Hello everyone, another chapter has arrived!! Sorry it took so long…been really busy and now it's finally winter break!!! I might be able to update more often now…hopefully…enjoy!!

Growing Teeth

Hermione was still feeling a little queasy from her stomach's sudden outburst from before. She peered at the clock from her very comfortable position on the bed.

5:00

It was nearly time for her to wake up and start her morning duties. She licked her lips which were dry from lack of water. In the process, she brushed them against her perfectly formed front teeth.

She smiled.

The only reason her teeth were perfectly formed was because of Draco. She fondly looked upon that day in wonder even though it wasn't a happy memory.

POTTER STINKS

The blinding message flashed from a series of badges worn by the Slytherins.

"Do you like them Granger?" Draco sneered. "You can have one if you like, but make sure not to touch my hand. I just washed it, and I don't want a Mudblood dirtying it up."

Hermione gasped, but not because of Malfoy's mention of the word 'Mudblood', but because she knew that that was all the provocation Harry needed to really explode. His arguments with Ron were really getting to his head, and he had been snapping at anyone and everyone, including Hermione.

"What did you just say Malfoy?" Harry asked menacingly.

"You heard what I said Potter." Draco spat. "Come out and challenge me if you have the guts. Moody isn't here to protect your sorry arse."

Harry smiled in fond memory of Draco the ferret, "You don't fancy being turned into a ferret again do you? Very well, I'm not stupid, I'm not going to go running to Moody whenever you give me trouble."

"HAH, then challenge me!" Draco yelled.

Both looked at each other with fire in their eyes, and they decided to act at the exact same moment.

"Furnunculus!" Harry shouted.

"Densaugeo!" Malfoy roared.

The two jets of light hit each other in mid-air, and then ricocheted off each other. Harry's spell hit Goyle straight in the face and angry red boils began to appear all over. Goyle screamed in pain.

Malfoy's spell, however, hit Hermione. She shrieked in pain and covered her mouth instantly. She might have imagined it but she thought the words 'Bloody Hell' had been muttered by someone.

Ron ran forward, "Hermione!"

Harry rushed to her as well and began tugging at her hand which was desperately trying to keep her mouth covered. But it was no use. Harry and Ron gasped as they saw Hermione's teeth growing pas the hands covering them. Hermione had tears streaming down her face, and it was then that Harry and Ron realized that she must be in intense pain.

"What is all this racket?" said a soft, intimidating voice.

Harry and Malfoy immediately began explaining their sides of the stories.

"Potter attacked me first, but it hit Goyle," said Malfoy.

"Malfoy attacked too, but look, it hit Hermione!" said Harry desperately.

Snape examined Goyle and calmly sent him to the hospital wing. He took one look at Hermione and said, "Well? I don't see any difference."

The Slytherins burst into laughter and Harry could have sworn that he saw a smirk on Snape's face. Hermione burst into tears and ran to the hospital wing still trying to cover her mouth while her teeth had now grown past her elbows.

In her haste, she did not notice that there was one Slytherin who was definitely not laughing.

She smiled as she recalled Draco's pleas of forgiveness later on for this incident. But of course, she said that it did her more good than he could have imagined. She gingerly touched her stomach and felt something squirm. Her stomach still felt a bit strange.

5:00

Draco blankly stared at his watch, no longer wondering about the time. Everything in his past seemed to be a distant memory, except for her. He grimaced as he shifted in his seat, he had been seated for such a long time and his derriere had gotten a bit sore.

He thought for a while, and then remembered a scene back in their forth year that still made him laugh, but only after he had confirmed with her that no real damage had been done. He laughed now, but he beat himself up over it for the longest time back then.

Draco and his fellow Slytherins were looking for Potter. They had a little surprise for him, if it could very well be called a surprise. Draco snickered as he imagined Potter's reaction to the present he was about to display.

He looked out across the grounds and saw Potter taking a stroll with Granger. She really looked rather fetching with the wind blowing through her hair and her cheeks were rosy as a result of the cold.

But now was certainly not the time to be thinking about that. He came closer to the couple and began shouting, "Hey Potter! Look what we made just for you!"

He took a badge out of the box and showed it to him. The badge had bright red coloring on it saying: "Support Cedric Diggory – The REAL Hogwarts Champion!"

"Do you like them?" he sneered. "Look at what else they can do!"

He pressed the badge and instantly, the writing changed to now display in bright green the words "POTTER STINKS".

"How clever of you," said Hermione sarcastically.

"Do you like them Granger?" Draco said, still snickering. "You can have one if you like, but make sure not to touch my hand. I just washed it, and I don't want a Mudblood dirtying it up."

"Oh damn," thought Draco instantly after he said it, "that word just slipped right out my mouth!"

"What did you just say?" asked Harry forebodingly.

Unable to back down, Draco defiantly said, "You heard what I said Potter."

They both glared each other down, and Draco saw the intense fire in his eyes. They both reacted at the same moment.

However, their spells bumped off each other in mid-air and did not reach their destinations. Harry's spell hit Goyle, while Draco's hit Hermione. Angry boils sprung up on Goyle's face and he cried in agony.

Hermione gave a little whimper and covered her mouth.

"Bloody Hell!" Draco shouted inadvertently, but quickly shut his mouth because he knew he wasn't supposed to show compassion to her.

Harry and Ron rushed to see what was wrong with her, but Draco knew very well what was wrong with her. In a few seconds, her teeth would begin to protrude below her hands. He further cursed inside his head. He didn't mean for the spell to hit Granger, obviously, it was meant for Potter. But he couldn't stop himself from putting all the blame on his shoulders. He knew the intense pain she must be feeling right now.

Right then, Snape appeared and demanded to know what was going on. Draco began ranting about the situation, clearly rattled by the fact that his spell hit Hermione but he hoped that no one realized that much.

Snape sent Goyle to the hospital wing and then turned to Hermione. What he said to her next made his blood chill.

"Well? I don't see any difference," he sneered.

Draco's comrades howled with laughter, as if it were the funniest thing they had ever heard in their lives. Malfoy tried to force himself to laugh along, but he felt that he couldn't. What the hell was his problem? That bastard Snape stopped at nothing to make Hermione feel worthless and unwanted.

Draco just wanted to grab her and comfort her and never let go as he saw her running to the hospital wing bursting into tears.

"Damnation," he cursed under his breath.

And what the hell was wrong with him? Draco had never felt compassion for anyone except for himself. What was going on? He felt something stir within him, like an awakening, and it dawned on him. Could this be the foreign concept called love? The very feeling he tried so hard to be immune to because hurt accompanied it, had very much consumed his very soul.

He no longer was that little boy who provoked for fun. He considered himself a fool now, for not being able to guard his heart, and he hated how his heart had surrendered to the one person who he could never love. Matters of the heart were truly making him weak.

Draco sighed. He became a man on that very day. By realizing his feelings for her, he allowed himself to become stronger, not weaker like he had first presumed. The next few years would torment him so much because he couldn't stand her with anyone else. Jealousy consumed his very being, along with the love he felt for her.

What kind of a man surrenders his heart to a woman who he knew could never love him in return? Heartbreak was sure to follow, but at that time, Draco knew that he didn't care. He was too much in love with Granger to care that she might not harbor the same feelings for him.

Whew, that was an immensely boring chapter, but it was essential to the plot…well, not that essential but I needed for Draco to realize his true feelings for her at some point didn't I? What better time than right in the middle of the story? Haha, anyways…please leave a review…