Author's Note: I would just like to thank everyone again for reviewing. It really makes my day to see so many emails in my inbox!

That having been said, I would like to reassure everyone that Hermione and Draco are NOT in a romantic relationship. As one reviewer said, that's just EWW!

This chapter was a whole lot more fun for me. Things are getting cleared up AND there is a little bit of foreshadowing. If things seem a little "off," keep in mind that at this stage of the game, everyone has something up their sleeve.

It also dawned on me just recently that some of the things in the story are a wee bit anachronistic if this is supposed to be Britain in 1997. Sorry, I'd take them out, but I need them and can't think of a reasonable replacement. It's fantasy, anyway, right?

But this story is dragging a bit, after I get to my super-most-favorite chapter so far, I will start moving time ahead more quickly.

Enjoy!

All things considered, this year wasn't turning out to be quite as horrid as he expected. He had his own suite of rooms, a never-ending line of willing girls at his door, classes that were challenging him, and the perfect roommate.

…the perfect roommate…

If someone had told him seven years ago that he would be sharing a dorm with Hermione Granger, and enjoying it, he would have punched them. And then ran and told his father so the ponce could be appropriately punished for the insult. If someone had told him two years ago, he would have assumed that he would be spending most of his free time trying to get under her skirt.

But he wasn't. He honestly wasn't interested in her like that. He would much rather have her to chum around with and play Mortal Kombat against. He was starting to understand why Potter and Weasley always wanted her around. Perhaps they weren't as retarded as he had originally thought.

So, several weeks into the semester, Draco Malfoy had made himself a new friend.

A friend he had no intention of trying to seduce. She was much more useful without all the added crap that came when you mixed girls with sex.

And she wasn't fawning all over him, trying to get his attention.

Another new experience.

The fact that Weasley seemed to get larger every time he saw him and had a NOTORIOUSLY violent, possessive temper where she was concerned only solidified Draco's resolve.

They were such good friends, in fact, that Draco had been given carte blanche to enter Hermione's room when she wasn't there. He had become fascinated with Muggle music after living with her. He was now able to browse through her extensive cd collection whenever his little heart desired. Thankfully, she wasn't so much of a girl that she had all that pink frou-frou nonsense all over the place. He still felt as though he had only one "x" and one "y" chromosome while in there. Crouched on the floor, looking for the Godsmack cd, he nearly jumped when an unfamiliar voice sounded in the doorway.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

He swiveled his head around to see Ron glaring at him from the doorway.

"I'm planting a pipe bomb," he answered, resuming his cd search, annoyed at having been startled.

"How exactly are you going to put out explosives if I break every one of your fingers?"

"Well, you don't really have much range do you? You go right to violence at the drop of a hat."

"With you, in Hermione's bedroom, yeah, I do."

"Oh," Draco nodded and stood, smiling smugly at the other boy, "this really bothers you doesn't it? That I can come in here whenever I want," he walked further into the room and pushed down on Hermione's mattress, as though testing the firmness, "I could even take a nap on this bed, if I liked. It wouldn't bother her."

At this point, Ron looked so enraged Draco thought he might have a stroke. The self-preservation instinct kicking in, he decided to stop pushing his buttons.

"Was there something specific you wanted, or just interested in verbal dueling? I know you know she's not here."

"Very good," Ron allowed, arms crossed over his chest, using the intimidation stare again.

"Well then I guess I should be a good host and invite you to sit down," Draco was too curious to do anything but find out what he wanted. Ron, wanting to regain the upper hand, turned on his heel, walked into the great room, and flopped down on the couch. Malfoy followed and sat in one of the chairs.

"So, to what do I owe this cozy little chat?" Ron took a deep breath.

"I'm here to thank you for going into the lake after her last week. You're right, Harry and I didn't know she couldn't swim and weren't very attentive to the fact that she was upset in the boat. I'd also like to know what exactly you're playing at here."

"Sorry?" Draco looked at him confused.

"What are you doing with her?"

"She's not here," he replied dryly.

"Don't play dumb with me, Malfoy. What's your angle? Why are you so chummy with someone you aren't supposed to be able to stand?"

"What do you care?" Draco replied, starting to get annoyed.

"I take better care of my friends than that," Ron answered.

"Yeah, you take such good care of your friends that you almost get them killed."

"You know, the guilt card isn't really going to work for you here. Try another strategy. What are you doing with Hermione?" Draco screwed up his face in an angry grimace.

To be honest, he was rather glad that the three of them had had a rocky start to the year. It allowed Hermione's attention to be focused almost solely on him. His biggest competition was Ginny Weasley, which he didn't mind having around AT ALL. But if Potter and Ron were going to be rearing their ugly heads in her vicinity again, he'd get knocked several pegs down on the importance ladder, a fact that he was both aware of and annoyed by.

Ok, so maybe it was a different emotion than annoyance.

He was jealous.

He remembered how he would watch the four of them at meals last year, when Potter and Ginny were "dating." The four of them would laugh and chum around, looking relaxed, as though they hadn't a care in the world. No one expected them to commit violent crime, no one judged them for how much money or influence they had. They merely accepted each other, and loved each other, without question or expectation.

He had spent a great deal of time at the end of last term wondering what that must be like. To have people you could rely on simply because they cared about you, without them expecting anything in return. People who would still care about you if you failed. People who would forgive you if you made a mistake.

What must that be like?

Was it any wonder why he couldn't do what he had been ordered to do?

"I'm not doing anything with her," he finally said quietly. There was no other choice but to be honest. He really didn't fancy having his nose broken.

"Really?" Ron raised a disbelieving eyebrow.

"Well, obviously you must realize that she has some good qualities. Her penchant for waking up at the crack of dawn not being one of them…" He heard a strange noise. Ron had chuckled at his little jibe! He had honestly had enough of a sense of humor to realize that Draco was ribbing on her.

"So…how are you coming along with that driving game?" Ron asked, extending the olive branch.

"Care to try it out?" Draco responded, accepting the peace offering.

By the time Hermione returned to the dorm three hours later, Ron and Draco were pretty evenly matched.

"What are you two doing?" she asked, as the sounds of cars accelerating met her ears.

"I am about to leave Mr. Malfoy here in the dust," Ron replied, as his Dodge Viper pulled ahead of Draco's Lotus.

"Son of a bitch!" Draco cursed.

"Gotta love that Yankee engineering," Ron replied smugly, standing up. He turned to Hermione. "Well, I've got practice. I'll catch up with you later. Malfoy," he said, nodding in Draco's direction.

"Later."

Hermione just stared at Draco after Ron left.

"Well, what was all that about?" she asked, hands on hips.

"Never underestimate the lure of electronic crap to bring out the little boy in all of us." He replied.

Hermione just stood there. What in the hell is going on?

Ron and Harry walked out to the Quidditch Pitch to meet with the rest of the team.

"So how did it go?" Harry asked.

"Fine," answered Ron, noncommittally. He was chewing his lip, though; a sure sign of unsettled thoughts.

The boys had decided that, as war was imminent and they were, at this point, unable to participate in it, they may as well use their time wisely in preparation. They could amass the skills that would be necessary in the fight to come. Two such skills were reconnaissance and espionage. The only enemy they could actively get to was Draco Malfoy.

They had started subtly at first. Ginny had been their unwilling accomplice before she realized what they were after. She would go up to Hermione's rooms, spend time there, and be immediately ambushed by her brother and ex-boyfriend upon her arrival to the tower where they would proceed to pump her for information.

Ginny appreciated their concerns; she had them too. And she wanted to help. What she didn't like was the fact that she had been "recruited" without her permission and that the whole thing made it feel as though they were looking for Hermione to be guilty of something. Setting up one of her best friends crossed the line, prompting Ginny to tell them to do their own dirty work.

Which had been a good portion of the motive for Ron to go up to Hermione's room when he was sure she wouldn't be there. He was grateful that Draco had had the decency to think of someone other than himself for a change, but that just provided the perfect cover.

"I don't know, mate," continued Ron eventually, "for some reason I can't put my finger on…I believe him."