A/N : I am officially only one and a half chapters ahead of you now. Blarg. Well, anyway, I have some apologizing to do, so I'd better get right to it.

First off, I'm sorry that I didn't review reply to anyone like I usually do! My computer was being lame and wouldn't let me at first, and then I was being lame and was too lazy to go back and reply. Sorry guys! I've also been busy, if that counts for anything!

Secondly, I'm sorry that I only updated once last week. I hope that the writing bug will bite me again this week and I can get a few more chapters done and posted. Thanks for bearing with me! :) I've actually been reading instead of writing lately (I know, how dare I?!). I'm all caught up in The Chronicles of Narnia just now. No, I'm not a traitor to HP, lol. I am actually allowed to read other books, you know. ;)

And now. Thanks to Jack (for overlooking the fact that I left in an awkward sentence or two on purpose ) and Jessica (for the French lesson!) and Pharrah...I really can't remember why I'm thanking Pharrah, except that she appears to be my muse... There's nothing better than an actual, live person telling you your story rocks and they can't wait for the next chapter. She could also probably beat me up, too, if she really wanted to, so there's a bit more incentive.

"Hermione."

"Ron."

"You can't be serious."

Hermione looked up at her friend. "About what?"

"Being friends with – that – little – ugh!" Ron sputtered, gesturing wildly with his hands as if he were choking some invisible person right in front of him. Hermione laughed.

"You mean Draco," she stated simply. Ron's face turned bright red as his anger mounted just a bit. She laughed again.

"I still can't believe you're on a first name basis with that git," Harry said calmly from his armchair by the fire, not even looking up from his Charms book.

Hermione said nothing, but returned to her own essay for Professor Flitwick.

Truthfully, she couldn't believe it herself. A few days ago she was of the same opinion as Harry and Ron. Now, she was defending Malfoy in front of the school and to her own best friends, calling him "Draco" and agreeing to meet him in the library to study.

Sometimes life just didn't make sense.

But she had to admit that he certainly seemed to have changed, and Hermione, forever a Gryffindor through and through, wanted to give him a second chance. Even Malfoy deserved that, after all.

Unfortunately, Harry and Ron didn't agree with her. They just couldn't understand, and Hermione couldn't explain it because she didn't understand. Needless to say, they weren't happy with the situation and it was beginning to put a strain on their friendship.

"You know, I'm actually tired of studying tonight," Hermione lied as she closed her book. Harry shot her a shrewd glance, and Ron simply looked shocked.

"Seriously? At eight o'clock?"

"Seriously," she replied firmly. At least in her dormitory, she could draw the curtains and place a silencing charm on them so she would have some peace.

"Well, we understand if you don't prefer our company anymore," Harry said sarcastically. Hermione wasn't sure which was worse, Ron's open anger and confusion over her friendship with Malfoy, or Harry's mask of calmness that only barely concealed his fury. "I suppose once you've hung out with a Slytherin, you just can't go back to your old friends," he added nastily.

Right. Harry was worse.

She sighed and continued to pack up her things. Nothing was going to be solved if she stayed here with them, anyway. But in that moment she decided not to go to her dormitory after all.

"And I suppose," she replied with false cheerfulness as she picked up her bag, "that – since you think I'd be much happier hanging out with a Slytherin – I'll just go find one and study with him instead."

Ron's face drained of all color. Harry's hands clenched into fists and his eyes flashed dangerously.

"Well why don't you just go do that, you traitor?" he said in a quiet voice. Hermione felt as if the world had been turned inside out. Hot anger bubbled up from her stomach and she felt words gushing out of her mouth before she could stop them.

"Me, a traitor? Have you forgotten, Harry, that I've been on your side all along, right there with you, helping you with everything you've come up against? If it weren't for me, you'd probably be dead by now," she added viciously, ignoring Ron's gasps and scandalized look as what she was saying sunk in. Harry's eyes widened.

"Don't make me laugh, Hermione," he scoffed. "You did help, I'll give you that," he said slowly. "But you save me? Keep dreaming."

Ron gasped and turned his shocked face to look at Harry.

"Oh, stop acting like a first year, Ronald," Hermione snapped, annoyed. "And as for you," she added to Harry, "how dare you talk to me that way? I can't believe you! Just because I'm friends with someone you don't like doesn't mean –"

"Stop right there, Hermione Granger," Harry cut her off as he stood to his feet. "Have you forgotten exactly who it is that you're being friendly with? Have you forgotten all the years of absolute shite we've had to put up with from Malfoy? What about the fact that he hated you until just a few weeks ago? Haven't you wondered why he's suddenly being so nice to you?"

Hermione faltered. She had wondered. But – people could change, couldn't they?

"M-maybe he's changed," she replied lamely. Then she jutted her chin out defiantly and stated in a much stronger voice, "Yes. Maybe all he needs is one chance, and I think I should give him that chance."

Harry didn't say anything. Ron still sat there in shocked silence, his mouth slightly agape. Hermione took the momentary silence as her cue to leave, and she exited the portrait hole with tears stinging the backs of her eyes.

She'd had a fight with Harry. She'd snapped at Ron. Who was she these days? She was always so angry, and now she was fighting with her best friends. She felt a few tears slip down her cheek, and walked faster.

Her feet automatically carried her to the library, and as it was still quite early, it was still open. She went inside and nearly ran right into Malfoy, who appeared to be just leaving.

"Hey, Granger," he said, surprise evident on his handsome face. Then he noticed her tears and his expression changed. "Hermione? Are you all right?"

Hermione wiped at the offensive tears viciously and nodded. "Of course I'm all right, why wouldn't I be all right?" she said curtly as she brushed past him and into the library. Malfoy followed her.

"Well you certainly look all right," he said, echoing her words from the night she comforted him in the hallway. She managed a weak smile.

"Had a fight with Harry," she said simply.

"Really?" Malfoy asked, looking slightly shocked. He followed her into the stacks and to her table.

"Yes."

"Well?"

"Well, what?" she asked, pulling her books out of her bag and spreading them out on the table.

"Do you want to tell me about it?"

"Not really," she answered, sitting down.

Malfoy snorted. Hermione looked up at him quickly. "The great Hermione Granger doesn't want to talk," he explained. "It's rather odd, don't you think?"

Hermione laughed. "I guess it is."

Malfoy pulled out a chair and sat down with her, placing his bag on the desk and resting his forearms on it. He leaned forward.

"So what was this fight about?" he pressed. Hermione glared at him.

"Funnily enough, it was about you."

"Me."

"You."

"Well, I can understand if they're jealous of my dashing good looks and incredible charm, but is it really cause for a fight?"

Hermione stared at him for a moment, then she laughed.

"Don't forget your modesty," she added soberly after a moment. Draco laughed. That's funny. When did I start thinking of him as Draco?

"So Potter and Weasley don't like you being friends with me," he said after he stopped laughing. Hermione started.

"When did you get to be so perceptive?" she asked after she recovered. Draco shrugged.

"Doesn't take a genius to figure that one out," he replied. Then he leaned forward even more and added in a softer voice, "And just so you know, I've always been quite astute; you were just too busy with your blind hatred to notice."

Hermione blushed. He was right, though. She'd never really taken time to notice anything about Draco Malfoy except that he was full of himself and extremely rude to her and her friends. Then she thought of something.

"What about you? You never seemed to be lacking with the blind hatred," she replied, leaning forward and matching his tone and demeanor.

Draco put a hand over his heart.

"You wound me," he said sorrowfully. "And you're right. But things are different now – aren't they?" he asked, looking up at the last and searching her eyes. Hermione smiled.

"I hope so."

"Want to know something funny?" Draco said after a few seconds, his entire attitude suddenly changing from sober to upbeat.

"What?" Hermione asked, opening her Charms textbook and unrolling her half-finished essay.

"Padma's going out with Blaise Zabini."

Hermione looked up. Draco was smiling, as if it were a particularly funny joke he'd just told her, but Hermione saw that his smile didn't reach his eyes.

"Are you okay?" she asked gently, putting her hand on the table between them. Draco looked at her hand for a moment.

"I guess so," he said quietly, still not looking up. "It's – weird. I see them together everywhere. She seems so happy…" he trailed off at the end, and Hermione felt her heart wrench at the look on his face.

"What about you?"

Draco looked up and met her eyes sadly. He shrugged.

"I suppose I'm as good as can be expected," he replied with a half-hearted smile. "I'm sitting in the library with a pretty girl, aren't I?"

Hermione felt herself blush. "Well, that's debatable," she muttered, returning to her Charms essay. Draco didn't respond for a moment, and feeling uneasy at his silence, Hermione looked up to see him staring at her with a smirk and an arched eyebrow.

"What?"

"It's just that you have no idea, do you?" he replied smugly.

"No idea of what?"

"That you're attractive."

Hermione's mouth suddenly felt very dry. Here she sat with Draco Malfoy, who was sitting across from her, his arms crossed and leaning back in his chair easily, calmly and matter-of-factly telling her she wasn't repulsive. That she was attractive.

Must be a really strange, really strange dream; that, or she had somehow slipped into an alternate universe. Either way, Hermione couldn't breathe, and she didn't know why. Draco was still staring at her. Oh, right, it's my turn to say something.

"Erm." She actually couldn't say anything else. She was doing good not to have just grunted at him in reply.

Draco stared at her for a second, then he actually had the nerve to laugh at her, leaning back in his chair and covering his eyes with one hand. Suddenly she was angrier than she'd been in a while; he was laughing at her – of course he'd been making fun of her!

"I suppose it's all very funny," she said darkly, beginning to gather up her things once more. Draco stopped laughing suddenly and reached out a hand to stop her. Hermione froze and looked at where his hand was touching her arm, then back up into his eyes. Unflinching. Unrepentant eyes.

"Wait," he said, although he needn't have said it at all. Hermione wasn't going anywhere. She didn't think she could move if she tried, not under that unwavering, intense gaze of his.

"I'm sorry," he said softly. "I wasn't laughing at you; well, okay, so maybe I was, but only because you honestly think you aren't attractive," he added, never taking his eyes off hers.

"You can't be serious," she whispered. Why am I whispering? But she dropped her bag anyway; or perhaps her hand no longer had the strength to hold it up anymore, she couldn't have told.

Draco smiled. Again, it was that genuine smile that he didn't just hand out to anyone, the one that had her insides melting into some sort of goo, and had her wondering why she had never noticed before that he had a dimple in his left cheek. Draco Malfoy, with a dimple. There's something wrong with that.

"I am serious. Don't you remember last year at the Yule Ball? You had all the boys practically falling at your feet," he smiled. Immediately Hermione's mind took a trip back in time to the Ball, where she and Viktor had danced…Viktor. Draco seemed to realize, too late, that he had inadvertently brought the other boy up and looked alarmed for a second, until Hermione pushed the sad and angry thoughts aside and smiled back.

"You have no idea the work that went into getting me ready for that dance," she replied airily, sticking her nose into the air. "And it's not like I'm that pretty all the time," she added with a sheepish smile.

"Who says?" Draco asked seriously.

"W-well no one, really, I just –"

"Don't let anyone - ever - make you feel like you aren't beautiful," he said firmly, almost angrily. Hermione stared at him, unable to say anything more, and just nodded slowly.

Then a strange and comfortable silence passed between them, during which Hermione worked on her Charms essay and Draco read his library book, and when the library finally closed for the night, he walked her to her dormitory.

They didn't say much more to each other until they reached the portrait of the Fat Lady. Hermione turned to look at Draco, and he turned at exactly the same moment so that they found themselves face to face and their bodies were nearly touching. Hermione blushed and made to step back, but Draco placed a hand on her upper arm, gently willing her not to move.

She gulped and stared up at him. Not really knowing what was going on. Not really caring. She could smell his cologne again. Inhaling, she half-closed her eyes and didn't see him leaning down until she felt him much to close to her face and her eyes fluttered open.

Oh God, oh God, was all she could think; his face was inches from hers, and he was staring at her intensely, studying her. His eyebrows furrowed together and he seemed to be memorizing every detail of her eyes and all she could do was to stare back, completely helpless.

Then the space between them was closing, he was leaning forward to kiss her, she wasn't shoving him away or slapping him, she was tilting her chin up to meet him, she must be dreaming – for things like this just didn't happen in her everyday life – now he was closing his eyes, oh God, oh God –

"What in the hell is going on here?" someone shouted. Hermione snapped out of the hormone-induced fog that had successfully clouded her brain and looked round.

Harry and Ron were standing at the portrait hole, wands drawn, looks of anger and something akin to horror on their torch-lit faces. Hermione took a step back from Draco, who hadn't taken his eyes off the portrait hole. When he noticed she was no longer standing near him, he swung his eyes back around to her, expression changing from anger to a soft sort of charm as he reached for her hand.

He caught it easily in his and brought the back of her hand to his lips as he bent low over it.

"À demain, mon chérie," he said softly, then he brought his lips to her hand, never breaking eye contact. Hermione would have been sure her heart had stopped, if it hadn't been hammering traitorously in her ears.

Draco gave her a wink before standing up and nodding curtly to Harry and Ron.

"'Night Potter, Weasel."

Then he disappeared into the shadows.

Ron and Harry continued to stand there, looking shell-shocked, until Hermione gently nudged them aside so she could escape through the portrait hole and into the common room. If only they'll stay shocked for just a few more moments…

"Hermione?" Damn. No such luck. She turned around slowly, preparing herself for the worst.

"Yes?"

"What – were you – please tell me that wasn't what it looked like," Ron finished weakly, his arms hanging limply at his sides. Harry looked simply too furious to speak. He was still clutching his wand.

"What did it look like?" she said before she could stop herself. Instantly, she regretted being so cheeky; Ron's face fell even more, if it were possible, and Harry seemed to find his voice, with which he began yelling.

"It looked like you were getting ready to snog Draco fucking Malfoy, Hermione! What the hell has gotten into you lately? I don't even know you anymore!"

Hermione winced more with every word that came out of his mouth. She didn't even try to defend herself this time. When Harry paused for breath, she looked up.

"I don't bloody care if you're friends with him, really, I think I could get past it; but please don't get involved with him," Harry finished at last. His anger had diminished a bit and he looked a bit deflated. Ron had collapsed in a chair with his hands over his face.

Hermione cast around for something to say; anything that would make this whole situation disappear, anything that would make it better. There wasn't anything.

"I-I'm sorry," she whispered lamely. She knew it wasn't enough. She really felt as if she shouldn't have to apologize for something she didn't regret, except that it hurt and angered them so much.

She forced herself to turn her back on them, to climb the stairs to her dormitory, to ignore the funny looks of Parvati and Lavender as she climbed into bed fully clothed and drew the curtains around her.

A/N 2 : By the way, Draco says "until tomorrow, my darling" when he's kissing Hermione's hand and telling her goodnight. Just so you know.

And I know that by general consensus, no one in this genre is especially fond of Ronald Weasley, but I personally don't mind him as long as he isn't whining and stays the hell away from Hermione. And just now I want to hug him. He's all vulnerable and cute and heartbroken and...awwww.

Oh. Preview!

xxx

"I shall try to be – ahem – civil to your friends," he replied with a charming smile. "As long as they aren't the reason you were so upset," he added, scowling as he remembered her tears. Hermione looked sheepish.

"Listen, I'm sorry you had to see that," she said, not quite meeting his eyes and trying to push him away again. Draco captured her chin with one hand and turned her face up to look at him.

"Don't apologize," he said firmly. She smiled a small little smile at him, and he knew then, that he had won. "It's whoever caused you to be that way who should be apologizing."

xxx

Wow. That's a long preview. Hope you can forgive me! :D