The next morning Hermione was quiet at breakfast. While Ron shoved copious amounts of food down his throat Harry watched her closely. Periodically Hermione would glance up at the Slytherin table, then quickly shift her eyes elsewhere. Though everyone was chattering around them, the meal felt slightly awkward. The ceiling of the Great Hall was foggy and it made Harry feel suspicious of his surroundings. He uncomfortably shifted in his seat, watching as a group of fourth years chased around a large rat. After nearly ten minutes of silence Harry sighed and whispered rather loudly across the table.
"Alright Hermione. What did Malfoy say to you last night?" He waited patiently for her response for several seconds. He could hear Ron chewing loudly next to him, too busy demolishing a croissant to eavesdrop. "Out with it! If you can tell Lavender and Pavarti, you can tell your best friends."
"I..." Hermione started nervously. "I didn't tell them anything. They overheard! Ooh and I wish they hadn't! He was behaving so strangely... He must think I'm crazy or stupid or something..."
"No one thinks you're stupid." Harry tried to decipher the emotions she was projecting, but he could not.
"He... well first he sort of- not completely!- apologized for what happened in the department of mysteries. Says he's still angry about what happened to his father and he still blames you, of course. But he said he didn't think I had much to do with the prison sentence... then he asked me to be his partner for Advanced Potions." With these last words she glanced nervously at Ron, who still was not listening. Harry was dumbstruck.
"Wha- what?! He hates you. Why would MALFOY want that?!"
"Why would Malfoy want what?" Ron asked suddenly. Harry waited for Hermione to fill Ron in, but she clenched her teeth together and stared at them with wide eyes. Ron was growing impatient and Harry no longer wanted to keep secrets from him.
"Malfoy asked Hermione to be his partner for Advanced Potions." Ron's jaw dropped revealing unswallowed bits of bread still clinging to his tongue. Hermione drew a sharp intake of breath, as if preparing for an argument.
"Well obviously it's some kind of evil ploy," Ron began to reason. "He wants you as a partner so he can provide inside information to the Death Eaters about our activities here and maybe he hopes to get some secrets out of you. He might try to slip you some veritserum or something!"
Hermione shook her head, narrowing her eyes to get a better look at the Slytherin table. Harry followed her gaze and saw Malfoy laughing lazily at his goons Crabbe and Goyle. The two seemed to be engaged in some trollish argument that involved tossing their breakfasts at each other. Suddenly Malfoy looked up and made eye-contact with Harry. He sneered and turned away.
"Well he certainly hasn't turned over a new leaf," Harry said sardonically. "Ron's right. It's some kind of ploy. Why didn't you tell us about it last night?"
"Well," Hermione seemed timid again. "I'm sure you both are right. He's plotting something. But when he asked me it seemed... I don't know... innocent. In fact, it almost seemed as if he was asking me on a date or something." Ron choked abruptly. "But don't worry. I'm certainly not dumb enough to drink anything he offers me. I'll be sure to stay away from any noxious fumes he cooks up as well. I was reading about-"
"WAIT!" yelled Ron, so loudly that half the Gryffindor table stopped eating to listen in. "Don't tell me you've actually agreed to be his 'study partner' or whatever?!" Lavender and Pavarti giggled several seats down. A few of the older boys laughed jovially, but continued eating. Hermione looked up defiantly.
"I have."
"Why in the bloody hell would you do that!?" Ron's shocked face betrayed a slightly deeper emotion. Harry was certainly startled as well, especially after Hermione had just admitted she believed it to be some sort of nefarious scheme. Still, he could not quite bring his emotions to match Ron's indignation.
"Why shouldn't she?" interjected Pavarti. "She's lucky. He's arguably the best looking boy in our year! And it's not as if you've made any moves towards making her your girlfriend in the last six years. She's got a right to study with whoever she likes!" Lavender nodded in agreement and Ron's ears turned bright pink within a matter of seconds.
"Oh bug off!" He said angrily. "It's not like that and she knows it! She- Hermione- Harry, help me!"
"Maybe this isn't the place to talked about this," replied Harry. He stacked his dishes and rose out of his seat. Making his way out of the Great Hall, he could hear his two best friends bickering incessantly. He could feel the gaze of half the student body as he rushed them towards the grounds. He was as anxious to escape the unwanted attention as he was to hear Hermione's reasoning behind becoming Draco Malfoy's study partner. Once they were far enough away from the castle he turned to listen in.
"It's so simple and obvious! You don't understand anything!" Hermione was crying at Ron. Harry stepped carefully between the two and addressed her reasonably.
"Then please explain."
"Don't you two have any faith in me? Don't you think I'm at least as clever as Malfoy? If this is his chance to get information about us, it's likewise our chance to get information about them." She looked at Harry pleadingly. He thought that was more than reasonable.
"Of course! And as you're far cleverer than Malfoy, we'll have a far better chance of getting something of value out of him! Brilliant Hermione!" She beamed, obviously happy to hear approval and receive his praise.
"No." Ron said defiantly. His ears were still slightly pink and he was earnestly shaking his head. "It's dangerous, and... and stupid, and-"
"Don't be ridiculous, Ronald! I'm not afraid of him!"
"It's the principle of the thing!" yelled Ron. "You think you can just hole up in the library with him because you're pretty and he's handsome or whatever and it's not... it isn't... I don't like it!" And with this he stormed off, leaving Hermione and Harry standing a few meters away from Hagrid's hut desperately confused.