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¨°º¤ø„¸CHAPTER EIGHT¸„ø¤º°¨

¸„ø¤º°¨ A FISH OUT OF WATER¨°º¤ø„¸

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"This is so boring, you know, just sitting here doing nothing," Draco said with a heavy sigh. Hermione merely rolled her eyes, not caring to answer him, as she watched Luna who had her eyes closed as Blaise tried to look anywhere but at her in a attempt to make everything less awkward between them and to not think of all the nasty things he could do to her as she shifted again.

I should undo the charm Hermione thought , but i won't.

Looking around, Hermione watched Harry sleeping soundly after the sardine hex had ceased to have an effect on him, with five full buckets of fish sitting beside his bed. After making sure that Harry was completely asleep Ginny had gone back to her class. Ron had woken up several times but wouldn't dare get out of bed because of how sore he felt (apparently 'transforming into an animal feels worse than a long day of Quidditch practice). Hermione's eyes landed on Malfoy who was laying on his back with his eyes closed, looking at him she noticed for the first time ever as he lay there that there no trace of a smirk or snarl on his face, making him look handsome with his pale complexion and rather sharp, pointed features. He looks more like his father than ever, Hermione thought.

"He's just gorgeous, isn't he?" Draco said, clearly referring to himself.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"Me" Draco answered himself without even bothering to open his eyes and wearing a uncommon smile.

With a playful roll of her eyes Hermione said, "you know, I've never seen you smile before Malfoy; you should do it more often." She watched him open his eyes and sit up and stare at her; clearly Draco didn't know quite what to say to the complement that had just arrived form the most unlikely source.

Hermione held eye contact until Draco broke it to look up and see who it was who had just opened the doors to the infirmary. Flora Carrow was walking in looking infuriated as she was glued back to back with George and was having to enter the room backwards; the second twin walked in with Hestia Carrow- Flora's sister- on his back and had a matching murderous glare boring holes into Fred.

"Karma is a bitch," Hermione muttered, making Draco chuckle beside her and both sets of twins glare in their direction as they walked over to Madame Pomfrey's office.

Not even fifteen minutes after this incident Justin Finch-Fletchley walked into the room leading Susan Bones holding onto his hips, McLaggan gripping hers, Parvati had hold of McLaggen, Terry Boot was bound to Parvati with Matietta Edgecombe behind him.

"Are you guys-"

"Doing the conga?" Fred and George asked laughing as the emerged out of Madame Pomfrey's office with the Carrow Twins.

"You shouldn't be talking, fatties!" McLaggen spat out while pushing Susan and Justin roughly to make them walk faster. "Just look at yourselves."

Hermione looked on in amusement as Draco asked the sets of twins how this happened , with a hint of true laughter in his voice. Hermione had so rarely seen him truly humoured.

"It was their fault," Flora replied with a glare.

Hestia nodded, matching her sister's glare once more. "Yeah, Professor Flitwick made us pair up with them because they had no idea what they were doing, so we let them practice after us.

"Well it's not our fault that that stupid spell ended up hitting the wall, bouncing off and going for us!" Fred shouted as his twin nodded enthusiastically until Hermione, and beside her Draco, burst out into peals of laughter.

Draco's true laugh went unmentioned by many though as Luna caught everyone's attention as she squealed in delight. "It wore off!"

Hermione shifted her attention onto her Ravenclaw friend as she wiped the tears the laughter caused off of her face and watched as Zabini hugged the blonde tightly - not looking as he wanted to let go - with a smile on his face before she had to get off of his lap.

Fixing her skirt Luna walked over to Madame Pomfrey to sign out as Zabini followed almost obediently, Hermione thought that Luna had definitely gotten his attention now, though, she thought, being stuck to his lips meant that there was no possibility of him missing her.

As they left the two sets of conjoined twins walked over to a pair of beds by the window and the little group of those stuck at the hip followed as McLaggen broke the silence periodically to yell at the Fat Twins.

Watching Zabini and Luna leave, Hermione turned to Malfoy who was sitting up straight. "What is Zabini like? He never says anything," she blurted out, curious as to what she had just pushed towards one of her best female friends.

"He's laid back and seems to enjoy observing all those around him, finding their weaknesses and strengths so that he can manipulate them later if need be," Malfoy replied with a small shrug.

"So he's the quiet, calculating and snobby type," Hermione summed up and added the term attractive in her mind.

"I guess," Malfoy said, standing up and making her stand with him.

"What are you doing Malfoy?"

"Leaving," Malfoy said simply as he started to walk out of the infirmary, not bothering to sign out with Madame Pomfrey, "lunch starts in five minutes."

"What, no. I'm not leaving this Hospital Wing with us still being stuck together like this," Hermione complained, pulling him with all her strength as she tried to walk back into Madame Pomfrey's domain but finding that the Slytherin was too strong to be deterred from leaving.

"Malfoy!" She puffed trying to make him stop as they hit the first of the moving staircases. "DRACO!"

"What?" Malfoy blurted in his annoyance, stopping in the middle of the corridor on the way to the Great Hall.

Hermione looked down at the floor and when she spoke it was in a small whisper that was most unlike her. "Please don't."

"Don't what Granger," he snapped turning back to where she had stopped in the deserted passage.

"Please don't make me go in there," she pleaded as she pointed at the doors to the Great Hall that were standing but a few meters away from them.

"Are you embarrassed to be seen with me?" The seemingly uncaring Slytherin asked, a little hurt.

"Yes- I mean no- I mean," Hermione paused and took a deep breath, "look I don't want to go in there because everyone is going to start staring and whispering about us."

"Okay fine," Malfoy muttered as he made his way back to the Main Stairs.

"Where are we going now then?"

"We're going down the stairs, Granger," Malfoy answered in a sweet voice.

"Really?" Hermione said in a mock surprised voice, "I didn't know that," then asked seriously, "but why are we going down?"

Draco smirked. "Because the kitchens are there, of course. Where did you think I was taking you?" he added, "the Hufflepuff common room?"

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Leaving the hospital wing, Blaise watched the girl that had been sitting on his lap not too long ago as she skipped and danced down the hall. Keeping quiet and sticking to the shadows he followed her. Stopping in the middle of an unimportant corridor Lovegood turned to face a portrait.

"Hello there Barnabas the Barmy," the Raven said in her dreamy tones.

"Hello Luna," the portrait of Banabas greeted, "how nice to see you.

As he observed Lovegood, Blaise noticed how very dream-like and creative Luna was as she spoke to the self proclaimed 'barmy' portrait before her.

"So," she asked him, "how's the training going?"

"Not very well I must say, you know how trolls are."

"Not very intelligent creatures but I know that you won't give up; one day trolls will know how to dance the ballet," Lovegood said as she passed by the hidden entrance to the Come and Go room and went on her way.

This girl is really intriguing, Blaise thought, walking by the painting that she had been speaking with. Turning a corner and making his way down the bewitched staircase, Blaise lost sight of the unusual blonde that he was following. Where did she go? He wondered, scanning the whole area for the girl.

Luna though had had a feeling that Blaise was following her and had pretended not to notice as she made conversation with Barnabas the Barmy and had ran as soon as she had turned the corner at the end of the corridor and to the stairs before hiding behind the first door that she came upon, which just so happened to be a broom closet.

She watched as he searched for her through the crack of the door before emerging from the closet and walking down the stairs, making sure that he couldn't glimpse her.

Walking right behind him Luna leaned in, "are you looking for me?" she whispered and he stiffened.

Fuck! Was Blaise's only thought as he was caught in the act and turned on the spot to face a smiling Luna Lovegood.

"Excuse me?" he said trying to play it cool, looking at the blonde girl.

"You're excused," Lovegood joked as she watched the quiet black boy who was standing on the step below her.

Blaise looked at her confuses, almost believing the vicious rumours, that Luna Lovedgood was 'loony'.

"But I asked if you were looking for me."

"Why would I look for you?"

"I don't know, I just thought that you were. I guess that I was wrong." The raven shrugged uncaringly and walked around him, leaving a slightly shaken Blaise alone at the bottom of the Main Stair, watching his new fascination enter the Great Hall.

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Entering the Hogwart's kitchens hand in hand, Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger, the unlikeliest pair, watched a purple jumper clad house elf pop into existence before them. The jumper with its central pink duck was lurid and made a very eye catching outfit when you considered that green shorts and mismatched orange and blue socks that it had been paired with; the clothing identified the elf easily: Dobby.

"Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Granger," the green eyed elf greeted.

"Dobby, how nice to see you," Hermione said to her elf friend and was pleased to see that beside her Draco greeted his ex-house elf with a warm smile.

"How may Dobby be of assistance to you," the overly helpful elf questioned, freedom hadn't dampened his desire to serve one little bit.

"I can see that the class has been helping you."

"Class?" Draco asked, raising an interested eyebrow at her statement.

"Oh yes Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Granger here has a class for us house elves. She teaches us about literature and how to speak correctly."

"That's very nice of you Granger," Draco said with that smile that seemed to becoming ever more common as the day wore on.

Hermione blushed and looked at her feet. "Um... Thanks Malfoy." Draco, she thought, that's who he is when he's being nice. Embarrassed more by her blush she quickly spoke once again, "Dobby would you please get us some food, I'm starving."

Dobby ushered them towards one of the four kitchen tables asking exactly what it was that he could get them as he did so.

"Creamy tomato soup with grilled cheese, please," Hermione requested as she took a seat at what was, above in the Great Hall, the Slytherin table. She didn't even notice.

"And I'll have Chicken Parmesan," Draco ordered as he took his seat beside her thinking, man, I need to stop hanging out with Blaise so much; damn Italian food.

With a pleased nod Dobby was gone and Hermione was left alone with Draco who seemed to want to at least attempt conversation. "So..." he began in a way that she thought was a little cute and funny; it was odd for Malfoy to be trying to break the silence. Hermione decided that she should tease him some more.

"Are you nervous?"

"Nervous? Why would I be nervous Granger?"

"I don't know," Hermione said, sliding down the bench to get a little closer to her 'enemy'. "Maybe because we're alone in the kitchen and you have only me to keep you company?"

She wanted to laugh until it hurt as Draco's look shifted into one that said 'I am a fish and I'm out of water' with his big round eyes and mouth wide open. Breath Hermione, breath, she told herself as Draco 'nothing can faze me' Malfoy struggled to formulate a sentence.

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Sitting at the Slytherin table in the Great Hall, Blaise Zabini was bored out of his mind; not bothering to pay attention to the fact that everyone at his house table was talking about what happened to him in charms class as well as Draco and Granger and that Neville Longbottom was at their table with Astoria Greengrass. Blaise looked around; watching his Head of House stab at his steak at the faculty's table and glare at anyone who dared to look at him; away from Snape and at the strange acting Gryffindor's eating, or in a couple of cases preening and glaring.

Blaise's blue eyes focused on the two biggest anomalies at the lion's table: two Slytherin's. What the hell? He thought, confusion flooding his usually focused mind as he watched the Carrow Twins yelling at their Gryffindor counterparts, the Weasley Twins who were dragging or carrying them to their table. An amused Blaise smirked as he shifted his attention towards the Hufflepuff table where Dean Thomas and Seamus Finnegan were flirting with Hannah Abbot and Megan Jones. He rolled his eyes and turned to the Ravenclaw table. The first thing that he noticed among the Raven's was the ghost sitting among them, tall and elegant and not just any ghost: Helena Ravenclaw. She was talking to but one student and Blaise couldn't help but notice that it was Lovegood. Reading their lips he caught what they were discussing, something about the Bloody Baron of Slytherin and second chances.

Blaise didn't notice as students began to leave the hall behind for the afternoon's lessons.

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Setting Draco and Hermione's food on the table Dobby certainly noticed the fact that the pair of 'enemies' were holding hands but did not make to mention it and simply popped away, leaving them alone again.

Eating their way through the lunch in silence Draco did not speak until he couldn't take it anymore, and asked a question that had been on the tip of his tongue since breakfast that morning. "Why are you dressed like that?"

"Huh?" Granger muttered absent mindedly, pushing her tomato soup away from her.

"Why are you dressed like that," he repeated softly, voice full of inquisitiveness, "is today a special day or something?"

"Yes Malfoy," Granger replied straightly, "today is a very special day. That's why I'm dressed up and so is every other Gryffindor."

"Well what makes today so special?" Draco asked, standing up.

Granger stood up beside him, not really having much choice due to their sticky predicament. "It's a Gryffindor secret. Now, can we go back to the hospital wing?"

"No, we can't, because we have class," Draco said with a smirk and pulled the Gryffindor girl towards the kitchen door.

"But I don't have class this period," she protested.

"No," he told her, "but I do, and it's Muggle Studies.

review it makes my day =) AN/ I know Dobby dies in the series but I had to put him in my story .