The next day, Hermione sat at the Gryffindor table for breakfast, a copy of The Daily Prophet in her hands. She sipped her pumpkin juice when she felt Ron and Harry sit down.

"Good Morning." Hermione said, not taking her eyes off of the paper.

Ron nodded at her. "Morning. What's happened?"

Her head shot up and looked at him. "Nothing! What would make you think anything happened?"

The two boys looked at her like she was crazy. "I meant what happened there?" Ron pointed to a picture in the newspaper. She looked down and swallowed nervously. She handed it to him and stared down into her food.

"Hermione, are you okay?" Harry asked.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine." She grabbed her bag and stood up.

"Where are you going?"

"I have some homework that I need to finish. See you in potions." Hermione quickly said before walking to the doors.

Before she left, she glanced over at Draco. He was talking to Pansy Parkinson with a smirk plastered on his face. Hermione just rolled her eyes and pushed open the doors, disappearing through them.

Ron turned to Harry and said, "She always finishes her homework the night before it's due. What's gotten into her?"

Harry thought for a minute before shrugging. Then they continued their breakfast, not another thought toward their friend.

In Potions

Ron walked into Professor Snape's classroom, automatically spotting Hermione. He took a seat next to her and said, "Hey."

She smiled slightly at him before going back to her book. He looked at her for minute, then sighed as the teacher walked into the room. He would have to figure out what's wrong later.

Snape, in his sour voice, told them to work on a few difficult potions, earning groans and sighs from the class. He snapped at them to be quite and turned to write something on the board. Everyone got out their textbooks and turned to the right page.

Halfway into the project, Ron finally turned to Hermione and said, "Okay, what's up with you?"

She looked up from their cauldron and said, "Nothing. Why do you ask?"

"Because, this morning." Hermione sighed and he continued, "You just seem a little on edge, that's all."

"Well, I'm not! So stop asking!" She snapped.

He put his hands up in defense and went back to the potion. She looked to the side, slightly embarrassed and ashamed of how she acted towards Ron. He was only trying to figure out what was wrong, but she was so tense about Malfoy that she couldn't think straight.

Then Hermione noticed that they were running low on some ingredients. "I'll just go get more." She said softly, before getting up and walking to the back of the room.

Draco saw her and barked to Goyle, "I'll be back." Goyle just shrugged as Draco stood up and walked to where Hermione was.

She was rummaging through different sized bottles when he came up and stood beside her. She realized his presence and rolled her eyes.

He smirked and said, "Hey mudblood. Thinking about our kiss, have you?"

"No." she snorted before picking up a bottle full of elf earwax. She turned and was about to walk away when he grabbed her arm, coming only millimeters away from her ear.

"Well, I have." he whispered huskily, causing her to freeze.

He chuckled and walked back to his table. She stood there, totally still. After a moment of this she shook her head and walked back to Ron.

She sat down and looked into her book, thinking that everything was normal. Unfortunately for her, Ron saw the whole thing.

Later

Hermione sat in the Gryffindor common room, reading. Ron was with Harry across the room, and kept looking over at her.

Harry noticed and said, "So, did you figure out what's wrong with her?" He nodded at Hermione and Ron looked at him.

"No, well not exactly." Harry waited for an answer and Ron continued, "Today in potions, something really strange happened. Hermione went to go get more earwax for our potion, and as soon as she went to the back, Malfoy followed her."

Harry suddenly sat straighter. "He must've said something to her, because she got that angry look in her eye and spat something back. But then she made to leave, when he stopped her and whispered something in her ear, causing her to stop. He then chuckled and walked back to Goyle. I'm telling you, something strange is going on, between them."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive." Ron said before looking back at their friend.

"Well, then let's go confront Malfoy." They both nodded and stood up, walking up to their dormitory. They grabbed the Marauder's Map and went out.

"Okay, so where is the git now?" Ron asked as they walked down the vacant hallway.

"It looks like he is…in the courtyard." Harry said. They made their way out the front doors of Hogwarts and into the courtyard.

Only a few students were there, but Harry and Ron spotted Malfoy over by a tree with his cronies. They approached him with anger in their eyes.

"What did you do to Hermione?" Ron asked loudly as he and Harry stood in front of him.

"Ah, look who it is, boys! Scarhead and the Weasel!" Crabbe and Goyle both laughed and Draco smirked.

Harry ignored him and said, "We know you did something to her!"

"Who are we talking about again?"

"You know who! Hermione!" Ron shouted.

A grin then spread on Draco's face and he said, "Why? Has she been talking about me much?"

"Malfoy, just tell us what you did!"

"How do you know something is going on? Oh, wait, I know. Granger couldn't keep her big mouth shut, like always." Draco said sarcastically. "And she promised to keep it a secret."

"What? No, she didn't tell us anything."

"Really? Well then, I think we're done here." He made to leave when Harry shoved him back.

"No, we're not. If you hurt her in any way, I swear I'll-"

"You'll what, Potter? Hex me? Oooh, I'm so scared." He said sarcastically.

Harry and Ron huffed and left, before a teacher came and got them all in trouble. Malfoy and his cronies just laughed and went back to what they were talking about before.

The Next Day

Hermione walked away from her Transfiguration classroom, ready to relax with a good book in the common room. She turned a corner when her face met someone's chest. She looked up, seeing Draco, and moved, trying to get away. She was in a good mood, and he was just going to ruin it.

He blocked her way and said, "So, it seems that Potter and Weasley know about what we did."

She stopped and said, "They what?"

He smirked. "They don't know, yet. But they're getting suspicious. So I would keep a closer watch on your dogs, if I were you."

She looked to the side with horror in her eyes. "How did they even find out?"

Draco shrugged and said, "Dunno. But if they threaten me again, I swear I will rip their not-so-pretty faces off."

She looked back up and said, "If you hurt them in any way, I will seriously hex you into oblivion!"

"Strange, that's what they said to me about you."

The anger on her face let up. "Really? They said that?" She looked down and smiled a slightly goofy smile.

Suddenly, a pang of jealousy hit Draco. The humor left his eyes and was replaced by determination. He looked around, seeing a broom closet on the other side of the hallway. Draco grabbed Hermione's arm and pulled her into it, shutting the door behind them.

"Malfoy, what are you do-" Her sentence was cut short by Draco crashing his lips onto hers. His arms tied around her waist, keeping her where she was. She struggled to get free, but failed miserably because of him being so much stronger than she was. Her hands were resting on top of his forearms, not knowing what to do. She couldn't get away, and no one was nearby to help her.

But then the same feeling came back, from the night in the Library. As his lips moved against hers, sparks flew, so much that they made her dizzy. Her arms rose slightly, making to wrap around his neck and kiss back. But logic got to her. This was Malfoy. Sure, he was kissing her. But was she really going to respond? Her head was telling her not to, although his soft lips felt so good against hers.

But she needed answers. This behavior he was using toward her, it just wasn't…him. Before the start of the year, he never even looked at her. And now here he was, following her and demanding kisses for no reason.

Hermione raised her hands and put them on Draco's chest, pushing him far enough away so his lips were no longer on hers. But she was still well in his grip; there was no getting out of that.

"Malfoy, what are you doing?"

"What does it look like? I'm trying to kiss you."

"Well, yes, that's very clear. But…why?"

Draco stared down at her, already knowing the answer in his head. "Because I like you." But there was no way he could tell her that. How could he respond to her question, when he couldn't tell her the truth? He pulled away from her and backed up, so now they were on opposite sides of the small closet.

All was silent, part from the awkwardness and the other part from confusion. Finally Hermione broke it by saying, "Draco," she surprised both of them by using his real name. "why do you keep following me? I mean, in the previous years you didn't give a damn about me. Now here we are, in a dark broom closet with you kissing me. It makes no sense."

He didn't say a word, but kept quiet. She looked up and said, "I thought you hated me."

No. What Draco hated was being vulnerable. And that's exactly what he was right then. So he decided to do what he did best; be cruel. Sure it would hurt her, but he couldn't let her know how he truly thought about her. Not yet, anyway.

"Granger," he said, grinning in his usual way. "of course I hate you. You're a mudblood, why wouldn't I?"

But the remark didn't seem to faze her. "Okay, that's the answer I expected. So, why do you keep kissing me?"

He pushed off the wall, acting like he didn't know. "I don't know, maybe because I'm attracted to you. Granger, this is purely for enjoyment. Half for me, because I can see that it bothers you. And also because I was looking for a little fun. Pansy is horrible when it comes to things like this."

"You're despicable." Hermione spat, glaring at him through the darkness.

"Hey, at least I'm honest."

"Well, could you please have fun with some other poor girl? I really don't want to waste my time with the likes of you."

"You really think you can get rid of me that easily?" He chuckled.

"Of course not. I know it." And with that, she yanked the door open, filling the room with light. She walked down the corridor, never casting a look back at the Malfoy.

"See you around mudblood!" he called after her. She glared back at him before turning the corner, disappearing from sight.

When she was gone, he frowned. This was not the kind of relationship he wanted with Hermione. But it was all either of them knew. He only started liking her at the end of their third year, when she slapped him. Yes, he should be angry at her for that. But he only felt admiration, because she was standing up for something she believed in.

And he was very aware that she disliked him. Probably even hated him. But he was going to change that. He knew he had to start acting nicer to her, in order for her feelings to ever change. It was going to be hard, but he was prepared for anything.

Smiling to himself, he walked down the opposite direction of the corridor with his hands in his pockets, thinking of nothing but the feisty, bushy-haired Gryffindor.

Okay, before you say anything! I know I changed the plot line… A LOT! But I felt like I moved into it too fast. There has to be some drama before they actually get together!

So sorry, but I WILL guarantee that in later chapters there will be Dramione love. You can bet on it!

Stay tuned, and read&review!