Okay, so before I start this chapter, I'd like to say a few things. First, this chapter is written especially for Sandra, Mar and Mar. Second, Malfoy was supposed to say "you little b h!" at Lavender, and third, how old do you think I am?

Chapter 5- Shopping and Being Mental

When they got to Hogsmeade, Draco headed to the first beauty products store he saw first, dragging Hermione along and muttering something about how only stupid people didn't buy beauty products.

Hermione rolled her eyes, half jogging to keep up with Draco, who had her in a vice-like grip.

Draco stopped in front of Golden Beauty's House of Beauty Products, his eyes gleaming.

"Now," he said, his eyes narrowing when he turned around to face Hermione "I'll leave you here so you don't disturb my shopping, but if I catch you sneaking away," he slashed his throat with his finger, then abruptly turned on his heel to enter the shop.

Thirty minutes later, Draco emerged from the shop, leading a salesman who was carrying at least fifty bags to where Hermione was.

Wow. It's a miracle that he shopped all those in thirty minutes.

"Here," said Draco, indicating Hermione "give those to him." The salesman breathed a sigh of relief and prayed that Draco would never come to their shop again.

"What?" Hermione screeched, looking at the numerous amount of bags. "Why do I have to carry it? Why don't you?"

"Because, I'm a girl." He answered is a slow voice, enunciating every syllable. "Plus, I got something for you."

Hermione was surprised. She hadn't expected Draco to be thoughtful enough to get her anything at all. After rummaging around in several bags, Draco pulled out……..a small tube of zit cream.

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Draco stopped at every store; always getting Hermione some small insignificant thing and making her carry his growing amount of shopping bags.

At Honeydukes, he got her a sugar cube. At an underwear store, he gave her a pamphlet that said What is Your Bra Size? At a jewelry shop, he got her an earring lock.

This went on and on shop after shop, Hermione finally thinking that he just got the stuff he gave her off the ground, just so she would carry his bags.

After what seemed like an eternity to Hermione, Draco finally gave in to her piteous moaning and begging and consented to go back to Hogwarts, although Hermione suspected that it was because they had already gone to all the shops in Hogsmeade.

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When they got back to the Head's Dorms that evening, Hermione plopped down on the couch, exhausted. Draco sat down next to her, then suddenly gasped.

"What happened to your hands?"

Hermione looked down at her hands, and sure enough, saw that huge, red welts were forming. Hermione didn't have the heart to tell Draco that it was because of his bags, knowing how it would upset him, so she just shrugged.

Knowing just how concerned Draco was made Hermione's thoughts drift back to the incident that morning.

I wonder why he's so concerned about me, it's not like he likes me or anything… right?

Hermione's thoughts were interrupted when Draco touched her hand gently and examined it further.

Hermione's breath hitched in her throat when she felt Draco touch her hand. She looked at him and saw that he was very concernedly looking at Hermione's damaged hand.

Although she had looked at Draco loads of times, she had never really looked at him. Now that she did, she noticed his eyes, their stormy grey flashing silver in concern, his porcelain skin tinged by the warm glow of the fireplace. She noticed that when he blinked, his face went out of color before he opened his silver eyes again. She noticed his long, almost transparent eyelashes that swept his cheeks whenever he closed his eyes.

"Well," said Draco, once again interrupting her train of thought "your hands are fine, the welts ought to be gone by tomorrow."

"Th-thanks," she replied, albeit shakily, noticing that Draco had not yet let go of her hand "um, you can let go of my hand now, if you like."

Inside her head, Hermione smacked her head, frustrated at herself.

You're such a blithering buttnugget Hermione, "if you like" didn't sound suave at all!

When she said this, Draco flushed pink. "Oh, yeah, I erm, will now," he stammered, nodding his head and letting go of her hand,

Argh! What is wrong with me? Why can't I talk properly?

A few minutes passed in awkward silence, with Hermione and Draco looking anywhere else but at each other.

Suddenly, Draco giggled.

Then, he giggled louder.

"What?" said an annoyed Hermione irritably.

"Well," said Draco between peals of laughter "I think it's funny that earlier we were fine, and now, were all awkward."

Even though there was no humor in this statement whatsoever, Hermione began laughing along with Draco, really loudly.

If you were to view this scene from an outsider's view, you would've thought "Geez, these two crackpots need mental therapy!"

From Draco's view, you would've thought "Geez, we both need mental therapy!"

From Hermione's view, you would've thought "Geez, we both need mental therapy!"

Anyway, they decided not to mention that awkward silence, deciding that being metal was definitely better than being awkward.