Hermione's Dormitory

10:30AM

Sunday, January 12th, 1999

Hermione finished organising the living room so it would be as comfortable as possible, stoking the fire and laying out cushions and blankets for her study session with Draco. She had never gone to such trouble preparing for his arrival but she argued with herself that he was testing a potentially dangerous potion for her, so the least she could do would be to make him comfortable. As the last cushion was thrown haphazardly down into the corner, she heard Draco's footsteps on the stairs.

"This is nice," he commented upon his arrival, a small vial of their potion in hand. Hermione blushed at the compliment, mentally chastising herself for being such a giddy little schoolgirl as she took his cloak and hung it up. "I still have to cast the spell over the potion but then, if you're ready, I can take it."

"I've got all the parchment and quills out. I drew up a table so I can record if there are any changes in the scar tissue every five minutes," she said and Draco nodded. "I'll get you a glass so it'll be easier to cast the incantation over the elixir." When the gold liquid had been deposited into a glass goblet Hermione found in her cupboard, they moved across to where she had set up their area. Draco kicked off his shoes and sat on the floor with his legs crossed. Hermione felt her cheeks colour again at her next proposal: "You should probably take your shirt off."

"Trying to get me naked, are you, Granger?" Draco smirked as he deftly undid the top button of his dress shirt. She was mortified as he threw her a wink whilst he continued undoing the fastenings. Hermione looked away, finding a speck of wall particularly fascinating as he shed the article of clothing and deposited on the floor beside the coffee table. She noticed he had wrapped a pale bandage around his left forearm and he followed her gaze. "I didn't think you'd want to see it," he said, rubbing at the bandage with his right hand.

She softened at his consideration. "Thank you," she said quietly, mirroring his pose and placing the goblet in between them. "You want to do it?"

Draco nodded, grabbing his wand and holding it above the glass. He cleared his throat, pointing the tip at its contents. "Sana Cicatricibus," he said. The elixir glowed brightly for a moment and Draco nodded at her, picking up the glass. "Cheers." In a large gulp, he swallowed the whole concoction, licking his lips at the end to catch a drop which clung to his lips. Hermione unconsciously mirrored the action. "Tastes like honey."

"If it doesn't work then that can be our selling point. Doesn't work but tastes great!" Hermione said sarcastically, rising to her feet and taking the cup over to the sink. "How do you feel?"

"Tingly," Draco said, straightening his legs out in front of him and flipping over so he lay on his stomach, propped up by his elbows. "Any change?"

Hermione returned to him, kneeling at his side and pressing her fingers lightly to the smallest scar she could find, one on his lower back. He trembled slightly at her touch and she hid a smile. "Nothing yet, but I don't think it'll work immediately. It'll need a while to get through your system and for the potion to find where the damage is."

Draco rolled back over but maintained his lazy position, Hermione dangerously close. "What are we going to do to pass the time?" he asked, smirking devilishly at her. "I'm already half naked, you know, so we could consider an activity along those lines, if you wished."

"Draco," she groaned, shifting back and settling beside the parchment and quill she had set out. She recorded that there had been no immediate change and looked back at her partner. "You're going to keep being a complete arse about this situation, aren't you?"

"Until you snog me again, yes," he admitted freely. Hermione made sure she kept her gaze on his face, refusing to let her eyes wander down the pale skin of his torso. "You know you want to, Granger. Hell, I know you want to. You told me so yourself. So just give in already. I'm sure you'll enjoy it."

Hermione scowled at him. "Roll over," she said and he complied. She returned to her kneeling position, fingers hovering over the small scar she had started her observations on just a few minutes prior. A gasp came out of her lips. Whilst the mark had been small, it had still been noticeable, an ugly gash against Draco's milky skin. Now, the ridges that had formed around the cut had disappeared, the scar reduced to a thin red line. "This is amazing."

"Did it work?" Draco's voice was hopeful, head turned to face her, trying to glimpse at the effects of their hard work.

"Not completely, but they're healing." Hermione ran her finger along some of the other scars, eliciting another shiver from Draco. "The inflammation is largely gone and it's fading on some of the worse marks. There's still a clearly perceptible line but it still looks a lot better. And that was just after five minutes." She jumped to her feet and returned to her parchment and quill, scribbling down the results furiously.

"I can't believe it worked so quickly," Draco said, facing her again. While he adjusted himself, Hermione allowed herself to flit her eyes over his exposed torso, instantly wishing she hadn't. His increased number of intense Quidditch trainings had done Draco's physique a world of good, clearly visible in the clean lines of muscle that rippled with his movements.

"No, neither can I," Hermione agreed, mouth dry. "We'll have to wait and see if the other marks fade, too, or if it just got rid of the inflammation. I'll have to keep checking every five minutes, so don't get too comfortable."

"I just think you're checking up on me so regularly because you want to touch me," Draco teased, shifting slightly. Hermione kept her sight firmly on his face to avoid looking at the muscles which flexed with his movements but rolled her eyes. "Deny it all you want, Granger. You're the one who wanted me topless on your floor."

"You're so crude," Hermione said but she couldn't keep the smile off her face as their banter continued. It was only interrupted as she instructed him to roll over and inspected his back, the cycle continuing for almost an hour.

"How does it look now?" Draco asked.

She squinted, getting closer to his back, scouring the skin for any sign of the scar. There was still a faint pink line but it would be almost invisible on less pale skin. Some of the larger, angrier scars were still bright red, but Hermione felt her face break into a huge smile at the progress they had made. "I think we've done it," she said, tracing along the tiny pink stain on his skin.

Draco flipped over smoothly. She recognised the smile that rarely graced his features as it spread brightly across his face. Hermione bit her lip, his grin so euphoric it made her want to laugh. The mood shifted with that movement, a near imperceptible change. With his weight held entirely on one elbow, Draco lifted a hand and cupped her cheek, brushing his thumb lightly over her lip. Before Hermione could realise what was happening, he had pulled her down slightly to press his lips to hers.

Just like that, Hermione allowed herself to melt into Draco's kiss, let him take charge of the action. She didn't care what was happening, his touch all too consuming. Part of her mind reminded her of the clichés she had pored over when she had gone through a stage of reading romance novels. The explosiveness of his kiss, the heat in his touch, the urgency in the interaction. But it was clouded when he pulled her down beside him on the blanketed floor, positioning himself over her slightly.

In any rational state, Hermione would have pushed him away, chastising him with flushed cheeks, but something about Draco Malfoy did her head in. He had changed so much she scarcely recognised him and she was certain that six months ago, she could never have even dreamed that she would be friends with him, let alone snogging him on the floor of her dormitory, his shirt haphazardly abandoned, her fingers looped through the silky strands of his hair. She let the kiss continue for far longer than that niggling part of her mind would have wanted. She could hear dim footsteps on the stairs, beginning to rouse her out of the intoxicated state she succumbed to under Draco's fevered kisses.

"Hermione," Ginny's voice was at the doorway to her living room, too calm for her to have seen what was happening, but Hermione was too preoccupied with Draco kissing along her jawline to truly take notice. "Merlin's pants, Hermione!"

The shrill tone of her best friend made Hermione sit up instantly, Draco rolling off to the side as the brunette whipped her head around. "Ginny, you scared the life out of me," she said, scrambling to her feet. Her cheeks were aflame. "We were just working on our assignment for Potions."

"Really?" Ginny asked, brows lifting so high they disappeared in her hairline. "I didn't realise you two were working on an aphrodisiac." Hermione felt face grow even warmer. "I was going to ask you if you wanted to have an early lunch with me and go for a walk afterwards but I can see you're…preoccupied." The redhead gave her a sly little smile. "I'll let you two get back to studying."

Hermione had no time to reply before Ginny was back down the stairs and climbing out into the hallway, leaving a very red Head Girl standing there. Behind her, Draco cleared his throat.

"That was fun," he said and she whirled around on her heel. He had put his shirt back on, doing some of the buttons up but leaving the top few undone, sleeves rolled to the elbow.

"That was mortifying," Hermione said, falling into an armchair. Draco looked amused at her state, settling on the settee instead. "I can't believe Ginny just walked in on that."

"Walked in on what?" he asked. "We weren't doing anything that could be considered particularly risqué. We were just snogging."

"Quite thoroughly, though," Hermione snapped. She ran a hand across her face and tangled it in her hair, ignoring how tender her lips felt, how they still tingled even though the kiss had finished. The taste of coffee and cinnamon lingered there. "And you weren't even wearing a shirt."

"I have a perfectly legitimate reason as to why I wasn't wearing a shirt, Granger," he supplied. "We were testing our potion and my back had to be examined quickly and clearly. We just happened to get a bit enthusiastic when it was a success and we began to celebrate."

"Can you just shut up for a minute?" Hermione asked, tone slicing through the air. She ignored Draco's affronted look. This was not at all what she had anticipated when he had walked up the stairs to her dormitory that morning. Certainly there had been an expectation that they may have goofed around a bit, perhaps had some measure of physical contact, but a heated snogging session with a topless Draco Malfoy had not been what she was expecting, even when her imagination stretched to its farthest limits. Everything was moving far too fast. "We can't be doing things like this," she said after they had sat in silence for three minutes.

"Things like what? Snogging? Or just having a good time with each other?" Draco asked, his tone growing sharper with each question. "Or just being around each other in general? Because from what I noticed a few minutes ago, you were having the time of your life. Letting your hair down is what you need to do, Granger. Neither of us have had particularly fun times as teenagers so we may as well make the most of it while we still can."

"But we can't make the most of it by rolling around on floors kissing, Draco," she said, exasperated. "I just broke up with my fiancé. Your best friend likes me. There are other people to consider. And we're not even anything yet. We're friends, and from past experience, I don't make out with friends who are topless."

"You like me, Hermione," Draco said, wriggling off the couch and kneeling in front of her. She softened with his use of her first name. "You like me and I like you and we've both been through enough misery and anger and sadness in our lives that we deserve the opportunity to be happy. Why do you care so much what other people are going to think about every little piece of your life?"

"Because it's important to me." She pulled her knees beneath her chin, away from Draco's grasp. He scowled and resumed his seat. "I'm not willing to jeopardise friendships because I made a mistake."

"And I'm a mistake?"

Hermione mentally berated herself for her lack of eloquence. "No, Draco," she turned her tone soft. "But right now, I can't. No matter the relationship status of Harry and Ginny, until their wedding plans are leaked to the press, we," she gestured between them, "are the juicier story. I've done many reckless things in my life, Draco, but if I were to jump into a relationship with you, it'd easily be the most dangerous of my life."

"How long am I to wait?" Draco asked. "A week? A month? Six?" He let out a snarl of laughter. "Like it or not, Granger, you aren't the only one who gets a say in this relationship. We've both waited long enough to be happy. Why prolong our misery?"

"Us getting together would cause more harm than good right now," Hermione said. She wanted to be with Draco, but the rational part of her mind was overwhelmingly right when it told her other people would be hurt by her decision. There may be a time when they would be able to be together without fear of hurting others, but now was not that time. "We need to remain strictly friends," she said and swallowed the lump in her throat. "You can come over and we can work on assignments, but we can't hold hands in class or kiss or do anything like that. It needs to be a completely platonic relationship."

Hermione saw his jaw clench, fists curl up before his fingers flexed back out and relaxed. "Fine, Granger," he said finally. "But I'm not going to say I'll wait anymore. I can't keep doing this to myself, letting you run me around. It's not fair for me to have to pin my hope on someone with as many erratic mood changes as you seem to have."

Draco stood, rolling the sleeves down on his dress shirt and pulling his coat on. "I'm sorry," Hermione said, rising with him, despising how emotional her voice was, how girlish he made her. He turned to look at her, hands pushed deep into his coat pockets, eyes dark and cold.

"So am I."

"Nice pash rash, Drake," Blaise hooted as Draco stalked into the common room, flipping the bird to his best friend on his way to his dormitory. Daphne, resting with her feet in her fiancé's lap, dug her heel into his thigh. "What the hell was that for, Daph?"

"Draco hasn't scared away that many firsties since our Sixth Year," Daphne said, giving Blaise another nudge with her heel and pulling her legs away. "He's been with Hermione all morning and going by that reaction, I'd say it didn't go particularly well. Seeing as you are absolutely awful when it comes to the serious conversations, I'll talk to him."

Daphne slipped her feet back into her ballet flats and waved over her shoulder at Blaise who rolled his eyes and spread out to lounge across the sofa. She headed up the stairs to the boys' dormitory, ignoring the shocked looks from some of the younger males she passed on her way. The door to the seventh year boys' room was locked and from behind the thick layer of wood she could hear sounds of destruction. A droplet of fear slid down her spine.

This was how Draco had reacted back in their Sixth Year when something had not gone according to plan. He would curse and yell and cry and break whatever was available to him, on one occasion coming dangerously close to wounding Blaise when he tried to step in one evening. Daphne knocked gently against the wood and flattened her palm out on the door.

"Draco?" she asked quietly. The sounds inside ceased. "Draco, it's Daphne. Can I…can I come in?" When there was no response from the other side, Daphne cast a silent Alohamora on the handle. The lock clicked open and she entered cautiously, making note of Draco's form sitting on the foot of his bed, hands tracing through his hair. The rest of the room was not as tattered as she had thought it would be, a few chairs knocked over and some drawers strewn open.

As she bent down to scoop up the contents of one of the drawers, a few scraps of parchment and unused envelopes from Draco's desk, an image of him and Hermione kissing voraciously battered her mind. She reeled slightly at the memory Draco was sharing. "She said we can be friends," he said out loud, keeping his head down. "We snogged and then she turned around a minute later and told me that we can't do that anymore. That we can't have anything but a platonic relationship." Draco fell back onto the mattress. "I don't know what else I can do."

Daphne frowned, abandoning her task to join him on his bed with her legs crossed beneath her. "You have to give her time," she said, holding a hand up when he looked ready to interrupt her. "Yes, I know you've given her time, but the pair of you started getting physical less than two weeks ago. And barely three weeks ago, she broke up with her fiancé in a very public manner. Hermione's had a very hard couple of years so you'll have to deal with the fact that she may need time to adjust to new situations. Not to mention that you were one of her main antagonists for most of her teenage years, so how do you think she feels about liking you?"

"In some cases, time can heal all wounds," she continued. "And her whole life is splashed across the press. I bet the poor girl can't even sneeze without someone writing up a story on it. You just have to give her a chance to get used to everything that's happening in her life. You, the end of her relationship with Ronald, her work here, her life in the papers, her friendship with Theodore."

Draco sat up and twisted himself around slightly to look at her. "Considering you've only had one relationship and it's with my twat of a best mate, I'll never understand how you got so good at giving out advice."

"Feminine intuition," Daphne said. "Why were you two going at it, anyway? Last time I checked, there wasn't any mistletoe left around the castle."

His cheeks pinked. "You probably didn't want to see that," he said. "We were testing out our potion on me and it happened to work and snogging seemed like the only appropriate way to celebrate."

"Topless snogging. On the floor," Daphne deadpanned. She shook her head at Draco's guilty smirk. "I doubt Hermione's ever done anything like that with someone she considers a friend, so maybe keep your clothes on around her from now on, too." Draco lay back down, eyes closed in frustration and she backtracked. "But if you really want me to, I can go and talk to her on your behalf."

That seemed to capture Draco's attention. He sat up straight and smoothed down his hair. "I sound like a lovesick Hufflepuff," he said and took a deep breath, "but could you? I don't think I left things on the best terms with her."

"I'll pay her a visit this evening," Daphne promised. "Until then, you better clean this up before someone comes up and finds this mess."

"Yes, Mother."

Slytherin Common Room

9:30PM

Monday, January 13th, 1999

Draco was grinning like the proverbial cat who caught the canary as he and the rest of the Slytherin Quidditch team tramped their way through the common room. Though he was shivering, snow still settled in his hair and teeth chattering slightly, he was in a better mood than he had been for a long time.

Whatever Daphne had said to Hermione the prior evening had put the Gryffindor witch in an excellent mood and the lessons they had together that day, including a double period of Potions, had been some of the lightest and most jovial of his whole time at Hogwarts. Neither had brought up their argument on Sunday – though they both avoided the topic of their heated kiss, too – and had instead just focused on their potion, having the intellectual spars which made Hermione so entertaining to Draco.

The day had concluded with an excellent training session, his team finally coming to terms with his new schedule and routine. Despite the cold, they had been on good terms when he had announced that they had a very high chance of winning the Quidditch Cup that year. The team had been on top form and had their hands not almost been frozen to their broomsticks from the weather, Draco was certain they would have continued training long into the night.

After a few claps on the back from his teammates, Draco settled down in an armchair directly in front of the fire to let his toes thaw. Though he had showered and warmed up after training, the walk back from the locker room beside the Quidditch pitch had frozen his feet solid. A few of the others were also shaking, brushing snow from their hair and casting Heating Charms upon themselves. Blaise took up a seat on the sofa to Draco's left where Daphne was curled up to finish reading for one of her classes, Theo stretching himself out on the other couch, legs hanging languidly off the end.

The two had settled their differences over Hermione on the train ride back to school after the Christmas break. Theo (after much persuasion from Daphne, Draco believed) had accepted that the Gryffindor simply wanted to be friends and that it wasn't Draco's fault that she was not romantically interested. There had been a tense few minutes when no one was sure Theo would react with an even slightly positive reaction, but eventually he had relaxed. He and Draco picked up their close friendship where it had left off a couple of months ago, though Draco was careful not to mention the witch that had come between them.

"Draco?" He looked towards the source of the voice and found Astoria, Daphne's younger sister, with a towel in her arms. "Your hair's all wet from the snow. I thought you could use this."

"Tori, what do you think you're doing?" Daphne asked, uncurling herself from Blaise's embrace. Her brows had knitted together and she was moving towards her sister.

"I hate it when you call me that," Astoria grumbled and Draco fought to keep a smirk away at the pout the young Slytherin's face formed.

"And I hate it when you steal my clothes and wear them badly," Daphne pointed out, leaning forward to snatch the scarf that was wrapped around her little sister's neck. "Blaise gave me this and I'd rather you didn't ruin it by wearing it with that shirt."

"Down, kitty," Blaise said, pulling his fiancé back onto the loveseat. Daphne harrumphed and wrapped the knit around her own neck. "Put the claws away."

Astoria glared at her older sister but Draco watched her face turn into a pretty little smile when she turned back to him. "Here you go," she said, leaning forward and patting away the moisture from his hair. Were he not frozen in bemusement, Draco knew he would be laughing as raucously as Theo and Blaise were whilst the Sixth Year girl dried his hair.

"Thanks?" he said when she finished, the girl blushing under his attentions. Her mop of dark hair disappeared as Astoria returned to her friends and Draco caught their giggling before turning back to his own group.

"I think you have an admirer, Drake," Theo laughed, dodging the pillow Draco launched at his head. "Nothing wrong with that, man. She's cute."

"She's my little sister," Daphne said, tossing her own cushion at Theo with her nose scrunched up. "Salazar, I cannot believe the nerve of her. I never thought she'd actually do anything." The blonde rolled her eyes when Draco passed an inquisitive look her way. "She's been in love with you since she first saw you, or so she says. Last summer she begged our parents to organise a marriage contract similar to the one Blaise and I have."

Draco felt a wave of hysteria tinged with nausea overcome him. "A marriage contract?" he choked out as Theo and Blaise howled with laughter. "I don't think I've ever spoken to her before just then."

Daphne shook her head. "In her first year you kicked her out of your favourite chair like the prat that you were," she informed him. A hazy memory of him intimidating the younger students away from his favourite places resurfaced. "She found your authority attractive and has been a bit obsessed with you ever since. It's a bit creepy, actually."

Draco craned his neck slightly to glance at the youngest Greengrass. She wasn't as pretty as Daphne, but she had wide eyes and petal pink lips, dark hair plaited into a careful style on the side. She certainly did not know how to carry herself as well as her older sister did, her overall image a bit haphazard, but she was attractive enough. The Sixth Year chose that second to turn around, flushing under his gaze. "How old is she?" he asked.

Blaise kept his lips shut for fear of attack from his girlfriend but Theo was almost hysterical at the look on Daphne's face. "Sixteen, Draco," she said. "And if you go anywhere near her, I'll hex your bollocks off and toss them into the Black Lake for the squid to chew on."

"No need to get violent, Daph," Draco said, adjusting himself to protect his privates. "I'm not going to try anything with your little sister. Partly because there's no attraction there, but mainly because I've seen your hex work and it scares me a little. But why did she choose now to act like a Gryffindor and make a move?"

Daphne sighed, relieved, and relaxed back into Blaise's arms. "She was going to do something before the Christmas Break but didn't get the chance. And then you and Hermione were splashed across the front page of The Prophet and she got scared off. No one can really compare to a famous war heroine. But you two haven't made the news in a week so she managed to pluck up the courage, I suppose."

"And is this to be a long-term endeavour?" he asked, ignoring Theo's shit-eating grin when Daphne nodded. "Would you like to tell her my interests lie elsewhere?"

Daphne gave a smirk which could rival his own, shaking her head, long blonde locks rippling with the movement. "Not a chance," she said. "I'm her older sister so she'd just think I was pulling her leg. Either you'll have to tell her yourself or just wait it all out." She stood and pressed a kiss to Blaise's cheek. "I wish you luck. She can be quite persistent when she wants to be. Goodnight!"

Draco groaned, slumping in his chair.

The Great Hall

7:30AM

Tuesday, January 14th, 1999

Having woken from Theo's snoring, Draco had opted for an early breakfast rather than a fitful extra hour of sleep. The Slytherin table was largely empty, most of his housemates usually choosing to take the extra hour in bed rather than arrive as soon as the meal was served. He took his usual seat and made a cursory look around the Great Hall. At the Gryffindor table, punctual as usual, Hermione was eating her breakfast, their Arithmancy textbook propped up on a jug of pumpkin juice. Sensing his attention, she looked up and smiled at him, offering a wave. He considered joining her at the equally empty Gryffindor table but the presence of someone hovering over him made Draco turn.

"Anyone sitting here?" Astoria didn't wait for a reply and Draco's eyes widened as she slid onto the bench beside him. Her skirt had been rolled up a few inches, hair curled neatly and cosmetics applied. He looked over her quickly, seeing the uneven lengths of her socks and how her shirt had not been pressed, reminding Draco she was too young for him.

"Just you," he said, looking away from her and across to the Gryffindor table again. Hermione was giving him a sceptical look, brows raised, a small smile playing upon her lips. He imparted a withering stare and watched as she laughed quietly, returning to her textbook. Draco poured himself a cup of coffee from the pot closest and picked up a croissant. With quick fingers, he pulled apart the pastry and placed a small amount in his mouth. "Isn't your skirt a bit above regulation length?"

The girl blanched for a half second but regained her composure, somewhat shakier. "Don't you like it?" she asked, fiddling with the hemline. Draco made no move to respond, smirking into his cup when he took a deep sip. Astoria rolled down her skirt whilst he pretended to look away. "So, Draco, do you have any plans for next weekend's Hogsmeade trip?"

"Not as of yet," he said, finishing the last of his breakfast. "I'll probably just grab a Butterbeer with Blaise and your sister in The Three Broomsticks and come back early." He paused, checking his watch as The Great Hall began to fill. "Seventh year is demanding. I have a lot of work on."

"Maybe we could catch up for a drink," Astoria suggested and Draco was certain he didn't imagine it when she shifted an inch closer. She fiddled with her collar for a few seconds and he realised the top two buttons had come undone, her fingers working on the third.

He filtered through possible excuses to make, attempting to find one that could be considered even mildly feasible. Somewhere between madly in love with a Hippogriff and becoming a monk to avoid his potential date, Draco gave a relieved sigh as his friends arrived, Daphne with her hands on her hips.

"Tori, what do you think you're doing?" she asked, pushing her little sister along the bench. Astoria looked as though she were about to argue with her older sister, but Daphne's intense stare left her with no response. Instead, the Sixth Year just looked at Draco and gave bright smile, tossing her hair over her shoulder. "What did you do to your skirt? And your shirt!"

Astoria scooted away rather than start a scene at breakfast, her seat taken by Theo. Draco rounded on Daphne who sat across from him, ignoring Blaise's trembling as he swallowed his laughter. "Your sister is an absolute nutter, Daph," he said, pouring himself another cup of coffee and passing the pot to his left. "Why has she decided to start stalking me all of a sudden?"

Daphne laughed, pouring herself a cup of tea. "She hasn't just started to do it all of a sudden. Astoria's been working up to it for a while. I suppose she just saw her opportunity and struck. You were alone, there weren't many witnesses if she was to be rejected, and I wasn't around to scare her off."

"She's psychotic," he insisted, gulping down his second dose of caffeine for the day. "I've got to go back to my dormitory to grab my books for class. If I don't turn up in Potions then you can assume I've been kidnapped and forced to marry her."

"I hope you like the suit she's picked out for you," Daphne called after him as he turned out of The Great Hall. He shuddered into the empty Entrance Hall, escaping down the staircase to the Dungeons before Astoria could catch a glimpse of him and follow.

He ducked into a small alcove to avoid a group of Astoria's friends who would no doubt report to her on his whereabouts, silently creeping up to his dormitory when they passed. He was able to avoid detection to the Potions classroom, blending in with the crowds of students. Still one of the first to arrive at the classroom, he leaned against a wall, able to flatten himself if Astoria came along.

"Daphne's little sister, eh?" Hermione said, approaching with her books in her arms, amusement in her eyes. She joined him against the wall, grinning. "Wouldn't have pegged you for such a cradle-snatcher."

"Jealous, are we?" he asked, turning to face her and resting his left arm against the stone wall. Unabashedly, Draco drank in the details of her face. There was the curl of her eyelashes and the droplets of freckles across her nose and the way her cheeks coloured with his suggestion. Hermione bit her lip and dropped her gaze to the floor, leaving Draco grinning. "You are jealous. Of Astoria? Really?"

"Don't be a prat," Hermione said, eyes flaming when she looked back up to his face. "You used to be jealous whenever I'd talk to Theo and if I recall correctly, you didn't find it so funny."

Draco forced himself to lock away his smirk but moved closer to Hermione until they were just breaths apart. "But I had reason to be jealous," he said quietly, watching her cheeks pink with his proximity. "You had been close with Theo. You kissed him. Whereas you have no reason to worry with Astoria because you knowmy interests lie elsewhere." He reached forward and tugged on a curl that had come loose from her neat ponytail, watching it bounce back to shape.

"Draco," she warned quietly, shifting herself backwards with reluctance. "Don't. We can't."

"Do you still want to, though?" he asked, relieved when she nodded though he kept his face cool. "Don't take too long to come around, Granger. I might just fall in love with Greengrass in the meantime." Draco put a hand on her lower back and pushed her towards the door as Slughorn arrived, noticing how she shook slightly at the pressure with a grin.