A/N: Thank you so much for your reviews, favorites and follows after last chapter! We are definitely getting into those feelings stages, but you know it wouldn't be a story I wrote if there wasn't a bit of turbulence first. You can follow me on tumblr (nauticalparamour) where I post sneak peeks, story updates and answer questions. Huge thank you to Ava Safari for beta reading this chapter for me!

Please let me know what you thought of chapter nine and be on the lookout for chapter ten soon!

1994

It was hard to head back to Hogwarts after an enjoyable Yule Break. Draco had spent the holidays being spoiled rotten by his mum and his Grandfathers, who were all pleased that he'd been selected to be on the Quidditch team. He was lavished with presents, including a new pair of leather gloves.

His mum had even invited Hermione to come stay at the Manor for a long weekend while they were away from Hogwarts, which his friend had readily agreed to. He was a bit annoyed when his mum whisked Hermione away for a whole day to do some shopping, saying that there were some things that witches just had to do together, and Hermione had no one else but her to provide the information.

Hermione had been utterly reticent about what they'd gotten up to too, and he'd learned not to push things with her.

Determined, he pushed it from his mind and had focused on chatting with Alphard and Harry, who had loads of great stories to tell about their Yules, describing the presents they had gotten. Harry had received a Cloak of Invisibility from his father, who had made him promise not to tell his mum about it. Alphard had received a paper map which showed where everyone in the castle was.

They were debating whether to tell Hermione about it, knowing that the Ravenclaw girl was likely to turn them in straight away for breaking the rules, but wanted to get her in on the fun of the eventual pranks they would play on the Gryffindors. Ron Weasley wasn't going to know what hit him, especially since Alphard had bribed his younger brother Stellan (who had ended up a Gryffindor while his twin Agatha was in Slytherin) into giving him the password to the common room.

"Saint Salazar-" Alphard cursed, halfway into a biscuit, his yes nearly popping out of his skull when he laid eyes on someone across the room. "Is that really Hermione? Our Hermione?" he asked, rubbing at his eyes comically. Draco immediately bristled at the idea of Hermione belonging to anyone but him. Yes, she was friends with Harry and Alphard, but she was his friend first.

He turned to look at the girl who was just walking into the Great Hall, and nearly spit out his pumpkin juice. She looked...pretty. Really pretty. He couldn't quite put his finger on what it was that had changed, but most notable was her hair. Normally frizzy and bushy, her long brown hair had been styled into something resembling nice voluminous waves.

Immediately, things began to fit into place. So this is what his mother had meant about things that witches just needed to do together. There was no way that he'd ever be able to give Hermione the kind of beauty advice that his mother had.

Still, she looked awkward and a bit nervous, as though she was still not quite used to the attention that she was obviously receiving. She had her arms crossed over her chest, trying to cocoon herself from the outside world. Temporarily, Draco cursed his mother for pushing her too far too fast. But then, she made eye contact with him, and all her nerves seemed to melt away. Hermione waved at him shyly, before heading to the Ravenclaw table.

Alphard made a hideous noise that sounded like a whine. "Sweet Salazar, she looks so hot," he said, unable to tear his eyes away from Hermione for even a moment.

Draco, feeling his heart pound against his chest in fear, couldn't stop himself from sending the mildest of stinging hexes at Alphard, snarling at him. "Would you stop talking about Hermione like she's some kind of animal?" he demanded. "She is our friend and we should treat her with respect. Do you know how disgusted she would be if she knew that you were over here panting over her?"

The other boy looked suitably chastised. Harry, wearing a blush on his cheeks, shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know Draco. Don't witches appreciate it when you tell them you think they are pretty?" he asked, sounding surprised. "Who knew what she was hiding under all that hair?"

Unable to help himself, Draco sneered at the pair of friends. He swallowed thickly, his mind whirling over the possibilities of what would happen if Alphard or Harry told Hermione that they thought she was pretty. Would she like it? Would she prefer them to him? "Don't you know how ridiculous that sounds? Hermione would be offended if she thought that your feelings for her changed because of how she looks. She's the kind of witch that values her character."

"Oh, and you think you are the wizard to value her character?" Alphard countered, peering at Draco like he was some kind of jealous neanderthal.

"I-its not like that," Draco argued, not really knowing how he felt about Hermione. It wasn't as if he was in love with her, but she was just...his. His best friend.

"So you won't mind if I ask her to a Hogsmeade weekend then?" Alphard asked sounding nonchalant.

Draco could not let this happen. They'd only just barely begun to notice girls at all this year, and already Alphard had an impressive track record of dates and stolen snogs. He couldn't stand the idea of Hermione being added to that list. When things didn't work out, as they inevitably would, he wouldn't be able to handle it if Hermione no longer wanted to hang out with them.

He sneered back at his friend. "You will do absolutely nothing of the sort, or I will tell her about all the things you were saying about her," Draco countered, smirking in triumph when Alphard's face grew pale at the threat.

No, they would treat Hermione no differently from before, so as not to make her feel uncomfortable. Draco resolutely determined that he would say absolutely nothing about the changes that his mother must have encouraged Hermione to make and everything would go on as normal.