A/N : Okay, first thing's first. I need to give credit to violingrl07, without whose diabolical idea this story would have ground to a screeching halt. She graciously let me use said idea for this humble story. I hope she approves!

By the way, everyone should go read her story The Three Portals, which is a Tom Riddle/Hermione Granger fic. Yeah, I know, that's what I said, but go read it because it's WORTH it. You will fall in love with Tom just like you did with Draco, trust me. Anyway, Tom does something like this in that fic, and Draco's doing it in mine. Comments? Complaints? Keep them to yourself, lol. Unless they're good.

Oh, and by the way, violingrl07, if you're reading this, stop reading GO TO WORK ON CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN! I mean it.

"I wonder where Malfoy is," commented Hermione as she settled herself at her usual table in Potions. She, Harry, and Ron had almost been late to class this morning because they had been checking out the Room of Requirement; it had proved to be the perfect place to hold their Defense Against the Dark Arts classes, and they were all subsequently in good moods.

Everyone else appeared to be present; Snape was due to arrive at any moment, and yet it was true, Malfoy wasn't at his table, and that was odd. He was usually early for this class.

"Maybe he caught a disease and died," Ron said hopefully. "That'd be awesome."

Harry chuckled, but Hermione shot him a look that silenced him immediately.

"That's terrible, Ron," she admonished him, pulling out her Potions textbook and placing it on the table in front of her. Then she opened her schoolbag and frowned into it. "Where is that stupid essay, anyway?" she muttered irritably.

"Hermione," Harry said quietly, but Hermione continued to rummage in her bag. "Hermione," he said again, a bit more forcibly. She looked up. Harry pointed to a scroll of paper next to her Potions book.

"Oh." Hermione blushed and closed her bag.

Meanwhile, in the desk right behind Hermione, Parvati Patil was busy holding a whispered conversation with Lavender Brown. Hermione rolled her eyes as Parvati giggled a bit too loudly for Hermione's taste, and was about to turn round and tell them to stuff it when she caught a bit of their conversation.

"…what I said. Draco Malfoy."

"What?! You must be joking," Lavender gasped. Hermione pretended to be pulling a quill from her bag as she strained her ears to listen; in her curiosity she didn't even bother to rationalize why she even cared why they were talking about him.

"No, I swear. Padma told me this morning," Parvati replied earnestly. Lavender was quiet for almost a whole minute. Must be some sort of record, Hermione thought dryly. Her mind was whirring now, though, and she couldn't help but wonder what exactly the two girls behind her were talking about.

Just then, Snape stalked into the classroom, robes billowing characteristically behind him, and started class. She would have to wait until later to find out, apparently. And Malfoy still wasn't in his seat.

Lunch in the Great Hall began innocently enough; Hermione, Harry, and Ron sat at the Gryffindor table, chatting idly about how lame Snape was for setting so much homework for that night and speculating about where Malfoy had been and what the chances actually were that he'd caught something and died.

When the food appeared on the table moments later, Hermione felt the familiar tug in her gut that she'd come to expect when she was faced with eating. It had become more pronounced over the last week, and now it had become sort of a habit. She ladled out a bit of this, a bit of that, being careful to avoid the foods she knew she shouldn't have.

She ate a few bites between sentences as she talked animatedly with the boys, the whole time hoping that they would notice her eating something. In a moment she ducked under the table to rifle through her bag for her library book and, unbeknownst to the boys, her wand.

Harry and Ron continued their conversation, which had now turned to Quidditch and the upcoming match between Gryffindor and Slytherin; they didn't notice as she Evanesco'ed a few large chunks of food from her plate, making it look as though she'd eaten more.

Satisfied with her work, she stowed her wand in the pocket of her robes and looked up again just in time to see nearly everyone in the Great Hall turn their heads as one and look at the big double doors.

The scene she witnessed would fuel the Hogwarts gossip mill for weeks to come.

There really wasn't anything unusual about the way Draco Malfoy was strolling into the Hall, unless you counted the fact that he was doing so after missing all his classes so far that day. The unusual thing was that he was smiling. Not a smirk or the forced smile he generally saved for the teachers, but a genuine, happy smile.

Hermione noticed that he was actually quite handsome when he smiled.

Before she could form another thought, however, a tall girl with dark, shining hair ran up behind Malfoy and grabbed his arm. Malfoy's smile went even wider as he turned to look at Padma Patil, who returned the smile and stood on tiptoe to whisper something into his ear. Malfoy's grin faltered for a second, and if Hermione hadn't known better, she would have sworn he went slightly red around the ears. Padma produced an old, thick volume from her schoolbag and pressed it into Malfoy's hands, then turned and quickly retreated to the Ravenclaw table.

Immediately the Great Hall, which had been collectively holding its breath during this exchange, erupted in a surge of whispered speculations as to what had just happened before their very eyes.

Hermione suddenly felt inexplicably angry and annoyed. She couldn't understand why everyone was so excited. After all, it was only a stupid little ten-second scene they'd all witnessed, not exactly the scandal of the century.

"Whoa," Ron said in a low voice to Harry and Hermione. "What do you think that was all about?"

"D'you reckon Malfoy's going soft?" Harry wondered. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Honestly, you two, you sound as bad as Lavender and Parvati!" she snapped, gathering her things and rising from the table in a huff. Then she turned and left the Great Hall without another word to anyone, leaving Harry and Ron to exchange confused looks behind her.

That night in her dormitory, she was attempting to study, but her dormmates wouldn't stop talking about Malfoy and Padma. Oh, how she wished her week-long ban from the library was up so she could escape their mindless prattle!

"I heard that they get together three times a week in the library to snog," Lavender said around a giggle.

"That's not true," Parvati replied, sounding scandalized, but the effect was ruined when she burst into laughter, too. "Couldn't you just see them, though?"

"Well, Malfoy is really handsome," Lavender sighed. Hermione snorted loudly from behind her book. "You can't tell me you don't think he's cute, Hermione Granger," Lavender called from across the room. Hermione emerged from behind her Transfiguration book with a sneer worthy of Malfoy himself.

"If you think self-obsessed, sadistic little boys with far too much money and free time are cute," she said disdainfully before disappearing behind her book once more.

"Really, Hermione," Lavender groaned. "What's he ever done to you, anyway?"

"Excuse me?" Hermione dropped her book on her bed and stood up, suddenly very angry. "What's he done to me? What about never missing a chance to say something nasty about me and my friends in the hallways? What about cursing me last year and making my front teeth grow almost to the floor? What about constantly trying to get me, Harry, and Ron in trouble? What about simply being a git?"

Lavender and Parvati simply stared at her, open-mouthed. Parvati spoke first.

"Calm down, Hermione," she said softly, as if afraid to set her off again. "I was standing right there when Malfoy cursed you, you know, and he was trying to curse Harry, not you, remember?"

"So that makes it all better, does it?" Hermione snapped. "He was only trying to curse my best friend, so I suppose I should forgive the evil little rat," she added sarcastically.

"I don't think he's evil," Lavender whispered, almost inaudibly. Hermione shot her a dark glance and she quickly began to study the pattern in the rug at her feet.

"I think I've had enough of your nonsensical ramblings for one night," Hermione said loftily after a moment, stooping to pick up her bag. Then she swept from the room without a backwards glance, leaving a shocked silence behind her.

She wanted to go to the library, her sanctuary from the storm, but she didn't dare; she wasn't about to get in trouble again and possibly lose more House points. She generally left that up to Harry.

Hermione had been walking very fast, still angry and hurt that the only two girls who were even close to being her friends didn't care if Draco Malfoy was horrible to her, just so long as he was dreamy. Scowling, she realized that she was standing in front of the Great Hall, and her stomach let out a loud growl as she remembered her half-eaten dinner.

She turned away from the Hall impatiently. She didn't have time to think about such discomforts of the flesh just now. She needed to walk. So she made a left turn and found herself walking down a sloping hallway towards the Potions classroom. Her footsteps slowed.

The dungeons certainly were creepy at night; the torches glowed an icy blue and cast everything around them into an almost-tangible gloom. Hermione shivered. She could almost feel the walls closing in on her and every small sound made her jump. A mouse let out a sharp squeak and she spun around, heart beating fast.

There's no one there, Hermione, she chided herself. It was just a mouse. Are you afraid of a teensy ickle mousey? She shook her head quickly and turned back around.

"You know, Granger, you should really think twice before wandering in the dungeons all alone, especially at night."

Malfoy was standing directly in front of her, arms crossed over his chest, sneering at her. She let out a small scream.

Malfoy jumped and put his hand over her mouth quickly, glancing around to make sure no one had heard. In doing so, he brought their bodies very close together, and she could hear his breath coming hard as he finally brought his steel grey eyes back to meet her wide brown ones.

"Shut it, Granger, do you want someone to hear and come running? I thought you were supposed to be smart," he whispered fiercely, his eyebrows drawn together in annoyance. Suddenly he seemed to remember his hand was over her mouth and he snatched it away harshly, taking a step backwards for good measure.

"You gave me a fright, Malfoy, what was I supposed to do? Honestly, jumping out at people in the dark like that…What are you doing here, anyway?" she asked, running her hands over her hair and robes to smooth them.

"Prefect duty," Malfoy replied matter-of-factly. "What are you doing down here?"

Hermione shrugged her shoulders. "Looking for a quiet place to study."

"At this hour? Why didn't you just go to the library?"

"Week-long ban," Hermione replied, blushing slightly as she remembered it was because she'd hexed him that she even had the ban in the first place.

"Why didn't you study in your bleeding common room?" Malfoy asked, clearly remembering the same thing she was, irritation etched in his features.

"Too noisy."

"Dorm room?"

Hermione faltered. "Truth?" Malfoy nodded slightly. "Parvati and Lavender wouldn't shut up talking about you," she crossed her arms and glared at him, as if it were his fault the two girls were talking about him. Well, it is his fault, she thought bitterly.

"Me?" Malfoy looked incredulous.

"You're talking to Padma Patil now; Padma whose sister shares a dorm with me," Hermione explained in a slow voice, as if she were speaking to a two year old. "And I have to listen to this," she adopted Lavender's high-pitched voice and continued, "Did you know they meet three times a week in the library to snog, and Draco Malfoy is oh, so handsome, and don't you think so, Hermione?" She rolled her eyes.

Draco waited a moment. Then he crossed his arms and arched an eyebrow at her.

"Well, what did you say?"

Hermione laughed. "I told them I thought you were a self-obsessed, poncy little pretty boy who also happens to be an evil git," she replied without hesitation.

"Did you really say all that?" he asked, smirking.

"Well, except for the poncy little pretty boy part, yeah," she replied, smirking back.

"You really think I'm pretty?" Malfoy asked with faux modesty.

"Of course, anyone with eyes can see that," Hermione said sarcastically around another laugh.

"Hmm."

"What?"

"I'm debating taking twenty points from Gryffindor for calling me a git," Malfoy replied.

"Oh, I'd just give thirty to Harry for beating you at Quidditch," Hermione retorted.

"As if that will ever happen," he scoffed, brushing his nails on the shoulder of his robe.

"Malfoy?" Hermione asked after a moment. She hesitated when he raised his eyebrows at her. She couldn't believe she was having a civil conversation with Draco Malfoy of all people, especially not one where they both laughed and he hadn't called her Mudblood once.

"Are you going to stare at me all night, or did you have something to say?" he asked impatiently.

"Why did you say that – the other day – a-about V-Viktor," she stammered, her voice trailing off over the end of her question so that it didn't come out as a question at all. She couldn't meet his eyes anymore, so she studied her hands as she twisted them, waiting.

There was a moment when she thought he had walked away without answering.

"I saw him," Malfoy said quietly. Hermione looked up sharply. It was his turn to study the floor.

"What do you mean?"

"I saw him," he repeated, looking up to meet her eyes defiantly.

"What – what do you mean, 'you saw him?' You can't have seen Viktor, he wasn't even in the country this summer," Hermione said, sure she must have misheard him, or that Malfoy was mistaken.

"No," Malfoy said firmly. He took a deep breath. "I saw him with – with another girl. They were kissing."

"You can't have! You can't have," Hermione repeated. She turned away from him now, trying to straighten this all out in her head.

"Believe me or not, Granger," Malfoy said from behind her. She looked over her shoulder. He was looking at her, his gaze steady.

"Well I don't believe you, Malfoy. I don't believe that you could be so cruel; and I don't believe you could make up such horrible stories about someone who can't defend themselves," Hermione snapped. "This is a new low, even for you," and she flipped her hair over her shoulder and left him standing in the cold stone corridor behind her.

A/N : Preview time!

xxx

She was definitely too close now. Her eyes were locked onto his and he wondered if they were about to kiss. Stupid thought, he scolded himself. Of course we are.

xxx

Suddenly they were standing so close he could hear her breathing and smell her shampoo. Something flowery, he decided. Why does it always have to be flowery? he wondered absently.