Hey guys! So I figured I'd put up another chapter since the first one was really short. Anyways, hope y'all like it :)

xxx

Draco awoke the next morning, his cheek still stinging with pain. He groaned and rolled out of the bed. As his feet touched the ground, he reached down and pulled up his cloak and clean clothing from his bag. Slowly, he walked out of the room and headed for the showers. After washing, he examined his cheek. It was red and had the slight imprint of a hand. If one were to glance at him it would seem as though he was blushing with one cheek. He rubbed it again in an attempt to get rid of the red mark, but it remained. In the next corridor, a girl stood, her back to him. Her hair cascaded down her back, and the light flowing in from the window created a sort of halo around her head. She turned toward the direction of the footsteps and was surprised to see Draco Malfoy standing a few feet away from her. "Malfoy?" she asked, her surprise evident in her voice, "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he replied.

"I was taking a shower."

"As was I," he walked closer to her, allowing the light to shine brighter upon his face. The light enhanced his features, emphasizing his pale skin and the flaming red mark set upon his right cheek. "Look what you did," he said, pointing to his cheek.

"You deserved it," she answered, only feeling slightly guilty for the red mark she had produced.

"How so?"

"You know! It's completely unnecessary for you to be asking how so."

A smirk crept onto his face, "Ah yes, but I seem to have forgotten. Would you be so kind as to refresh my memory?"

She grimaced, "You were taunting me with your impudent remarks."

"Yes…But what exactly was I taunting you about?"

"Is that really necessary?"

"Is what really necessary?" he asked, faking a tone of innocence.

"Don't play dumb Malfoy."

"But I really have absolutely no idea!"

"You were talking about Ron and…" she paused, "Lavender."

He nodded at her as if to say, "Go on."

"And their public displays of affection."

He snapped his fingers together as though he had suddenly remembered, "That's it! I remember now! They were going at it for a really long time! What was it again? Ten minutes?"

"Would you like another red mark on your face? Perhaps on the other cheek?" she snapped back, irritated.

Quickly, his hands flew up, covering both cheeks.

"What is wrong with you? Do you really enjoy seeing everyone else's pain? Does it really make you feel that much better to see me cry? Is that it? Is that why you're such a rude prick?" She was breathing heavily now, her eyes brimming with tears. Silently, she turned on her heel and began to walk back.

"No," Draco whispered.

She whirled around, "Excuse me?" her eyebrows raised in question.

"No…Tha-That's not it," he stuttered.

"Then what is it?"

"I…I don't…I don't know," he swallowed, unable to find the words. How could he explain it to her if he himself did not understand?

"If you don't know, then your words have no meaning."

"I'm sorry."

"Clearly, you are not," she turned and walked back to the dormitory.

Draco watched as her silhouette grew smaller and smaller until it disappeared completely. "I'm sorry," he whispered to no one, "I really am." Then he turned, and returned to his dormitory.

When breakfast came around, Draco ate in silence, glancing every so often at Hermione. "What're you looking at?" Blaise asked, elbowing him to get his attention.

"Nothing," Draco answered quickly, "Nothing at all."

He laughed, "Really? It looked to me as though you were checking out Hermione Granger. I didn't know you had a thing for ugly girls."

Draco grimaced, then forced a smirk upon his face, "Of course not Blaise, you've got be joking! I was just noticing the red marks underneath her eyes; looks as though she's been crying. What do you want to bet that she was crying over Ron now that he and Lavender are an item?" He heard Blaise laugh, and he relaxed.

At Gryffindor's table, tension hung in the air above Harry, Ron, and Hermione's heads. Now that Ron and Lavender had become an item, she had decided to sit with them. Every few seconds, she would giggle and call Ron, "Won-won." She refused to let him feed himself, so Hermione was forced to watch as she fed bits and pieces of food into his mouth. Hermione felt as though she were going to barf. Harry looked up at her and gave her a reassuring smile. She smiled back, although her smile never reached her eyes. With two couples sitting beside her, she felt even more alone. She glanced up and saw Draco Malfoy staring at her. "What is he looking me for?" she thought to herself as he quickly looked away. She recalled their conversation earlier and made a face. "Arrogant little prick," she thought, glaring at him. The people seated around her began to stand. Hermione stood with them and together they walked to class.

Fortunately, she had managed to avoid Draco for most of the day, until she walked into her Potions class. As she sat down, Professor Slughorn began to speak. "Now, the next project we will begin working on is much harder than any that you have done before. Therefore, I will split you into pairs, and the two of you will be graded as a whole. The pairings will be chosen at random, so I do not want to hear any complaints." He stuck his hand into a basket and pulled out two pieces of paper. From the paper, he read off the names that appeared on it, and that determined the pairings. When Hermione heard her name she crossed her fingers, hoping to be paired with Harry or Ron. "Hermione Granger and Draco Malfoy," Slughorn read from the paper. A groan could be heard from both of them, and Hermione felt disappointment set in. She walked over and sat next to him, looking in the completely opposite direction.

"This should be interesting," Draco commented, watching her expression.

Hermione took in a deep breath and turned to face him, "I would like to get this over with as soon as possible. There will be no fooling around. The sooner we finish the better."

Draco shrugged and reached over to grab his things. Hermione did the same and they both left the room without looking at the other.

When she had left, Ron approached her, "Good luck. It must really suck to be paired with Malfoy."

"I'll do my best."

"If you need me to take a few swings at that cocky face of his, I will," Ron said as he swung his arm up, as though punching the air.

Hermione laughed, glad to have a moment with him before Lavender called for her "won-won" to join her.

As night settled in, Hermione and Draco lay in separate beds each anticipating the weeks that lay ahead of them.

xxx

Hope you guys liked it! Reviews would be greatly appreciated :)