As promised, an extra long chapter.
You're welcome.
And I don't own Harry Potter. If I did, there would be way more romance and humor in the books, and the director of the half blood prince would be murdered for setting the Burrow on fire.
Murdered by me.
Draco had lied, of course.
If he had any excuse not to go to class, he would gratefully take it.
Besides, would Professor Binns even notice he was absent?
Of course not.
Why was he even trying to help her? he asked himself. They were just hiccups.
That would last for the rest of her life.
And possibly annoy him to death too.
He couldn't even study in the library anymore! He stayed in his dormitory, where he had no chance of studying.
If anyone asked, this was for his grades.
He needed to study, after all.
Perhaps he was mentally allergic to hiccups, and that's why they were so annoying.
He had told his friend, Blaise Zabini, about all of it, and he had suggested the most appalling thing:
Maybe you're secretly in love with her and this is your way of helping her through a difficult time in her life. And you want to snog her, because, admit it, she's not that bad-looking. If she wasn't a Gryffindor...
That had been when Draco had tuned out for the preservation of his mentality.
Hermione, no, Granger, had left the Great Hall in a hurry after dinner that day, so now he was stealthily stalking her through the halls, waiting for the right moment.
He probably wasn't even her worst enemy. The Dark Lord had tried to kill her best friend!
Somehow, he wasn't quite so sure that he wasn't.
He could think of a thousand times when he had insulted her and her eyes had flashed angrily, and she had stomped away, her day ruined.
All he needed was a hair.
Draco could follow her even when he couldn't see her because he could hear her continuous hiccups.
But she was running so fast that he couldn't do a summoning spell.
He had tried, but he just couldn't!
He realized where they were now.
This hall led to a dead end, didn't she know that?
Herm-Granger turned round a corner.
He chased after her, but when he did, he ran smack into her.
In a movie, she would've fallen on top of him and felt an intense attraction for him.
This was definitely not a movie.
He fell over at her feet, but she didn't even sway.
She didn't help him up, though her hand twitched as though she wanted to.
Draco swiftly got up, dusting off the light splay of dirt on his robes.
"What is it, Malfoy?" she asked coldly.
Time to regain your Slytherin pride, he thought.
"Nothing you need to know, Granger," he answered snidely.
Not calling her Hermione was like calling the sky green, he realized.
Where did that come from?
"Then why were you following me and trying to summon a lock of my hair?" she asked, slightly curiously, but mostly angrily, as usual.
Seeing his alarmed expression, Hermione continued, "I do have ears, you know. What is it?"
"Madam Pomfrey told me about the Singultitus you have, and-"
She cut him off, saying, "So now you think I have it."
"Now I know that you have it. Listen, she knows the cure."
She appeared to be biting back an insult so she would get her cure.
Did she always want to insult him?
Probably not.
She likely wanted to murder him some days.
Or worse, torture him.
Maybe drive him mad.
She waited.
Draco continued, "The cure is that you have to snog your worst enemy. Now, I don't think that the Dark Lord will want to-"
He was once again interrupted, but not by another biting remark.
Hermione was laughing, and after a few moments tears were running down her cheeks. She dropped to the floor and just laughed, sitting and chuckling at him like he was a comedy show or something.
"What is so funny?" he asked.
"You-you thought that Voldemort was my worst enemy!" she broke off with more hysteria.
"Errr...you do know that he has tried to kill your best friend numerous times, right?"
He raised an eyebrow.
She finally calmed down, then got up.
"No, Draco, I have amnesia. Really?" she asked, a most facetious look on her face which looked odd combined with her tears and continuous smile.
"Madam Pomfrey said that you couldn't be sure it was him, and you should probably check before you go..."
"How do we check?" she asked.
Was it possible that she looked polite, if not friendly towards him?
It's only because she wants something, he reminded himself.
To get the cure.
And why did he even care?
Blaise's voice resounded in his mind.
Maybe you're secretly in love with her and this is your way of helping her through a difficult time in her life. And you want to snog her, because, admit it, she's not that bad-looking. If she wasn't a Gryffindor...
If she wasn't a Gryffindor, would he have liked her?
The answer seemed obvious at first.
Yes, of course.
But she was different than everyone else, and maybe it wouldn't have made a difference.
But what if it had?
What if she had been in Ravenclaw? Or even Hufflepuff?
Did she only hate him because her friends did?
Did she hate him-
"How do we check, Malfoy?" Hermione asked again.
Granger! Call her Granger! he thought frantically.
"I need one of your hairs so Madam Pomfrey can do this spell thing..." he quickly said.
"Fine."
She plucked a hair out, not even wincing, and conjured up a small vial.
She placed the hair in it.
"Will you leave me alone if I give this to you?"
No! he thought.
Then, why do you care if she's not here?
Was Blaise right?
Maybe...
"You have to come with me to see her."
She sighed, then responded, "Okay."
Draco realized that he was holding his hand out like he wanted her to take it or something.
By her bewildered glance, she had seen it too.
He hid his hand behind him like it was diseased or something.
They walked silently to the infirmary.
Well, except for her hiccups.
I admit it, thought Draco.
I don't hate Hermione Granger.
The voices in his head that he was now pretty much used to told him, you can do better than that.
I like her.
Fine, I like like her. Happy?
Just as he had reached this new mental revelation, they walked into the infirmary.
What will happen next?
You'll just have to wait and find out!
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I mean, I know that about 95% of you don't review.
Please do, oh 95%!