Hermione was on her second Butterbeer. The foam delightfully tickled her nose as she grinned across the table at Theo. "So, you'll really accompany me the Yule? I feel like it's an awful imposition. Surely, there is someone else you'd rather go with."

"No one who would want to go with me," he shrugged, draining the last of his drink and settling back. "It's alright. Five more months and I'll be out of here; I can hardly wait."

A sad realization settled over her as she realized that not only had she never paid much mind to Theodore Nott, and even worse, that perhaps no one did. She couldn't remember seeing him with anyone all these years and her heart pained at what a sad existence he must have within these walls.

"Say," he continued, "what kind of arrangement is it that you and Malfoy have?"

Rolling her eyes, she tucked her ankle under her thigh and leaned forward conspiratorially. "We had to pick someone for the other to date for two weeks and bring to the Yule. Then we get out of Head duties for the next few months. Not that I'd ever let him do them, of course; it's more of a pride and principal sort of wager, I suppose you could say."

"He's watching you know." Theo smirked, leaning forward towards her. The tendon in her neck jumped; she was just about to snap her head to the side when Theo's gentle fingertips caught the underside of her chin and kept her steadily looking at him.

With round eyes, Hermione loosened a sharp breath. Theo shook his head. "Don't look. He wants you to look."

Impossibly soft lips pressed into hers and for a fraction of a moment, her eyes widened further before then fluttering closed. He was either very straight, a very good kisser, or a very good liar. He held her like she were fragile but his lips moved like she were unbreakable. Embarrassingly enough, she actually started kissing him back, lost in the flutter and fire of new lips, that it wasn't until she was kissing his teeth that she was brought back to the present.

When she pulled back, he was grinning, hands drifting from her chin. She gulped once and sat back in her booth.

Theo ran his tongue along his teeth and traced the lines of the table with his forefinger without looking up at her. "That'll get him, Granger."

"Get him?" she squeaked, still reeling.

"Make him jealous. That's what this is all really about isn't it?"

The tips of her ears flamed and she sucked in a hard breath through her teeth. "Absolutely not. The wager—"

"I'm not saying it's impossible, but it's hard to lie to a Slytherin. You ought to get better if you're going after Malfoy."

With those words hanging impossibly between them, her gaze finally drifted to a booth on the far side of the room, housing Bea Beaucomb and her beau, who was positively seething.

xXx

"My family wanted me to head to Beauxbaton's when that whole mess started; I have family in France, you see."

It took all his strength not to glower and seethe at the twit under his arm. Two weeks was too bloody long. She was insipid.

"Really? How interesting." He nodded, craning his neck to eye Granger leaning excitedly across the table towards Theo. What on earth could she find so interesting in that toe? He was a wet blanket on his best days.

But then, in the most infuriating turn of events, that slimy fucking snake leaned in towards her and kissed her. Snogged her. Hermione Granger.

Blood boiling in his veins, Draco's grip tightened painfully around his glass and as much as he wanted to look away, he couldn't. Bea prattled on, unable to stop the verbal spew tumbling freely past her lips and Draco heard not a single word.

After what was honestly an inappropriately long time spent snogging in public, their lips parted and Draco finally felt he could breathe again. It's not that he fucking cared. Absolutely not. It was Granger, for crying out loud. She was barely tolerable and a constant pain in his arse for the better part of a decade.

So, no. It's not that he cared that she seemed to be getting on with Theo-fucking-Nott, because of course, she would, he was just as bloody awful as she was. It was more that he was going to lose this damn bet—yes, that was all.

When Granger's eyes drifted over to his, her cheeks still twinged pink from her snog, his eyes narrowed and the arm slung around Bea's shoulder's tightened.

Bea, being the completely ridiculous witch she was, was so lost in the attention of being at Draco's side, that she keened and nestled in. Good. Granger's chocolate-coloured eyes flashed and with a resolute shake of her head, turned her attention back to Nott.

Malfoy was going to need to up his game.

xXx

After a perfectly lovely day in Hogsmeade, Hermione spent the rest of the day curled in her bed, re-reading the week's assignments before drifting off into a late afternoon nap. Dreams of soft lips and grey eyes were violently disrupted as two hands shook her awake. Blinking up into the dim light of their dormitory, she found a cascade of fiery hair all around her and clamored back with a yelp.

"Merlin, Ginny!" she gasped. "Do you always wake people like that?

A smirk spread over her friend's lips and she crossed her arms tightly across her chest. "Only when the person is clearly having inappropriate dreams and is refusing to wake."

A heated blush bloomed on Hermione's cheeks and she jolted upright, now decidedly awake. "What was so important that couldn't wait then?"

"It's Trevor, he's sick."

"Trevor?"

A long, exasperated sigh pushed forward and Ginny moved towards her trunk, rifling through its contents as she spoke. "Trevor, the Hufflepuff prefect? He's sick, Black Cat Flu, they think. He's in the infirmary and most likely missing out on exams as well."

"Erm, okay." Hermione shifted, wondering if maybe she needed to pop by and give him a card or something.

Ginny's eyes snapped up, leveling Hermione with a pointed stare. "He's one of the prefects on patrol tonight, Hermione. Someone needs to fill in for him and it will not be me, I did patrol on Thursday and I'm going to that Ravenclaw party tonight. Anyway, Sprout popped into the common room and wanted me to let you know they needed a replacement."

Groaning, Hermione tossed her legs over the side of her mattress and rubbed at her face. "Brilliant. Guess that's me, then."

"No! You should come to the party—make someone else do it!"

"Right, because who won't be jumping at the opportunity to do last minute patrols on a Saturday night when there is a house party happening?"

Ginny pouted but quickly moved on, changing for her evening and begging that the head girl please not interrupt the happenings in Ravenclaw tower. Hermione made no promises.

Under the warmth of her winter cloak, Hermione descended the stairs to the mouth of the Great Hall. She'd checked the schedule before she left and she was meant to be patrolling with the female fifth-year prefect from Slytherin, some mousy girl named Piper who was far too full of herself.

Piper was late.

Grumbling to herself, Hermione paced back and forth until she heard the telltale sound of impending footsteps. Whipping around, fully prepared to spit her well-rehearsed verbal lashing on the importance of punctuality, Hermione's lips parted but no words came. That's because Draco Malfoy was stomping in her direction sporting an unamused glower.

"Let's go; I'm fucking exhausted." He didn't pause, instead marching right past her up the corridor. Try as she might, words failed her spectacularly and she stayed rooted to her spot until he turned, gesticulating wildly at her.

Quickly catching up, Hermione was near breathless as she matched his stride. "What are you doing here? I'm meant to be patrolling with Piper."

"Oh, you know how I just adore spending this one-on-one time with you, Granger. I nearly jumped at the opportunity to spend my Saturday night bickering with you. Why do you think I'm here? Piper's got the Black Cat Flu."

"No, Trevor does," she argued, clutching her cloak tighter as they quickly rounded a corner.

"No—" His tone had a horrible mocking edge to it and if she had a moment to think, she'd chastise him for it. As it were, she barely had a chance to breathe as he picked up an impossible pace. "They both do. They've been snogging during patrols for weeks, everyone knows that."

Nose wrinkling, Hermione's lips parted, ready to state that quite clearly everyone didn't know that because she didn't know that but he continued on. "The entire fucking fifth year is catching Black Cat like it's the plague and I, for one, am not happy. All of our prefects will be dropping like horse-wing flies in the weeks before Holiday and I don't need the extra workload."

A watery snort rumbled in the back of her throat and she rolled her eyes as they quickly jaunted down the stairs. "First, you don't do any work, please don't do me the dishonor of pretending you do. And second—" She stopped as the reached the landing, breathing heavily. "Can you slow the hell down? This isn't a race; we have to be out here until eleven regardless what pace you go at."

Finally, Malfoy stopped, hands coming to rest on his hips as he reeled on her. "What are you playing at with Theo, Granger?"

She huffed, taking a quick step back as she studied the hard edge to his face. "What?"

"You heard me: what are you playing at? Because I know Theo Nott and he has all the personality of a wet fucking mop and I saw you two snogging. So something is bloody happening and I demand to know what it is."

"You demand?" She scoffed, regaining her footing and taking a few steps towards him. "I don't exactly understand what you think is so awful about Theo. He's well-read, charming, handsome, as well. You couldn't have picked a lovelier companion for me; I should thank you."

The space between his pale brows wrinkled and he, too, took a step towards her until they were sharing the same small space. "Do you like him or something?" His voice was acidic and the deep grey of his irises hardened.

Suddenly, she was far too aware of him, of the warmth emanating from his chest and the delicious scent of his cologne wafting through the air. She gulped. "Do you care?"

At that, his features fell dejectedly, his lips parting as his gaze roved her face. "I—no, of course not."

Liar. She grinned, wagging her eyebrows and then stepping past him. "You seem jealous, Malfoy. It doesn't look good on you."

Padding down the stairs, she made it to exactly the fourth step before her cohort was following quickly on her heels, making disgruntled little noises she was sure she'd never heard him make before. "Jealous? Me? Hah! Don't make me laugh."

Catching the flesh of her bottom lip between her teeth, Hermione swallowed her laughter and pressed onward.

xXx

Jealous.

What a fucking preposterous idea. Draco didn't get jealous, it simply wasn't becoming of a Malfoy. If he wanted something, he went after it. End of.

And he simply didn't want Granger; who would?

Sure, she'd filled out nicely, her body taking on a far more feminine shape than her boyish frame from years past. Her hair was nicer too, softer, like he wanted to run his fingers through it and see it draped across his bed. And he didn't mind her laugh, if he was being honest, because it usually meant she wasn't being a total in pain the arse and he supposed the way she threw her head back was quite lovely.

But, no. He didn't fancy her, and he certainly didn't give two figs if Theo Nott fancied her—the fucking wanker.

Since her ridiculous accusation that he might be jealous—which he was not—he'd zoned out entirely, following the vague shape of her in his vision as he pondered just how ridiculous it was. He was brought back to the moment as his chest crashed into her back and they both went tumbling to the ground.

"Merlin—fuck, Granger! What the hell are you doing stopping in the middle of the corridor like that?"

"You watch where you're going, Malfoy!" She groaned, cradling her knee to her chest as she rolled onto her back. "Ow, you big dolt. You messed up my knee."

"I'm sure you're exaggerating. Let me see—" she turned quickly away from him, as though he was going to chop her leg off if given the opportunity and he glowered in return. "Would you stop being so bloody combative? It's annoying."

The tip of her perfectly pink tongue darted out, her nose wrinkling petulantly as she opened her cloak. The silly swot had worn her school skirt on patrols and there was a nasty gash in her knee cap; blood flowed freely from the wound, causing his stomach to churn.

"Right. Your knee is all fucked up…" he assessed quickly and then stood, distancing himself from the smell.

"Brilliant! Thank you so much for that! Help me stand, you idiot."

Rolling his eyes, Draco held out his hands. Her dainty fingers slid into his palms and his eyes widened into saucers at the gentle touch. Hoisting her to feet, he was about to make a speedy getaway, until her knee buckled and she hissed, her grip landing on his arms as he rushed to stabilize her.

"Steady there," he mumbled from the corner of his mouth, reveling in secret at the feeling of her pressed up against him.

"Fuck, it really hurts, Draco." Draco. "I think I need to go to the infirmary."

"Okay." Realization dripped slowly over him as he began to understand his role in all this. He'd need to walk her. Gulping, he slid his arm under her cloak, wrapping an arm around her waist, and shouldering her weight a bit.

They made it a few steps, Granger hissing with each one before he stopped. "This is going to take all bloody night. Let me levitate you—"

She rolled her face towards him, eyes narrowing into slits. "Obviously, that's not going to happen."

All of a sudden, his throat felt far too tight and sweat coated his palms as they stared at each other. "I'll have to carry you," he managed, his voice barely audible.

She inhaled sharply, lips pressing shut as she considered it. With a hard swallow, she acquiesced. "I suppose if it's that or having you levitate me through half the castle and probably giving me a concussion, I guess I have no choice."

Part of him hoped that she might refuse. It was a weird night as it was, and carrying her pressed against him would escalate it to the point of absurd. But alas, there were few options. Fortifying himself with a hard breath, he reached down to sweep the back of her knees, letting her weight fall into his arms as he lifted her.

She was lighter than he'd imagined, which was a wonderful thing given they still had two flights of stairs and a very long corridor before the infirmary.

"Wait!" She all but shouted, pulling her wand free. There was a brief moment where Draco was quite sure he was about to be hexed, but instead, she cast a featherweight charm on herself and the task of holding her became easier still.

Nodding, he began walking, ignoring the feeling of the soft skin of her thigh. She shifted in his arms, before growling to herself and wrapping her arms around his neck.

A smile threatened to split his features as he peered down at her with an arched brow.

"Shut it, Malfoy. I can't just let my arms dangle in this position."

Her face was too close. It was bothering him. And he most certainly didn't like the smell of jasmine and parchment that seemed to billow off her skin, assaulting him with its pungency. And, fuck it all to hell, but he detested the way she yawned and rested her head on his shoulder, wincing when he jostled her.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"S'okay."

They continued in silence for a bit, finally climbing the last staircase and turning down the final corridor to the infirmary.

"You and Bea seem to be getting along well," she said after a while.

Draco's brow pinched. "That's a bit of a stretch. She's deplorable."

"She really is, isn't she?" A soft rumble of laughter shook her and she fidgeted once more, her breasts brushing up his chest and driving him fucking insane. "We could call the whole thing off if you wanted."

A streak of hope burned bright in his chest and he stole a peek at her, cheek resting in the hollow of his shoulder and he could feel her fingers fiddling behind his neck. "Jealous, Granger?"

"Hah!" She barked, turning her face up to his. "If that isn't the most ridiculous… " Her gaze caught on his lips, now dangerously close to his, and she gulped. "Ridiculous thing I ever heard."

"If you're worried about losing and need to call off the bet, just say so." He smirked, fingers curling tighter around her thigh and ribs where he held her.

Reason seemed to return to her, and she blinked a few hard times before clearing her throat. "I'm not worried about anything, Malfoy. You forget how well things are going with Theo and I."

Snorting, Draco rolled his eyes and continued through the doors of the infirmary. "He's a prat and he's lucky I don't beat the stuffing out of him."

Madame Pomfrey came out in a flurry, her wand held high and glowing softly. "Mister Malfoy! Put her down—no, not there! Over here. What on earth happened?"

Quickly obliging, Draco tried his best to ignore the smug smile forming on Granger's lips. Pomfrey continued fretting before bustling off to grab something from her stores.

"I thought you weren't jealous." There was something annoying about the edge to her voice and he narrowed his glare at her.

"What makes you think I am?"

"Well, you just threatened to beat the stuffing out of my boyfriend—"

"Boyfriend!"

Her fingers waved through the air. "Semantics, Malfoy. Semantics."

She was stitched up and healed within five minutes; it'd taken him longer to haul her tiny arse up here than it did to fix her and they were soon walking back through the doors, this time side by side.

"I think we can just call it good for tonight, what about you?"

Jamming his hands in his trouser pockets, Draco managed a sharp nod as he turned for the dungeons.

"Oh, and Draco!" she called when he was a handful of steps away. Turning, he didn't stop, now retreating slowly backward as he arched a brow in her direction. "Thank you—for helping me. It was decent of you. I'm starting to think you're not as rotten as you let on."

There was an ache in his chest he decided to ignore and his lips lilted in a weak smirk. "Keep my secret, Granger." He turned again, tucking his chin as he trotted down the stairs.

Although the night had started off as pure rubbish, it was ending with Hermione Granger not thinking he was all that bad. He could do worse, he mused.

xXx

A/N: Thanks again to MCal for her Alpha love and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Be back soon with more and would love to know what you think! Please forgive my confetti commas, this is unbeta'd.