"Okay, Granger. This word means…" Draco asked, holding up a flashcard of an apple in front of Hermione's face. They were sitting in the hospital wing, because that was the only place Madam Pomfrey would even dare LET Malfoy be near Granger after he stole her out of the hospital a while ago. After last night, and Draco serving detention with Potter trying to clean out Snape's files, he didn't want to get into any more trouble. "Come on, its APPLE. Say it with me. App-le. You eat it."

Hermione stared back at him with a blank expression, but she did manage to tilt her head to the side and frown. Draco sighed and placed the card back down. He stood up, made sure there was no one in the room besides him and Granger, and then sat down next to her on her bed. "Look, Granger, it's simple. App-le. Apple."

"She's never going to get it." Someone said off to the side and Draco looked up to see Blaise leaning against the wall. It appeared that he had snuck in while Draco was trying to teach her the words 'apple', 'duck', and 'slut', and had managed to hide in the shadows the entire time. "Pansy was right. She's hopeless."

"Watch it." Draco snarled, picking up the card 'apple' and narrowing his eyes. "I don't see you doing anything to see Pansy in a tutu."

"Who's to say I haven't already?" Blaise smirked, and meandered over to the other side of Hermione, taking a seat next to her. "Sometimes I tend to get kinky too, Draco." Hermione shifted uncomfortably and reached over to grab Draco's hand. She found it and laced her fingers together with him. "She sure has taken a liking to you." Blaise said almost coldly. "What have you been doing? Teaching her the words 'Oh yes. Draco harder please'?"

"For your information, Blaise," Draco sneered back, "She just happens to have a crush on me for no apparent reason."

"Uh huh, and Harry Potter doesn't really have that scar on his forehead. It's just some makeup he paints on every morning." Blaise said. Draco looked over to him, Blaise looked to Draco, and both burst out laughing.

"You…heahaha, prick!" Draco snorted a laugh.

"Haheeh, oh yeah? You're an overly confident prat!"

"Oh Blaise, you slay me." Draco sniggered. Hermione looked from one boy to the other, and then to Blaise again. "Blaise?" She said, pointing to him. Draco smirked and nodded his head. "Yeah, that's Blaise. He's my friend. Thinks he'll get you into bed when I'm not looking." He glanced to Blaise with a challenging smile, "But little does he know I'm on your back, Granger, like two rabbits shagging. I'm not letting you out of my sight so he can ruin my chances of getting you to talk."

"Alright, Draco." Blaise said quietly, too quietly, in fact, to be pleasant conversation; "I'll see you around, Granger. And you might just mention to your pal Draco over there that I would never ruin your chances of talking. In fact, I'm planning on seeing Pansy in a tutu again." He stood up and kissed Hermione's hand just to tick Draco off, and left the hospital wing. Draco's cheeks were red with… with… oh, Merlin, he couldn't even think it. It was too humiliating to admit he was a little peeved at Blaise for kissing Granger's hand when it was obvious she had the crush on him. Not Blaise.

"Prick." Draco mumbled under his breath, and snatched Granger's hand that Blaise had kissed, wiping it off on the bed sheets as it if had a disease. Hermione stared incongruously at Draco as his cheeks turned slightly red. She reached up and touched her fingers to his cheek, turning his head to face hers. "What do you want?" Sneered Draco.

"Apple." Hermione stated, smiling. Draco blinked a moment, and then smiled back.

"Very impressive, Granger." When he realized that he had given Granger a compliment, he added hurriedly, "Even though it took you ten bloody minutes to comprehend it. In fact, you probably don't even know what the word means."

"Apple." Hermione said again, taking her fingers off of Draco's cheek and snatched up an apple. "This… is a… a apple."

"Technically, it would be said, 'an apple', but you're getting the hang of things." Draco turned his smile into a smirk.

Hermione, pleased that Draco had thought she was doing a good job, pointed at Draco himself and said, "Draco!"

"Yeah." Draco nodded. "That's right."

"Hermione." She said, pointing to herself.

"And Pansy is ghastly." Draco added, laughing to himself. "Congratulations, Granger. You are now officially comprehending things." He grabbed her hand and shook it.

"Hello." Hermione said, and Draco rolled his eyes.

"Yeah, that's the way you say hello." He jerked his hand out of hers and sprang up off the bed. "And soon, Pansy wont know what hit her. I'll have her in the Great Hall, that skinny ass exposing itself underneath those tights and then, oh, then, I can be the hero for making you remember yourself again. Then Potter will fall from my perfect ness, I'll be out of school, and then –world domination!"

"World do-min-a-tion?"

"You know, I think I do like you better now that your memory's erased." Draco turned his head to the side and smirked. "You're so pathetic and since you don't know anything I could convince you toothpaste came from Mars and you'd believe me." He sat back down on the bed next to her. "Yeah, you with your dark brown eyes and that bushy hair – always used to contradict everyone in the world…"

"Contra-?"

"Ah, it's not important what it means, Granger." He met her eyes. "Maybe its better if you don't know what a lot of things mean. I tend to enjoy when you get that confused look in your eyes where it seems your almost about to cry –but I know better. You're not about to cry. You're just manipulating people because deep down inside I know you're understanding a lot more than any of them give you credit for. You might not know who you are," He said, taking the apple out of her hand and stealing a bite out of it, "But you know exactly what was done to you. –What I want to know is who could have raped you? You don't seem the type to just let someone use them against your will. I figured you'd know every single spell and or enchantment to stun a stalker to his knees."

Hermione looked perplexed and stole her glance away from Draco. He smirked at this, knowing he was touching a nerve. "And what really confounds me is that I found this," He pulled out the small ring with the Quidditch broom in the center from his pocket, "At the bottom of the tap you almost drowned in." Her eyes went wide. "Is there a connection, Ms. Granger?"

Hermione looked down to the ground a few moments, grabbed the apple out of his hands, and said, "Apple."

"Yes, I know bloody well it's an apple." Draco sneered, grabbing her wrist to stop her from trying to show him the apple again. "And I want to know who did this to you."

"Draco," She said, her eyes begging for him to drop the subject.

"No, tell me." He said, narrowing his eyes. "You apparently know exactly what I'm talking about so I want you to be honest and tell me who's been-" Before another word could escape his mouth, she reached over with her free hand and tangled her fingers in his hair, jerking him into an intense kiss. Draco's eyes went broad, trying to come to grips between reality and shock, before he struggled away from the forced kiss. Hermione wouldn't let him, though, and kept a firm grip on him. She let go of the apple and it fell to the floor with a thump, while she seductively ran her tongue across his lower lip, inquiring for entrée. Draco groaned in desperation, unknowing that this was his weak spot until now, and opened his mouth willingly.

She moved her tongue inside his mouth and Draco, forgetting what was happening, leaned back on the bed and allowed her to climb on top of him and straddle him. Who was he to argue when a girl wanted to make out with him? "Mmm…" He moaned, beginning to kiss back just as raw as Granger was kissing him. She sure seemed to know what she was doing when she let her fingers slip out of his hair and down to his hand that was holding her wrist. She pried it off of her and his hand automatically went to work stroking her neck. When Hermione touched her tongue with his, Draco jerked away from the kiss and flipped over so he was on top of her.

"Look… here… Granger," He said, panting all the while, "I don't know… who you think… you are… but you don't go around kissing a Malfoy." He scowled, yet he could still see the imagery of her lips on his. "I'm only… here to help… you out. Not to make out with you. – No matter how soft your lips were…"

"Wow, can I use that as a quote?" A voice whispered to the side. Draco immediately turned his head and saw Collin Creevy scribbling on some parchment. Collin looked up, and when his eyes met Draco's, he said, "Er… heh?"

"Doesn't ANYONE knock anymore?" Draco yelled, jumping off of the bed and over to Collin. "What the HELL are you doing in here?"

"I came to get an interview with you about the bet you have with Pansy Parkinson, but apparently this has more to do than with a bet, eh?" Collin raised an eyebrow. "I never knew you were interested in Hermione romantically!"

"I'm not!" Draco seethed, "She came on to me!"

"And then you climbed on top of her and you both were about to do the deed, even though you know she can't remember who she is!" Collin said gleefully. "Oh, this will be perfect for-"

"If you dare say your newspaper I'll personally kill you." Draco said, sighing. "Look, I'll pay you to keep your trap shut, if that's what you want."

"Oh, I don't want money." Collin said. "I'm in it for the story –money comes second… well, maybe first, but this is too good to pass up!"

"Look, I was just trying to get some information out of her…"

"And so you used her! Good show, Malfoy."

"Creevy…"

"And then she was so infatuated with you she couldn't resist…"

"Collin."

"And then you threw her to the bed passionately and-"

"YOU TWIT LISTEN TO ME."

"Hmm?"

"How would you like to do us all a favor and get a little story on who did this to Granger rather than make tabloids with silly 'romances' as you so happily call them."

"So you admit it's a romance."

"I. Did. Not."

"Well, I suppose it would be kinda interesting to find out who did this to Granger…"

"Then do me a favor?" Draco offered.

"What?"

"Find out who's missing a Quidditch ring that looks like this," Draco showed Collin the Quidditch ring, but refused to tell him the origins of where he got it. Collin examined the ring, took a photo of it, and agreed with Draco that he wouldn't post the kiss with Granger in his paper if he got to claim full rights on any updates on Hermione saying new words or sentences until the end of the bet with Pansy. When Collin finally left, Draco sat down next to Hermione and smirked over at her.

"You know, for someone who's lost all their sense, you sure can kiss." He said. Hermione apparently understood what this meant and blushed. "Don't look too much into it, though. It wont happen again." But just as he said this he tilted her head up with his finger. "But I'll make a deal with you. Every time you say a word in the right context, I'll… be affectionate towards you. Sound good?" Hermione nodded. "Good. But don't get any ideas about trying to impress me either. I don't want another Creevy episode again." He smirked and shook hands with Granger.

"Hello." She said.

"Hello indeed."

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