I just wanted to thank everyone who has been reviewing my story. It's great to hear from you guys and I'm getting some really good ideas based off some of the suggestions!

Chapter 9

Hermione POV

Hermione sat in the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom and anxiously waited for Professor Snape to arrive. Although he constantly insulted her ability to answer every single question he threw at her, Hermione found that Snape was actually a really brilliant educator. Maybe it's because he is finally teaching something that he has a true passion for, unlike his Potions job. Whatever the cause, Hermione found that she had learned more in the past three months of school than she had learned third, fourth, and fifth year combined.

That wasn't to downgrade Professor Lupin, he had been an amazing teacher. But he lacked the disciplinary techniques that Professor Snape had. Lupin had taught the curriculum to the class in terms that first years could have understood, and because of this, Hermione felt like she hadn't gotten as much out of it as she could have.

On the other hand, "Professor Moody" had possessed too much severity. The man had made Neville cry their first day in class, and she was sure many other people had sobbed to themselves after they had exited the classroom. Of course, that was really a death eater in disguise, so she would never admit to learning anything from a dark wizard.

And then there was Professor Umbridge. In all of her life, Hermione didn't believe that a teacher had taught her so little. All that Hermione had accomplished in Defense Against the Dark Arts last year was due to Harry's magnificent training. The only thing that Professor Umbridge had contributed to her life was a need to feel like a rebel. This feeling, although useful at some moments, was not what Hermione had wished to accomplish in her fifth year.

But Snape knew how to teach and how to captivate an audience. Hermione found herself drawn to his teaching methods because he had the ability to bring to life what he taught. Hermione was sad to think that it was probably because he himself was so involved in the dark arts, but if Dumbledore trusted him, she did. Nothing anyone could say, including Harry, would change that.

Professor Snape strode into the classroom with Draco closely following. Draco shot Hermione a smile unlike anything that Hermione had ever seen take form on the face of a Malfoy. She quickly smiled back, trying to put in the same amount of enthusiasm as she had received, before taking out her notes. She looked over at Harry and Ron to see if they had witnessed the smile that she shared with Draco. Harry seemed oblivious to the interaction, but Ron was staring down at his paper furiously with the familiar beet red color spreading across his face and into his ears.

After class, Hermione met Draco in the hallway. She had told Harry and Ron to head off to their next class without her due to the fact that Ron was still mad at the both of them. Hermione figured that if Harry at least stayed with him, his anger would be somewhat reduced."

"Hermione! How are you?" asked Draco enthusiastically. He looked great. Hermione had noticed that ever since he had started to open up more, he had become less pale and even developed some color in his normally icy face.

"I'm good, Draco. How have you been doing?"

"I've been great actually, thanks for asking." responded Draco, "Professor Dumbledore offered me a spot on the roster for the All-Star game that's coming up. I'm a substitute for Harry, so I know I probably won't get that much playing time, but it's an honor just to be asked." Draco finished with a grin.

"Wow, that's great Draco. It will be awesome to finally see you and Harry playing on the same team. It's going to be a relief not having to choose sides." Hermione was genuinely excited for the boy. She knew how happy quidditch made Harry and she hoped that it could have the same effect on Draco. And she was glad that for once she would be able to cheer for just one team.

"So..." started Draco, "Did you talk to Harry and Ron about... you know... us being friends?"

"I did actually," replied Hermione, "Harry is willing to give it a try. He thinks that everyone should be given a second chance, and to be honest, I think he is relieved at the idea of not having to fight with you." Draco laughed. Hermione could see that the prospect of one more new friend had him excited. Then, his face dropped slightly.

"Then what about Ron?" he asked nervously.

"Weeeelllllll... Ron isn't ecstatic at the idea of being friends with you. Unlike Harry, he doesn't think that you can change in such a short period of time." Hermione didn't think she had ever seen anyone's face fall so fast. Draco looked like someone had just informed him that his pet had died. "Draco, what's wrong?" Hermione asked worriedly.

"You said that we could only be friends if Harry and Ron agreed. Ron didn't agree so does that mean..." Draco trailed off looking up at Hermione with fright buried in his eyes.

"No, no, no, we can still be friends!" interjected Hermione hurriedly. "Harry and I compromised with Ron, and whenever he is around we can just try to limit the amount that you interact with him."

Draco's eyes lit up like fireworks during a fourth of July celebration. He had his mouth open, but no sound was coming out. Hermione hoped this was a sign of how happy he was, and not something else.

"Come on," gestured Hermione, "maybe after Transfiguration we can talk to Harry and Ron." She grabbed Draco's hand and pulled him down the corridor.

Draco was once again sitting alone at the dinner table when he saw a raven-haired boy with glasses approaching him. It was an unusual sensation to smile and the boy instead of scowl and ready an insult. His new friendship with Harry had been established after Transfiguration. Harry, Hermione, and Draco had walked down to lunch together after the lesson and then taken a walk down to the quidditch pitch.

Draco could tell that Harry was still a little uneasy about him, but he was grateful that he was being given a chance. So much of his life had consisted of people automatically assuming that he was a bad person just because of his blood and his relatives. It hadn't been until the past few days that Draco had realized how much it had hurt.

"Hi, Draco," started Harry, "I just wanted to let you know that we have a quidditch practice scheduled for today. It won't be a lot of actual training, just everyone getting to know everyone from the other house. Hopefully I won't have to break up too many fights. Anyway, I'm captain of the team, but I it would be great if you could be kind of a role model to the Slytherin. It's incredible how much you've changed, and I'm hoping some of your good influence will rub off on them."

"Thanks, Harry that's such an honor." replied Draco. Harry looked down at his shoes, clearly a bit embarrassed. "Oh and also," Draco added, "I'm really looking forward to competing with you not against you. Even if we won't be playing at the same time, it will be a nice change."

"I completely agree." responded Harry. The Slytherins around Draco were beginning to give Harry looks of disgust so Draco signaled to him that he should probably leave. Harry gave Draco a look of gratitude and quickly made his way back to a red-faced Ron and an adorable looking Hermione.

It looked like she had stayed up all night studying or reading because he hair was bushier than usual and a bit disheveled. To add to that, she was completely ignoring her food and had her head buried in a book as usual. Draco found himself staring at her and had no desire to stop. Being friends with Hermione was the greatest thing he had ever experienced, but he found himself wanting more the closer they got. All he wanted to do was hold her hand or hug her whenever they were together.

He knew that he was still in love with her, but made a promise to himself to take it slow and not force anything upon her. Before he did anything else, Draco wanted to build a friendship that could withstand anything. That moment when she had taken his hand and run to class with him, though, that had been one of the best moments of his life.

It was a moment that would live on in his head forever.