Chapter Two

Hermione had stayed up all night in the Heads' common room waiting for the Head Boy to return from his rounds. While the war was long over, the Wizarding world was far from safe; too many Death Eaters had escaped and were at large. There were still frequent attacks on Muggles and Muggle-borns. So she had been worried that Malfoy had either been attacked or had done the attacking.

And then he had shown up in Ancient Runes looking perfectly coiffed—as usual—and acting as though nothing had happened. The stupid ferret had kept her up all night over what was apparently nothing. So here she was, sitting at Gryffindor table during lunch and staring angrily at the back of his head from across the Great Hall.

"Hermione, what are you staring at?" Ron asked her through a mouthful of mashed potatoes.

She barely spared him a glance. "I'm glaring at stupid Ferret."

"He hasn't tried anything again, has he?" Harry asked in alarm from where he sat next to her.

Hermione shook her head and looked down at her lunch. "Not really. He stayed out all night, though, instead of doing rounds like he was supposed to. I can't for the life of me understand why Professor McGonagall chose him for Head Boy."

Ron nodded emphatically, always ready to agree that Malfoy was in the wrong. "Me neither."

"Someone really ought to take him down a notch or two, yeah?" Harry said.

"Most definitely. Wish I could do it, too," Hermione grumbled.

"Well, why don't you?" Ron asked.

"And how exactly would I do that, hmm?" she snarked. "He wouldn't let me within five feet of him voluntarily. I would never get the opportunity."

Harry opened his mouth to reply, but froze as he watched someone approaching them. Hermione looked up sharply, and her mouth dropped open in surprise as she watched Draco Malfoy sauntering toward her. His gaze was fixed on her, leaving no confusion about who his target was

"Afternoon, Hermione," Draco drawled when he had reached their table. "I meant to tell you earlier that your translation in Ancient Runes was excellent. Couldn't have done it better myself."

And then he walked away, as if what he had said was completely normal.

"Did . . . did he just compliment me?" Hermione asked, turning so she could continue gaping at his retreating back.

Ron nodded mutely.

"And did he call you Hermione?" Harry nearly squeaked.

"The world's gone mad," Hermione concluded.

"Must be."

After a lengthy pause, Ron slammed his hand on the table and shouted, "Wait! That's it!"

Hermione turned her gaze to him questioningly. "What's it, Ronald?"

"I've always suspected he had a bit of a crush on you," Ron expounded. "I mean, why else would he go out of his way to make your life so miserable, right?"

"That makes no sense."

"No, it does! Listen! I really think he fancies you; that's your way in. That's how you'll teach him a lesson! Get him to really fall for you, then dump his sorry arse in front of the whole school!" Ron was very excited with his idea, that much was obvious.

Hermione frowned. "That's actually not a bad idea. But how do I get him to fall in love with me? I've no practice at that."

Ron shrugged. "I mean, Lav's not the best example, but she paid a lot of attention to me and complimented me all the time. You could try that, but in a smart person way."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, be yourself, but start being nice to him. Maybe offer to help him in Ancient Runes or something."

"Okay, I'll give it a shot," Hermione agreed. "I'll start on Thursday; that's the next time we have Ancient Runes together. It'll be the perfect time to set the plan in motion."

"This is going to be absolutely brilliant," Harry said, grinning. "I can't wait to see his face."

"Hey!" Ron erupted again. "You should get him to ask you to the Easter Ball, then dump him after it's over! It's very dramatic, you see."

Hermione laughed. "Since when have you been interested in drama, Ron?"

He shrugged, his face turning bright red. "Lav may have made me watch a lot of films over Christmas break," he muttered.

Harry and Hermione laughed heartily at his reluctant admission. It was rather funny, after all. After his messy breakup with Lavender last year, Ron had spent a while tentatively trying to win Hermione's affection. It had worked for a short time, but it was when they kissed just before the Battle of Hogwarts that everything became crystal clear. They had broken apart after the kiss, then busted up laughing. The idea of them together was completely absurd, they realized, so they went back to being just friends. Lavender had swooped back in almost immediately. And after giving her another chance, Ron had actually fallen for her.

Hermione stood up from the table. "I'm going to head to the library before Arithmancy. I'll see you in Potions?"

The boys nodded, and she set off. As she passed by the Slytherin table, Draco looked up and met her eye. She raised an eyebrow at him and kept walking, but he had definitely caught her attention. Something was . . . different. She shook her head to dislodge the unsettling thought and continued to the library.

When she arrived, Hermione settled at her usual table right in the center of the library. She loved it because it was an equal distance from all the different sections, and it made her feel important. She unpacked Numerology and Grammatica, a long roll of parchment that contained her notes, and a brand new self-inking quill. Then she sat down to immerse herself in her studies.

She would have succeeded, too, if Malfoy hadn't sat down across from her at that very moment.

"Hello," he said as he leaned forward on his elbows.

"Hello Malfoy," Hermione replied warily.

"It's Draco."

She raised an eyebrow. "Cute."

"Thank you."

"I was being sarcastic."

"Still, thank you."

"What do you want, Malfoy?"

He eyed her speculatively for a moment. "Unattached?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes. "Currently."

"Surprising."

"Psycho," she spat.

Draco smirked. "Rarely."

"Hmph." She folded her arms irately.

"Interested?"

"In what, exactly?"

"Me."

"Now?"

"Mmhmm."

Hermione thought hard for a moment. This was the perfect opportunity, really. "Okay," she agreed slowly.

"Yeah?"

"Surprised?"

"No."

She glared at his back as he walked away, but only for a moment. Draco's cockiness would only wind up being his downfall. He was too self-assured for it to go any other way.

When Hermione met up with Harry and Ron outside of the Potions classroom, she told them about the strange turn their plan had taken.

"I knew it!" Ron shouted. Several of their classmates turned to stare at them. He grinned sheepishly, then whispered, "I knew he fancied you. This just proves it."

"I don't know," Hermione hedged. "I certainly don't trust his motives."

Harry folded his arms. "Well, if all he's looking for is sex, then you shouldn't do it."

"I know that, Harry," she reassured him. "I'm not that kind of girl, and he ought to know that as well."

"He probably does, but keep an eye on him just in case."

Hermione took a deep breath to provide a witty retort, but abruptly shut her mouth when she spotted Malfoy coming around the corner. Harry and Ron swiveled around to see what she was looking at, and both of them stiffened. Malfoy simply glided over toward them with his usual smirk plastered on his face.

"Partners, Hermione?" he asked breezily.

Hermione gaped at him. "Er, yeah. Sure, Malfoy."

He nodded once, then walked into the classroom like nothing was new.

"Godric, he has it bad," Ron muttered.

"No, he's up to something," Harry argued.

"What does it matter?" Hermione said firmly. "It's a way in, so I'll take it."

"I don't like it," Harry persisted.

"If he tries anything, I'll hex him," Hermione insisted. "And then you two will probably kill him."

"True," Ron chuckled. "Nobody messes with our 'Mione."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Sure, Ron. Whatever you say."

With that, she strode into the classroom and right to where Draco was sitting. She daintily sat in the chair beside his and proceeded to pull out her textbook and potion-making supplies. Draco watched her organize her things on the desk with a small smile on his face. Hermione looked at him out of the corner of her eye and was surprised to see that his expression was more sincere than was typical for him.

"What's going on with you, Malfoy?" she asked suspiciously.

"Nothing," he said nonchalantly. "Maybe I've decided I don't care what my father taught me anymore."

Hermione furrowed her brow. "What does that mean?"

Draco sighed. "Look, you already know that my father was a Blood Supremacist. For my entire life, he told me two things: Malfoys always get what they want, and blood purity is everything. Those two things have been in conflict for me for a long time now."

"You're still being rather vague," she insisted. "Are you trying to tell me you've liked me for a long time or something?"

He raised his eyebrows and tapped his index finger against the tip of his nose in response.

"That's ridiculous!" she spat.

"Is it?" Draco asked. "I see it differently."

Hermione stared at him. "But why?"

He shrugged. "I've always liked an intellectual equal."

"You—you—" she sputtered, her mouth dropping open in surprise.

"Yes, Hermione," he said patiently. "You are indeed the brightest witch of our age. But you already knew that."

"Well, of course I knew that!" she snapped. "I just don't get why you suddenly seem to agree!"

Professor Slughorn entered the classroom before Draco could respond. Hermione shook her head in amazement, wondering if Ron might actually be right. She spent most of the lecture in a confused haze. Thankfully, she had already read the chapter half a dozen times, so she didn't really need Slughorn's lesson. When the practical part of class began, she silently went to collect the necessary ingredients from the supply cupboard. She noticed out of the corner of her eye that Draco filled the cauldron with water. What in Godric's name was going on with him?

Hermione caught Harry's gaze on her way back to her table. He shrugged helplessly at her and vaguely motioned toward Draco, who was returning to the table. Hermione quickly shifted her attention to preparing the ingredients for their potion.

Draco reached over to take half of the ingredients to help prepare. As he did, his hand brushed against Hermione's, and she blushed heatedly. She was instantly furious with herself for getting so easily flustered. Since when had she gotten butterflies when being this close to Draco Malfoy? He smiled breezily at the sight of her reddened cheeks and proceeded to help brew their potion in silence.

The pair didn't say a word to each other throughout the entire class, but it didn't feel awkward to Hermione. She was surprisingly comfortable, especially with having a competent partner that she didn't have to snap at every few seconds to not screw things up. Draco seemed equally at ease, which was still odd, but she wasn't going to complain while handling potentially dangerous potion ingredients.

When class was over, they both cleaned up without speaking. Hermione gathered her things and began walking out of the classroom with Harry and Ron. They were barely past the threshold when someone grabbed her hand and gently pulled her backward. She gasped when she saw she was face-to-face with Draco, surprised he had initiated physical contact. She gently tried to extract her hand from his grip. Instead of letting her go, Draco pulled her flush against his body and wrapped his arms around her waist. Her heart began hammering erratically.

"W-what is it?" she stammered.

"Have dinner with me tonight. Just the two of us, in our common room," Draco murmured, his voice strangely alluring.

Hermione gulped. "Er, yeah. Dinner sounds good."

He nodded. "Yes, it does."

Before she could even protest, Draco leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her lips. She stared at him with wide eyes, and he just pulled away, took hold of her hand once more, and began leading her to the Heads' common room. As she passed Harry and Ron, Hermione gave them a look of desperation. Harry shrugged. Ron grinned triumphantly and gave her two thumbs up.

Merlin, she was doomed.