Flashback:

"Who is it?"

"Brightest Witch of the Age my ass."

"Why would I do that?"

Hermione Granger was confused when Draco Malfoy's lips were on hers. She was confused before that, when Draco had tackled her to the ground, giving her no chance to escape. She, also, was confused when his eyes scanned her face, like a photocopy machine back in the Muggle world, and also when his eyes locked on hers as if questioning her. She had to admit she was afraid when she realized that his eyes had darkened, making it a shade similar to black. She was afraid to kiss him back, afraid that if ever one of her friends, say Harry or Ron, will find out, it will seal her fate for sure. She was afraid that she may be the one Draco wanted to visit, not Pansy Parkinson, and if this kiss was any indication… She didn't want to think about it. She wasn't as Gryffindor as she is thought to be, she has her logic, her logic which made her afraid, which made her confused and which made her push Draco away.

She was caught off-guard at Draco's resigned expression. He said nothing, he knew he went one too far. He knew this was going to happen, he knew that after everything he's done to her, she couldn't… she wouldn't be that forgiving. He knew, and what did he do? Kiss her? No, not just that. He hoped she would forgive and forget; that they could just kiss and make up. Which made no sense, because they had nothing to fix, there was no foundation of their relationship, if there ever was one.

"Draco," she said, after what felt like an eternity of silence. "I… what… I don't… I don't understand." How she hated it when she didn't understand something. She didn't like the feeling. It wasn't very fulfilling. It wasn't right. It wasn't fair.

Draco laughed bitterly. "It was just that, wasn't it? What happened was just that, wasn't it, Hermione?" He spat out her name as if it were something bitter on his tongue. "What happened was just another concept you just had to understand. Guess what, Granger," a book went flying toward his head when he uttered her last name, and he ducked just in time, "I think this is what your big brain can't fathom: not everything could be understood, not everything is explainable. Especially when it comes to… to…" He can't bring himself to say it. Surely it wasn't that.

"When it comes to what, Draco?" she questioned, then threw her arms up. "You know what? Nevermind. Give me my damned homework, and let me leave you to finish your sentence all by yourself, maybe kissing me made me give you mud—"

"Don't say that word," Draco said quietly.

"—blood germs that messed up your brain cells. What is that now? The Draco Malfoy, the amazing bouncing ferret, telling me not to use the term he'd had a habit of throwing at me whenever he saw fit? The term that he'd mercilessly used to address me, along with all my fellow muggle-borns? I thought I'd never live to see the day," she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

Draco didn't want to fight, he didn't have enough energy. It seemed to diminish when he'd tried to say The Word. He stood up, grabbed his bag, and rummaged through it, found what he was looking for and shoved it to her arms.

"There," Draco spat. "Your homework. Hope you're happy, Granger. Now go and leave me alone, like you said you would. Go on," he said. "Lob another insult, tell me I'm getting soft, or say you hate me. Tell me I'm an arrogant, pompous, inconsiderate bastard! Tell me you'd rather snog the Giant Squid! Just promise me you'll leave me alone for now."

Hermione's mouth was hanging open in shock. She didn't expect him to explode. She couldn't even believe she'd said that to Draco. She looked into his intense silver eyes, and looked away. She stood up and left, knowing saying another word wouldn't be very wise.

She slammed the door of her room shut, sat on a chair and started on her homework in Potions, which was a 15-inch essay about the properties and uses of mermaid scales in a mildly complicated potion.

The properties and uses of mermaid scales in… she began writing, completing exactly 3 inches of her parchment when she realized she couldn't concentrate. The feel of his lips on hers never seemed to leave her mind. Then she realized she was too wrapped up thinking about what Ron, what whoever, would say if they knew that they had been kissing on the carpet of the Heads' Common Room rather than enjoying the said kiss, knowing that it could be one of the last times she'd ever get to do it. She sighed after 5 crumpled pieces of parchment and bolted towards Draco's room, determined to apologize. So I could finish my homework, she convinced herself. And nothing else.

Draco made sure that Hermione had already slammed the door to her room shut before he made his way to his own. He went in and kicked the door shut with foot. He removed his shoes and jumped up and down his bed, seeing how high he could go before falling back into his bed. He tried to muster all his irritation at Hermione in the coming jump, expecting it to be high. It was high, alright. He hit his head on the ceiling and he heard a giggle behind him. His face went hot as he saw…

"Granger?"

!i!

"Harry, I'm going down the Quidditch pitch, wanna come with?" Ginny Weasley asked her green-eyed boyfriend.

"Sorry, Gin, can't. Still got this big load of homework, Ron's expecting me to help him," Harry said, smiling sadly.

"Oh," Ginny said, her smile faltering a bit. "I'll just stay with you; I know my brother won't mind."

"Ginny, love, I don't want to pressure you into having to spend every single moment with me. You go hang out with your friends. I don't think you'll be thrilled to be talking about mermaid scales, and all those boring stuff. Besides," he added. "I don't think I'll be able to concentrate…" Ginny sighed and stared into his green eyes before he leaned in to kiss her.

"Have fun, Ginny. I love you!" And with that last sentence, her heart leaped. Imagine having Harry Potter declare his love for you…

She dashed off to the Quidditch pitch, still smiling, giddy as a schoolgirl.

Harry walked to Ron, who was holding a picture in his hand.

"Hey, Harry," Ron said, eyes still glued to the picture. "Look at this… Do you think that's Hermione?" Ron's brow was furrowed; he didn't think Hermione would… do that with the bouncing ferret.

Harry squinted at the picture, trying to see it better. Draco Malfoy was unmistakable, and the girl was a bit blurred. "Can't be," Harry mumbled.

!i!

This isn't cool, Blaise Zabini thought, not only referring to the heat of the afternoon, but also because of the absence of their Captain and Seeker, Draco Malfoy, which means all the work is left on him.

A few murmurs of 'Where's the Captain,' echoed in his head, which made him clutch his broom tightly, determined to have a better-than-usual practice, even if the most important part of the team isn't there.

"Hey," Blaise said, making his deep voice louder than usual. It wasn't enough, though.

I need to do this, Blaise thought. Sorry to your ears. He pointed his wand to his throat, and muttered, "Sonorus." He cleared his throat and said, "Shut up," in a slightly authoritative voice. His voice was magnified 10 times, and carried throughout the pitch.

His teammates, being no more than two meters away from him, cringed. It was mean, Blaise knew, but at least he got their full attention now. "Quietus," he murmured, and his voice returned to normal. "I know Draco isn't here, he's in the Head dormitories, fixing… whatever he needs to fix there. The match against Gryffindor is about a month away, and I know that Draco expects you to be in proper shape for said match."

"How would you know," the very rude voice of their Keeper said.

"I happen to be best mates with the Captain, Baddock," Blaise said coolly. Malcom Baddock flushed a dull red and looked at the ground. "Anyone who still wants to question me?" he asked loudly. No one spoke. Then his face broke into a smile. "OK, 50 pushups, each!"

Ginny smiled at the sight in front of her. Who knew you had to do 50 pushups and 100 sit-ups before getting into the air? The Slytherin's practice was very intense. The Beaters had to do this non-stop hitting of the Bludger back and forth, Chasers had to pass the Quaffle from far ends of the Pitch and the Keeper had to block every single shot. By the time they were done, the Beaters looked beat; the Chasers seemed like they were chased by a dragon, the Keeper's—along with everyone else in the team—hair was unkempt.

"Hit the showers, all of you!" Blaise yelled before closing his eyes, wiping the sweat off his forehead.

"Sweaty, aren't you, Mama's Boy?" a voice asked from behind him. No one ever called him that except for…

"Yo, Red. 'Course I'm sweaty, it's Quidditch, after all," Blaise said, grinning as he turned to her.

"Nice practice, by the way," Ginny said. "Is that always how you Slytherins do it?"

"Yeah, we like to overdo things sometimes," Blaise replied, smiling at Ginny's expression.

"Awww… and I thought Slytherins always relax, and well, blend into the wall?" Ginny teased.

"Hey, I do not blend into the wall," Blaise said, offended. "I just… don't want trouble. How's your boyfriend, by the way?"

"Studying. Reckon he and my brother can't do whatever it is without Hermione," she said. "How's yours?" She was referring to the older Greengrass. "Haven't seen you with her anymore? Big fight?" Blaise's smile disappeared, and an uneasy silence took place.

"Actually," Blaise said at last. "We broke up. Turns out we weren't as… compatible as before."

"I'm sorry," Ginny said, automatically. She raised her hand to pat his back, but put it down quickly, knowing that will make things more awkward.

Blaise didn't miss that though. "I think you shouldn't be seen hanging with me, your friends might freak because you're 'fraternizing with the enemy'," Blaise said, doing quotation marks in the air.

"I don't think you're an enemy," she said quietly. "And I also think that you should take a shower, Blaise. You smell," she said, trying to lighten the mood. "I'll be sitting on the bleachers, if you… wanna talk about it." She ran off, her auburn hair bouncing.

Blaise ran a hand through his dark hair while he walked towards the showers, thinking, 'What the hell was that?'

!i!

Colin Creevey was in the library, studying for Herbology. He placed his Guide to Healing Plants aside.

Why do they need to make the name impossible to utter? he thought, picking up another book. His essay was half-done. Why can't they name I like… Red or Blue?

"Because, that would be just stupid," a soft voice said behind him. Cho Chang's figure emerged from the shadows. "How's it going, Colin?"

"Er, f-fine, I guess," Colin mumbled. "Herbology essay. What brought you here?"

Cho smiled a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes and he realized that her brown eyes looked… well, sad.

"Um, I was just… thinking," Cho replied, her voice hardly heard. Colin didn't need to think twice. Cedric Diggory. Apparently, she has a time when she… mopes around a bit. Guess she really loved him, Colin thought, not at all bitterly.

"Want help?" she asked, breaking the silence.

"Sure," he said. "But I'm already half-finished, maybe you could just take out the mistakes… if – if that's cool with you."

A few minutes later, the essay looked… better. Cho did, too. She didn't look as sad as she was before she helped him.

Maybe homework makes her happy? Colin thought.

"You know, Colin, you… you're really cool," she said after a while. "I… I think any girl who'll be with you'll be very lucky." She kissed his cheek and left, waving.

I think you're really cool…

A/N

Me: HEEEEY! I am so, so, sooooo sorry I didn't update sooner! I was grounded and the internet won't work and I had this stupid writers' block! IHML. Review, though? Chapter after this will be out tomorrow, still need to be re-read and edited.

Disclaimer: I do not own the HP series, if I had, my internet will be WHOA, and my room would be big. And my whole house'll be air-conditioned. ;)

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