again and kicked off the remainder of his covers. Hermione grinned, still waiting patiently for the climax of her little plan. Suddenly, Draco jerked awake and jumped off the bed.

"Ouch! Hot! Ouch! BLOODY HELL!" Hermione's grin broke into laughter as she marveled at her intelligence.

Really, using a heat-generating spell on undergarments. I even impress myself sometimes.

Draco was unaware of Hermione's presence and much more focused on the burning sensation piercing his skin. Without a second thought, he ripped off his boxers and flung them across the room. Hermione gasped.

"Granger!" He dove for his covers. Hermione regained her composure and began to laugh again. Draco was frozen. He could do nothing but stare at her in disbelief. She headed towards the door but not before giving him something to drive him crazy and overanalyze for the rest of the week.

"Looking hot, Malfoy." She giggled and left the room.

When Hermione arrived at the Great Hall for breakfast, she was still wearing a large grin. When she sat down next to Ginny, she broke out into laughter.

"Oh gosh, what happened this morning?" Ginny asked.

"Revenge." Hermione smiled slyly and took a big bite out of her blueberry muffin. Harry, Ron, and Ginny leaned in towards Hermione, literally on the edges of their seats.

"Don't hold back! Tell us!" Harry said excitedly.

"Well, I finally woke up before him and I had this fabulous idea of how politely I could wake him." She took another bite of her muffin, still grinning. "I snuck into his room and put that heat-generating spell on his boxers. In less than a minute, Malfoy was out of bed and hopping around the room. It was priceless." Harry, Ron and Ginny burst out laughing.

"Incredible, Hermione! Absolutely ingenious! You do realize what this means, right? Pretty soon the both of you will be afraid to go to sleep!" Ron laughed and happily shoved down the rest of his food.

"I think I'll have the upper hand though. You see, I haven't even told you the best part yet." Harry, Ron and Ginny stared at Hermione in amazement.

"You mean there's more?" asked Harry. Hermioone nodded and leaned in towards the three.

"He didn't notice I was standing there when he started burning and he tore off his boxers right in front of me!" Hermione ruptured into hysterical fits of laughter as Harry, Ron, and Ginny gaped at her. "At first I just stood there in shock. I mean, it's not like I saw that coming... but then I realized that this little incident will be enough to keep him quiet for at least a few days, don't you think?" She looked at them expecting nods of agreement and was confused to find three open mouths with frozen expressions. "What?"

"You saw Malfoy NAKED?!" Ginny squealed. Hermione giggled and nodded.

"Well?" Ginny prodded.

"Well what?"

"How did he look?!" She squealed again. Harry and Ron were still immobilized in disbelief.

"Um..." Hermione wanted to tell Ginny that Draco looked amazing— that he was absolutely flawless and that she couldn't get the image out of her mind, but the thought of Ron stopped her. What am I thinking?! "Erm... he looked fine." She heard Ron breathe a minor sigh of relief.

"Liar," Ginny whispered to Hermione.

The day progressed as usual. In Defense Against the Dark Arts, reinstated Professor Lupin taught the class about shielding spells, and in Charms, Professor Flitwick demonstrated a very handy deodorizing charm.

Hermione retired to her room to start the foot-long parchment assignment given by Lupin. She had written six inches when Draco walked in through the portrait. He avoided her eyes and tried to escape to his room, but Hermione stopped him.

"Wow. I don't even get a smirk or a glare? But I was becoming so accustomed to them!" She sat in her chair waiting for Draco to turn around. He took a breath and turned to Hermione.

"Mudblood. There. Happy now?" He didn't wait for an answer and again attempted to go to his room but was again halted by Hermione.

"No actually. That 'proper malice' you so kindly educated me on was not present." She laughed. "Merlin Malfoy, lighten up. You're just upset that I evened the score, aren't you?"

"Hey that won't be for long. You just wait." Draco relaxed and didn't try to hurry back to his room again.

"Come on, you have to admit that was funny."

"Yes. I agree that it was hilarious. For you. Nice move with the boxers though. I don't think I would have thought of that." Hermione stood up and bowed.

"Thank you, thank you."

"Although I do think you just wanted an excuse to see me naked." Draco grinned and Hermione gasped.

"What?! No! I swear I didn't know that was going to happen! I knew that it would get too hot but I was going to do the countercharm when it started to look painful!" Draco laughed.

"You actually thought I'd wait for you to countercharm me? I was BURNING!" Draco and Hermione broke out into laughter. "This does mean war though. Be prepared." Draco unloaded his books from his satchel and sat down at his desk. Hermione watched him and the words escaped her lips before she had a moment to think about them.

"Malfoy, are you actually enjoying my presence? I could be mistaken, but it seems like we're friends." Draco paused and looked at Hermione.

"I suppose we are." She smiled at him. "However, that doesn't mean that I'm friends with Scarhead or Weasel so don't get your hopes up."

"Oh please, like they'd really want to be friends with you either. I think Ron despises you more than ever for the sheer fact that I'm living with you." Draco looked at Hermione seriously.

"My turn for a question."

"Okay, shoot."

"I'm not trying to make you mad at me. I'm being serious. Why are you even remotely interested in Weasley?"

"It just feels natural, I guess. I've fancied him for years and I know we'd risk anything for each other. Harry too. It's extremely rare to come across people that you would genuinely put before yourself and I guess I just wanted to take that to the next level."

"Hermione, friendships aren't the same as relationships." Hermione gasped.

"You called me by my first name." Draco's face looked full of discomfort.

"Don't get used to it. I don't think I liked it very much." Hermione laughed.

"Yeah, I don't think I did either. I don't think we're ready for that next level yet." Draco laughed as well. Hermione seemed to battle a thought in her head for a minute and decided to come out with it. "Can I trust you?" He looked at her skeptically and nodded. "I'm still not sure how I feel about him."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure if we're just better off as friends. Like I said, I've fancied him for years so it feels natural, but I don't know if it's what I was truly expecting. I don't know who else to tell since everyone I'm friends with is close with Ron, but I needed to tell someone. I don't know what to do." Hermione thought she saw Draco smile but when she blinked, it wasn't there anymore.

"What tipped you off?" Hermione tried to stifle a laugh.

"The kiss." Draco's face broke into a broad grin and he nodded. "I should have felt sparks or something and I didn't. I just felt really awkward and a nagging feeling in my stomach was telling me it shouldn't have been happening."

"You have your answer right there. It shouldn't be happening."

"What do I do?" Hermione panicked.

"Honestly, Granger. You're supposed to be intelligent. The flashing red light is telling you to break up with him."

"But I've haven't even given it a fair chance!" Hermione was thoroughly perplexed. She realized that by talking to Draco, she was able to get out some of the confusion that was building up in her head, but that didn't mean she wanted to hurt Ron.

"Who cares?"

"ME! I haven't even gone to Hogsmeade with him yet and he's my best friend! That's horrible!" Hermione looked appalled.

"He'll survive." She looked at him skeptically.

"You're not just saying this to make me hurt him?"

"No. I'm just emphasizing what the nagging feeling in your stomach was telling you." Draco started to laugh. "You don't want to go through that again, do you?" Hermione laughed along with him.

"No no, of course not. I don't think I'm going to listen to you just yet though."

"And why not?"

"Because I'm still not sure if I can trust you quite honestly. I know you'd love to see Ron hurt because of the Mudblood." Draco looked straight into her eyes.

"I haven't seriously called you that in a while, have I?"

"No."

"Then you don't have reason to not believe me, do you?"

"No." Hermione had lost herself in his eyes and stayed there for a few moments. When she snapped out of it, she laughed. "You must be enjoying my momentary lapse of sanity. I seriously doubt you want to hear about my relationship with Ron."

"Hey, it's fun to see the perfect Gryffindor Princess crack every once in a while. I believe this makes me up by one again." Draco grinned and Hermione gave a mock glare.

"How do you figure?"

"Because at any given moment, this information could just leak out. You wouldn't want that to happen, would you?" Hermione gasped for real.

"You said I could trust you!" She lunged at Draco to tackle him.

"And you can." He nonchalantly pinned Hermione to the floor again. His eyes held an amused expression and he smirked. "As long as you never pull any pranks on me again. I know you enjoyed seeing me nude, but it puts me in a very awkward position in the morning. I'd rather wake up with my clothes on and my dignity intact. To ensure I don't have to deal with that again, no more pranks from you and your secret's safe with me." Hermione's eyes twinkled as she absorbed Draco's good humor.

"Malfoy, I commend you for once again being a step ahead. No more nakedness in the morning, I promise."

"Your secret is in safe keeping." They held out their hands and shook on it.

Okay, I think that chapter came out pretty good. I'm trying not to jump into things, but I'm getting sick of her being with Ron already lol. Anyway, review!

Enchantress