An unfortunate pairing in potions class...

Chapter 1

Granger!"

A few students of Slytherin House jumped back from around the hospital bed after Malfoy's sudden outburst.

"He's mental!" Crabbe said, his round face scrunching together. "Why call that mudblood's name?"

"Yeah, and he wasn't even hit in the head," Goyle commented.

Malfoy lay there on the white sheets, tossing his head back and forth on the pillow, his brows pushed in as far as they could go, and his eyes squeezed tightly shut. His arm was in a sling which was tied around his neck.

"Granger!"

"He's still not stopping?" Madam Pomphrey demanded as she pushed through the group of half-a-dozen students in black and green robes. She muttered a calming charm, and Malfoy instantly stopped writhing and slept soundly. Madam Pomphrey went off and tended to another student across the way.

"That mudblood…" a girl growled, and the rest nodded.

Hermione hugged her books to her chest as she walked down the main corridor with Ron and Harry before Defense Against the Dark Arts class, along with hoards of other students. The trio turned a corner, talking about how Shamus Finnegan blew up his pumpkin juice at breakfast just ten minutes before.

"You would think he would learn," Ron said. "After trying to turn water to rum our first year."

"There's just something wrong with his wand," Hermione said. "It can be fixed."

"You can't just exchange wands, can you?" Harry asked.

"I don't think you can. I think Shamus is in trouble."

They all laughed, but then...

"Granger!"

They jumped at the sound of Draco's loud, angry voice. They turned to find the toe-head blonde cantering up to them, scowling.

"Oh, no…" Ron moaned. "What now?"

Draco cantered straight up to Hermione, looking straight at her with his icy blue eyes. "What'd you do, Granger? What'd you do to me? I know you did something!"

Ron pulled Hermione's arm, and she toppled over near Harry. Ron was in Malfoy's face. "Shove off, Malfoy."

Draco pushed Ron's shoulder, causing him to ram against the stone wall of the corridor. "What'd you do?" he demanded of Hermione again, stepping up to her. "You did something to that bloody bird!"

"I did nothing," she spat back at him. "You're the one who provoked him. It's your own fault."

"You did something! You were the last person I saw before I…"

He stopped, his cheeks suddenly flushing pink in embarrassment. Ron chuckled and said, "Before you fainted?" He made a swooning sound, imitating what Draco and another Slytherin did when they found out Harry had fainted on the train at the very beginning of the year. Harry let out a snicker, but held it in with his fisted hand against his mouth.

"I had nothing to do with your stupidity!" Hermione said to Draco, and she walked off, and Harry and Ron walked after her, smiling to themselves, which enraged Draco even more.

"Mark my words, mudblood, you'll pay for this!" he shouted into the corridor, and several students went by, staring at him. He looked around at all the eyes, and made his way out of there in the other direction.

"He's mad," Harry said.

"When is he not?" Ron asked, laughing. "Did you see his face when he noticed people were watching?"

Hermione wasn't amused. Her heart hurt. Every time that white-haired weasel calls her that name, it is like he plunges a dagger into her heart.

"Don't let him get to you, Hermione," Ron suddenly said, noticing her expression. "He's a rotten git."

"I know," was all she said, fighting tears.

The trio sat at their usual spot at the Gryffindor table at lunch the next day-in the very center. Hermione was busy reading a copy of The Daily Profit, focusing on an article about how Mr. Ollivander sold his one-millionth wand, and Harry and Ron were busy talking about the next quidditch game that weekend. She attempted to tune them out since they sat right next to her.

"Hermione," Padma Patil said, and Hermione looked up from the article she was reading. "Yes?"

"Did you hear?"

"Hear what?"

She scooted next to Hermione and leaned in close to her. She said in a whisper, "I heard some Slytherins talking on my way to potions this morning, and they were talking about how Malfoy called your name when he was out of it in the hospital wing. You know, after the hippogriff incident."

Hermione stared at Padma's dark brown eyes in confusion. "What? My name?"

She nodded. "Yes. They said he called your name several times before he woke up." She frowned. "Why do you suppose he called your name?"

Hermione felt her ham sandwich rise in her throat. "I don't know." She thought a moment, glancing at Draco sitting at the table right next to theirs. He happened to catch her gaze and he grimaced. She quickly looked away. "Maybe because he thought I did something to him. Like cause Buckbeak to attack him."

"I'll never understand that boy…" Padma breathed. "And uhg, I hated what those Slytherins were calling you. It makes me sick. I had to walk away before I slugged them all."

"Trust me, I don't like it, either."

Padma went back to her seat, and Hermione made a quick glance at Draco again, then at his arm in the sling. She pushed the rest of her sandwich away, unable to eat the rest. What was Malfoy up to?

Hermione loved school, and loved working with partners, but the day Professor Snape made the unfortunate decision of pairing her and Draco Malfoy together for a potions project, she absolutely loathed the thought of working with two heads.

"I would suggest that you get to know your partners," Snape said in his low, slow, monotone voice to the class, "because you will be seeing a lot of them in the next three weeks."

Hermione groaned, and she knew Malfoy noticed.

"They'll kill each other," Ron whispered to Harry quietly, "with a death potion."

Harry nodded.

"No, not that one!" Hermione said, grabbing the bottle of troll sweat before Malfoy could reach for it. They were in their potions class two days later, getting a start on their potion they had to concockt for the project.

"How do you know if that's right or not?" Malfoy growled. "We don't even bloody know what we're making yet!"

"Because you say no to everything I suggest! We should've decided yesterday."

"And you think it's my fault that all your ideas are lousy? Some genius you are, mudblood."

That name stung the inside of her, like a large bee plunging its stinger into her chest. She huffed through her nose, trying to keep in her emotion, as Malfoy just sat there looking at the labels on the few bottles sitting on the table next to their empty cauldron.

"What have you two come up with?" both of them heard, and looked up at Professor Snape, his black eyes looking down on them.

"We're making a healing potion," Hermione said, and Malfoy glared at her.

"Fascinating," he said and walked on to the next table, the one where Harry and Ron were sitting. She felt a sliver of jealously. A beam, actually. She wanted to be paired with one of her friends who would actually help with the potion and wouldn't call her foul names while doing so.

"What makes you think we're making a healing potion?" Malfoy asked, still glaring at her. She met his blue eyes.

"Do you have any better ideas?"

He grimaced. "Fine."

Hermione got up and retrieved the needed ingredients for the first part their potion from the back table covered with random bottles and boxes. She turned back to her work table table, but stopped. She stared at the back of Malfoy's blonde head, wondering how on earth they're going to pass this project. Looks like she'll be doing all the work.