DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN HARRY POTTER. I ONLY OWN THE PLOT

Twenty-Seven

Hermione opened the door to the Defense against the Dark Arts classroom, ignoring the stares she got from the people who had been taking notes. She blushed when the teacher turned around, clearly annoyed.

"Sorry sir, you know that Headmaster wanted to see me and-" Lucius waved her off his expression still annoyed. Hermione took her seat beside Ginny and smiled at her friend. The rest of the class looked at Hermione and started whispering about her accident making Hermione blush some more. Oh great, she thought; now I have to hear some more crap!

"Right, all of you are to complete this assignment, regardless of the circumstances and turn it into me by the end of class. No excuses." Hermione's own annoyance level went up a notch when she saw the way Lucius was staring right at her as he finished his sentence. Well I'll show him, Hermione thought, opening her book to the chapter.

"Miss Granger can I see you for a moment at my desk?" Lucius called, without looking at her. Hermione's head snapped up but he was paying attention to the papers in front him. Gulping Hermione stood up and made her way to his desk waiting till he acknowledged her presence. He looked up, his eyes clashing with Hermione's chocolaty brown eyes. Hermione inwardly sucked in a breath. They were the most beautiful eyes ever and they reminded her of Emily… No! Stop thinking of Emily! She will get her revenge soon! Right now your main focus is Lucius!

"I had Potter give you some work since you had insisted and I know you finished it since you are Hermione Granger, the school's biggest miss-know-it-all." Hermione bristled at that. Damn the man to hell! She was not going to be able to make him fall for her if she was just a "miss-know-it-all" in his eyes.

"Yes professor I have the papers. I'll give them to you at the end of class, if you don't mind since you asked ALL of us to finish the work by the end of class, hmm?" Hermione flashed him a dazzling smile which had Lucius reeling for a few seconds. He started speechless at her while she walked to the desk, her hips swaying in his face. Bloody hell! Where had that smile come from? He was completely thrown off! It took a great effort for Lucius to take his eyes away from her butt but he managed, gritting his teeth against the sharp pain in his groin. Merlin's balls not again! he thought, gripping the quill in his hand tighter.

Back at her seat Hermione smiled to herself. Yes! The plan was in motion. Now she had to act the part and he would be at her feet! She ignored the tingling feeling in her stomach. It was just the effect of her first "victory", nothing more. Keep it up. Pure, simple seduction and then go in for the heart.

"Hermione, are you planning to write your essay or sit there with a goofy smile on your face?" Harry asked. Startled, Hermione blushed and looked at the paper. She looked up to see Lucius Malfoy staring at her with an amused expression and gave him a teeny smile. Just to throw him off, Hermione winked at him and watched how he nearly fell out of the chair. For a composed man, Lucius Malfoy seemed very flustered near her. Hermione felt her heart beat faster in her chest at the look in his eyes.

"Miss Granger, I need to talk to you after class." Hermione looked up, but Lucius was looking at the papers his back straight and shoulders squared. She kept her mouth shut, her stomach doing tiny flip-flops. Well, at least you know your plan is working, a voice in her head said.

At the end of the class the students practically ran out of the class and Hermione was tempted to sneak out too. After all, he wouldn't notice, would he? Just as she reached the door, Lucius Malfoy's voice rang out. Fuck! Hermione thought turning around.

"Not so fast Granger. I believe I had asked you to come see me after class, right?" Lucius cocked an eye brow at Hermione. Sighing, she walked back down towards the one man who could make her heart race with one glance.

"Yes, Professor?" Hermione asked her voice cool. Just because she had planned to hurt him didn't mean she had to act all fluttery in front of him. That would be a dead giveaway.

"Professor Snape has approached me and told me about certain dreams you have been having and he suspects it either is leading to some new disaster or some personal problems you have been having." Damn Snape! Hermione thought. He would always tell Lucius everything.

"I- well you see I don't know what they are. I tried to do research in the school but I was interrupted…" Hermione let the sentence trail off, watching Lucius with curious eyes. His expressions remained aloof and cold but his eyes seemed to light up for a flash and then they were cold again but Hermione had already seen his reaction. Aha! He wasn't the cool and composed Lucius Malfoy every one seemed to think.

"That's quite a predicament isn't it?" Hermione saw him flash her a smile which didn't reach his eyes. Her nostrils flared from her annoyance. The man was more complicated than she had thought. If it had been some other boy he would be blushing and spluttering but not Lucius Malfoy. Oh no, this was a man who was always composed and never gave his emotions away. Probably because he has none! Hermione thought to herself.

"Yes, it is but I think I can figure it out for myself now that I know-"

"Miss Granger, you don't know. You are not as smart as everyone thinks are you." That wasn't a question but rather a statement which had Hermione reeling. She stared up at him, not believing he had the nerve to point a finger at her intelligence.

"I beg your pardon? That is not true!" Hermione hissed. If he hadn't been a teacher she would have slapped him. Again but the first time he had snuck into her room but she wouldn't focus on that right now.

"Miss Granger, there are something's not even your precious research can help you with. Not everything can be found in the Hogwarts library." Hermione gasped, out raged. The Hogwarts library was the best place to find anything and here was this man who was saying that Hogwarts was not a good place for her research.

"Mr. Malfoy how can you say that? This library is such an interesting place and one can find so much-"

"Yes, this library is good enough to help a handful of second years brew up a poly juice potion and apparently not all second ears can tell the difference between cat hair and human hair,," Lucius said dryly, looking Hermione dead in the eyes and she turned bright red. He was referring to her own second year when she, Harry and Ron had all made that poly juice potion and she had accidently turned herself into a cat. That had been quite embarrassing and people still had pictures of that.

"Mr. Malfoy if you have asked me to stay after class to insult my intelligence and the Hogwarts library then you are doing a poor job of it," Hermione said crossing her arms over her chest. Lucius's eye brow went up. So the little minx was back with her sassy attitude huh? Not a problem. His eyes raked over her from the bandage on her head to the polished shoes on her feet. Her long legs were covered by the school's black robes. Her hair which he remembered to be as big as a birds nest was gone. He had noticed it before but today he was really looking at her and he realized that Miss Granger was not a little girl anymore.

"Oh am I? Tell me, if I was doing such a poor job then you wouldn't be as red as tomato or your pulse wouldn't be jumping so wildly would it?" he asked, taking step near while Hermione took a step back.

"I don't know what you are trying to imply sir, but you are not intimidating me." Great, tell the enemy that they are not intimidating you.

"Miss Granger, I want to help you. I want to help you with these dreams you are having." Hermione froze. Maybe she hadn't heard him correctly. Did Lucius Malfoy just say he wanted to help her?

"Mr. Malfoy, I know your sense of humor is a bit sadistic but offering to help someone and then-"

"Miss Granger, I am not joking not at all. I am being very, very serious. I know you and I haven't seen eye to eye on many occasions-" Hermione snorted in a very unladylike manor.

"You can say that again," she muttered missing Lucius's annoyed look. Yet he carried on as though she hadn't interrupted him.

"And further more I know I have hurt you in the past, though it maybe indirectly, and I want to rectify that." Lucius couldn't believe the bull shit which was coming out of his mouth. Never in a million years would he have thought he was going to help a muggle born. If someone had told him he would be offering a mud blood some help then Lucius Malfoy would have killed them on the spot. Surprisingly, he did want to help Hermione and it wasn't just because he had caused her so much pain rather it was because she had kept his arse out of jail (not happily though) and she was a good person. There, he had said it. For once in his life, Lucius had given another human being- a muggle born at that!- a sincere compliment.

"I can't believe you are going to help me. What's in it for you?"

"You." Hermione's eyes went wide as saucers and Lucius wanted to punch himself.

"You as in, at least I know that I have helped someone whom I had caused a great deal of pain to and maybe one day you and I can be a bit more…intimate." Hermione's cheeks were on fire as she tried to look at something else besides the man in front of her. She hadn't expected him to help her. She had expected him to laugh at her dreams or kiss her or something but offering her help, well that was unexpected along with the warmth it gave her.

"Miss Granger, I don't usually offer every one my help since I am trusted by such few people but I am offering it to you as a show of acceptance. I don't want your hostility towards me. We are not enemies, at least not anymore." Hermione turned away at that. The man was wrong on that one.

Hermione Granger and Lucius Malfoy were enemies and they would always remain enemies. There could be no other emotion or relationship between them except for animosity and hate.