Disclaimer: I do not own anything you recognize, just the plot.

A/N: Thank you to all of my reviewers! I really appreciate it. And I know this was a fast update, but don't expect that all the time. I don't even have chap. 4 written yet! Anywho, enjoy!

Chapter 3
Draco was just about to go looking for Hannah when the door opened and she appeared, followed by Granger. Of course she was Head Girl. She was the Golden Girl of Gryffindor. He smirked when he saw the shocked look on her face when she realized he was Head Boy. Didn't expect that, eh, Granger? Draco thought. She quickly recovered and the meeting commenced.

After Hermione told the prefects their duties, she turned to Draco. "Would you like to tell them their passwords?" She looked at him with her big chocolate eyes.

Draco felt like having some fun. "No, it seems you're doing a good job."

Hermione pursed her lips, a trait she picked up from McGonagall no doubt. "Fine, I'll do it." And she told each house their passwords from the list left by McGonagall. After the meeting was over, and the other prefects left the compartment, Hermione turned on Draco.

"What the hell was that?"

Draco feigned innocence and said, "What?"

Hermione stood up and crossed her arms over her chest. "I know you don't like the idea of working together. Hell, I fucking hate it. But if anything is going to get done, then you are going to have to cooperate with me. Mark my words," she leaned in close, till her face was inches from his, and pointed her finger right at his nose. "If you don't pull your weight for this, I will go to Dumbledore."

Draco looked at her finger, then her face and returned her icy glare. "Consider them marked."

She let out an exasperated sound and left. Draco was left with his own thoughts. He had gotten a weird feeling in his stomach from being that close to her. Maybe I shouldn't have pissed her off, Draco thought. Old habits are hard to break, though, he decided. Well, he'd just have to try harder. He could not be going around treating people the way he used to. Maybe there was a way to make up for it. Then Draco got a brilliant idea.

Hermione's POV


Hermione slammed the door to her compartment shut and threw herself onto the bench. "Ugh! I hate him!" She closed her eyes and counted to ten. One, two, thr-

"Uh, Hermione? Who do you hate?" Opening her eyes, she saw Ron's face plastered with concern. She smiled weakly.

"Oh, Ron, it's just Malfoy."

"What did he do? Did he hurt you or anything?"

She chuckled. "No, he was just his ordinary self. He's Head Boy, you know. But he drives me crazy."

Harry looked flabbergasted. "He's Head Boy? What, is Dumbledore insane?"

No one said anything.

"Well, I know he's a little off his rocker, but I mean, what is he thinking, making Malfoy Head Boy?"

"I know, Harry. I know. And to think I'm going to have to share a common room with him!"

"Oh, maybe he won't be that bad." This remark came from Ginny, and everybody just stared at her. Hermione had only just noticed she was in the compartment.

"Hello, Ginny."

"Hello, Hermione."

"What do you mean 'maybe he won't be that bad'? Have you lost your mind? It's Draco Malfoy we're talking about. He's never going to change. He's always going to be the insufferable, smart-ass, arrogant little git he's always-"

Just then, there was a knock on the door. Ron opened it. It was Malfoy.

"What the hell do you want?" Ron and Harry automatically stood up and moved to the front, blocking Hermione and Ginny.

"Relax, Weasley," Malfoy drawled. "I just want a word with Granger.

"Oh, that's the last thing you're gonna have. I swear, Malfoy, if you don't leave right now, I'm gonna—"

"Hold on, Ron," Hermione spoke up. "Malfoy, what do you want?"

He looked at Hermione, then at Harry and Ron. "Can I speak to you in private?"

Hermione bit her lip, thinking. Oh what the hell? "Ok, I guess." Ron started to protest. "It's ok, Ron, I'll just be right next door. If I scream, then you can barge in."

Draco smirked and walked to the compartment across the hall. Once Hermione was in, Draco shut the door, keeping his back to her, and rested his forehead on the door. Hermione watched him for a couple minutes, finally noticing how hot he was. She never really thought about it, but now she could see what Lavender and Parvati were always talking about.

With her patience running out, she said, "Uh, Malfoy? What were you gonna tell me?"

He slowly turned around and looked at her. He was making her uncomfortable, but then he said, "Look, Granger, I know you hate me."

She snorted. "Yeah, and you hate me. So what's new?"

Draco looked at her again, then moved to stand right in front of her. He smelled of peppermint, she noted. Suddenly, he grabbed her shoulders, not roughly, but as gentle as he could. What is going on? Hermione thought to herself.

"Look, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for the way I acted at the meeting. I will pull my own weight, so don't worry about that. I was thinking. Maybe this could be fun if we're civil to each other. What do you say?" His eyes were pleading with her to agree.

Hermione was frozen with shock. Had Malfoy just apologized to her? He was actually standing in front of her, holding her, and apologizing? She didn't know if it was a trick of some sort or not, but thinking that agreeing would be safe either way, she nodded her head, still unable to form speech. Draco's face then broke into a wide smile. The first real smile she's ever seen on him. It looked nice, she noticed, but instantly she mentally kicked herself for thinking that.

"Great. Well, I have to be going. I'll see you at the feast then." And with that he strolled out of the compartment and down the hall. Hermione, still not believing what had just happened, slowly walked back, preparing to tell Ron and Harry what Malfoy said. But when she opened the door, she suddenly found that she didn't want to tell them. Not knowing why exactly, she told them that Malfoy had just wanted to make sure that she was going to cooperate with the whole Head Boy/Girl duties.

"What? If anyone should demand cooperation, it's you, 'Mione!" Ron was standing up for her, as always. She smiled.

"Yes, I know, but let's just forget about it, ok? We need to change anyway, we're almost there." So they changed into their robes and got prepared for another year at Hogwarts.

Draco POV

Draco, already changed, was sitting alone in a compartment, going over what he just did in his head. He had suddenly gotten the idea of apologizing, and he still couldn't believe he had actually done it. What surprised him even more was the fact that Granger had agreed to be civil. This was good. Making her see the new Draco might not take as long as he anticipated. Of course, there were still obstacles in his way, like Weasley. How will he take care of him? Oh well, he'd figure it out later. Pretending in front of the Slytherins to hate her would not be hard, but Draco was not sure how that might affect her opinion of him. Hearing the screech of the brakes, Draco stood up, adjusted his robes, and stepped out onto the platform.