Disclaimer: I do not own anything Harry Potter related, that belongs to the lovely and talented JKR and I basically own the plot. That's it.

I finally got over my writer's block on this chapter. *sings* Celebrate good times come on! *ends singing* It's still my birthday, so all of you should still feel privileged that I gave you a new chapter on my birthday. I have spent the whole afternoon writing and gathering ideas. By the way, did anyone pick up on my minor hint at 'Drapple' in chapter two? ~May

Chapter 5

Hermione

Blast that Draco Malfoy! I thought, he had tried unsuccessfully to get me on a broom and fly. What he didn't know was that every bit of this was an act. In my first year I'd been quite good at flying after lots of practice, I'd helped Harry and Ron with the flying key challenge to get to the stone. I sometimes craved attention from Quidditch players who thought they were something special because they could fly; it was my way of getting them to take me out for a fly and wrap their arms around me. I wasn't particularly keen on the idea of having Draco put his arms around me; after all we were just friends.

"Hermione are you okay?" Draco asked leaning over me as I rolled onto my back.

"Just peachy." Then a sudden idea struck me and I smiled up at the handsome, blond Slytherin. Wait, did I just call him handsome? I shook my head. "Let's have a race. If I win you're required to walk up to Ron and act like you're friends by putting your arm around his shoulder."

Draco's face at this point almost made me lose it. He was about to interrupt when I held up my hand to stop him.

"If I lose, you can do whatever you want with me for one night." Then I realized how that sounded. "Not like whatever you want, I mean like wholesome activities and such."

I could feel myself turning a bright shade of Magenta and Draco gave me his signature smirk.

"That shouldn't be hard at all." He replied before pulling me up off the ground.

"We'll see about that." I teased him before mounting the broom; he smiled then began the countdown.

"3… 2… 1" At one we both sped off, we were neck and neck and Draco was shocked at my flying skills. We were fifty feet away from the opposite goal post, it was slowly diminishing and I put on an extra burst of speed which helped me win the race.

"You- you- you can fly! You can really fly!" Draco was in shock but he had a wide grin on his face.

"Yeah, I keep it a secret." I smiled back and his face fell at my comment, though more into a shocked stupor face.

"Why?"

"Because if they knew I was good at flying then I wouldn't get the same attention from boys would I?"

"You devious little girl!" Draco grinned at me before attacking. He wrapped me in a hug before tickling my waist. I looked at him. "You're not ticklish?"

"Nope, I've built up immunity to tickling; you're going to have to try harder than that." I smiled before rushing up towards Hogwarts. "Come on loser, you have to pay up."

"You're going to pay for that comment." Draco chased me into the Entrance Hall the pair of us laughing as Harry and Ron were entering the Great Hall.

They gave me a strange look, before rushing past them I turned around to face Draco putting an L up to my forehead. He shook his head and I quickly looked around for a camera. I spotted my bag where I'd accidently left it that morning and rushed over. I quickly grabbed out the camera then Draco walked up behind Ron. I turned the thing on before I missed it and just as Draco slung his arm around Ron's shoulder laughing, I clicked the picture. There was a bright flash I hadn't expected and Draco looked up at me shocked. Then Ron went ballistic, he grabbed Draco by his arm and nearly threw him into a wall. I shoved Ron back stuffing the camera into the bag before it got hurt.

"Ron you idiot, he lost a bet, you don't have to freak out!" I had him shoved up against a wall we were inches from each other.

"Why'd you bet a hug with me?" Ron asked shocked.

"It wasn't a hug, he was just pretending to be your friend, and it was a joke Ronald. You can't ever take anything for less than face value can you? You're such a prat." Hermione stepped back from him.

"Want to sit with me?" Draco whispered in my ear and I jumped.

"Sure." I told him, he tugged on my wrist lightly and we both walked over to the Slytherin table, receiving many glares; Draco picked up the brooms which had fallen to the ground when Ron flung him before we both sat down at the very end of the Slytherin table, I watched as Ron stared and Harry dragged him off to sit at the Gryffindor table.

Draco

"Sorry about that." Hermione told me quietly as we headed back to the green and gold Head dorms.

"Nothing to be sorry for." I smiled down at the small brunette who looked like she was about to cry, at that moment I wanted nothing more than to wrap her in my arms and hold her close, promising everything would be okay.

"He attacked you and I was so worried." Hermione sniffled and I tipped her chin up to look at me.

"Hermione, you did nothing wrong. He was just being an idiot; he didn't realize what he had until you left. I'm privileged to have you as a friend." I whispered her big brown eyes shimmering with unshed tears. "You want to show him who's better?"

"Yeah, I guess so." Hermione nodded slowly.

"Sign up for the relay races with me." I told her suddenly making that decision, knowing that with her by my side there was no way we couldn't win.

"Okay." Hermione brightened and answered faster than I thought she would.

"Really?"

"Of course, you're the greatest friend I've ever had, even if we've only been at school for about a week." Hermione laughed lightly.

That was the moment that I realized this girl would be the death of me. I was totally in love with her, and there was no other option for someone who would understand or ever want to be with me. She accepted me after so many shunned me. I was irrevocably in love with Hermione Jean Granger.

"Come on; let's go back to the common room and sleep. I'm beat."

"We haven't even had dinner yet." Hermione was giggling like mad and it was terribly intoxicating.

"Then I shall go back to the common room and read." I announced before marching off and saying the password to the portrait to enter into the Common Room.

Hermione was right behind me and I picked up the romance novel I was currently buried in. I began to re flip through the pages after they became friends. I stared at what the book was saying, no longer scared at the second meaning behind the pages. There was a bet between the characters, she won and he was beat up by her ex-boyfriend, then there they were sitting in the same house reading together. If the book was indeed correct, by tomorrow night I will have had my first ever kiss with Hermione.


That was a lot of fun, can't wait to write the next part. Work tomorrow though... Reply time!

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