Authors Note: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING!! I'm just waiting impatiently for the 6th book to come out!!!

Chapter 8

The next day Draco didn't see Hermione in any of the classes Gryffindor shared with Slytherin, until the last class of the day: Potions. As Draco walked into the dungeon class room, he scanned the crowd for her familiar bushy brown hair, and when he didn't see it, he started to worry. He hadn't seen her all day, and remembering how last night had ended, he was worried she skipped class to avoid him.

About 10 minutes into class, Draco heard the classroom door open, and as he turned to see who it was, he nearly fell out of his chair. Standing in the doorway was none other than Hermione Granger. Except she looked "different"he thought to himself. Her usual brown, bushy hair was replaced by slightly curly hair with hardly noticeable gold highlights. But when the lights hit her hair, it appeared to glow. And was that eyeliner she was wearing? It made her golden brown eyes appear to be 5 times bigger than they actually were.

Draco couldn't quite believe his eyes. Unfortunately, neither could Professor Snape.

"Miss Granger, have you no respect for your fellow students, who are trying to learn. Or for that matter, what about respect for your teacher? You think you can just waltz in here any time you wish, like you own the school?20 points from Gryffandor! Such behavior will not be tolerated in my classroom. And from the Head Girl at that! Now sit down, we are listing the ingredients for the liquefying potion." said Snape.

Hermione quickly scanned the room, and to her dismay, the only open seat was next to Ron, as Harry was sitting next to Neville. As she sat down, Hermione noticed that Ron was staring at her.

"What?" she whispered. "Hmm? Oh nothing. You look different today, is all." replied Ron.

"Do I? I didn't think it would be that noticeable. It's just a little eyeliner after all"she said, looking embarrassed. "What about your hair?" he asked.

"Oh, that! It's just a muggle product used to reduce frizz"she answered. "Oh, well it did a good job" Ron stated. "Thanks Ron. Now get back to work before Snape has reason to take more points away, and we all know he needs little reason as it is" replied Hermione.

During this conversation, Malfoy, who was sitting behind them, had been eavesdropping, and wondering why Hermione was wearing make-up. Was she trying to get back with Ron, or was she making a point to Ron that she didn't need him and was quite capable on her own?

Or, was she trying to make HIM jealous? "Wait," he thought. 'What in the name of Merlins Pajamas do I care about Granger and Weasley? They deserve each other! He's poor and she's a mudblood! They're no concern of MINE!" he concluded to himself. But still, in the back of his mind, he knew he was lying to himself. She was more than just "mudblood" to him now.

Whenever he thought about her now, which had increased since the train ride here, she was Granger, instead of mudblood. The change in names scared him, too, because Granger was a lot more attractive than he ever noticed. As soon as class ended, Draco ran to catch Hermione before she made it too far.

"Hey, Granger, wait up" Draco yelled. Harry and Ron couldn't believe what they were hearing.

"Did he just call you Granger instead of mudblood?" asked Harry.

"Yes he did, and he sounded, well he sounded almost nice" replied Ron.

"Don't trust him for a second!" Hermione practically yelled.

They looked at her, then exchanged shocked glances at each other, before turning to look at Malfoy.

"Granger, where were you today? I didn't see in any other classes" Malfoy asked.

"I didn't know I had to report to you where I'm going to be all day. For your information, I was with Madame Pomfrey, helping her brew her favorite cold tonic" Hermione replied coldly.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I have work to do" she said, then turned and walked away.

"What the hell did I do this time" Malfoy mumbled to himself.

"I'm sure you were just being your usual charming self" replied Ron with a nasty smile on his face. "Just one more thing, Malfoy. If you hurt so much as a hair on her head, you WILL regret it" said Harry, looking deadly serious.

"Later, Weasel Boy" said Ron.

As he watched them walk away, Malfoy thought to himself, "As if I would WANT to hurt her" and shocked himself with that personal revelation. "Man, I've got to get a hold of myself, or soon I'll be making moon eyes at her! That's it! I'll just forget about her! Put her out of my mind! I don't need her making a mess of my life! It's already messy enough!" .

Just then, he a loud piercing scream coming from his common room.

"HERMIONE" he yelled as he ran to the portrait that guarded their door.

Authors Note: Thanks to everyone who has read or reviewed!!! THANK YOU SOOOOO MUCH!!!!