Harry wasn't too happy with Hermione's story, even after Cho had explained it to him. But at least he didn't put up too much of a fuss. Ron, however, wouldn't listen to anyone, thought they were all crazy, and was refusing to speak to Hermione at all. she acted as if nothing had happened, though she couldn't pretend that it wasn't a relief to not have to come up with an excuse to sneak away after lunch.

Draco was surprised to see her in the classroom the next day.

"I guess it was more than wishful thinking when I came here," he remarked. "I thought they would've locked you up."

"I'm lucky they didn't." she laughed slightly. "Ron was trying. Ginny had to restrain him."

"What about the others?" he asked.

Hermione shrugged. "Girls are more understanding than boys."

"Potter is a boy."

"But he has Cho. And people are more open to reason when they aren't under the delusion that they're 'with' somebody who 'betrayed' them."

He considered that for a moment, and was about to say something, but the bell rang. Toe one that told them that they had one minute to get to class. Snape wouldn't punish Draco for being late, but Hermione would get detention. They dashed down the corridor, not even bothering to split up.

They slid into their seats, panting, just as the late bell rang. Snape scowled at Hermione contemptuously. She looked away and busied herself with finding her potions book. She fingered through her bag, but the book she needed wasn't there. Frantically, she scrambled through her things again, but no luck. She couldn't believe it. She never forgot anything! Someone cleared his throat. He did it again. And again. Finally, Hermione looked up. Draco was staring absently at Snape. On his desk was his potions book. In his hand… dangled a potions book.

"Come and get the ingredients for Veritiserum." Snape was drawling. Draco's eyes flashed to Hermione's for a split second and she nodded a fraction of an inch. There was a scuffle as everyone stood to grab the materials they needed and got their caldrons out. Hermione walked quickly over to Draco, whispered, "Thanks," and hurried to join everyone else.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Potions was over at last. "I thought that that would never end," Hermione muttered to Harry as they left.

"Twenty points from Gryffindor!" Harry raged. "He's mad!"

Draco slid in beside Hermione. "Could've been worse," he said. "He was in a good mood today."

Hermione gave him a shove. "Are you crazy?" she asked. "What will everyone think when you start having civil conversations with the Mudblood?"

"Good point." He fell back, rejoining the other Slytherins.

xxxxxxxxxxx

The next day, Hermione had a free period before Charms, then Transfiguration, then lunch. She was impatient for a reason she couldn't understand. When (finally!) lunch ended, she rushed to the empty classroom. Draco laughed when he saw her face, so anxious, and her hair, for once it wasn't frizzy, streaming out behind her. Hermione laughed too, impatience melting away.

"Someday," he said as she walked over, "I'm going to invent a potion that calms people down. Or speeds them up," he teased. "You took forever!"

"Hey!" she objected. "I bet you only just got in here yourself! And besides, both those potions have already been invented. A witch from Romania-" He cut her off, placing two fingers over her lips. She shut up fast. He pulled his hand away, eyes sparkling. Hermione felt disappointed; she wished he had kept them there longer. Quite a bit longer. She rolled her eyes and looked out the window at the cloud-covered sky, trying to hide what she felt. She had given up on trying to convince herself that she didn't care about Draco Malfoy, but she highly doubted he felt that way about her. Even after… before? Asked a part of her mind. She told it to shut up. Why should he? He was amazing and popular and perfect, in Slytherin at least. She was a frizzy-haired know-it-all.

"You look very nice," Draco was saying. Hermione started in surprise.

"You're just saying that," she said when she had regained some composure. She fingered her hair. She still saw it as frizzy, even though it had smoothed down to curls over the past year.

"No, really," he replied. "I mean it." He reached over and twirled one of her curls in his fingers. At that moment, a ray of sunlight slanted through the clouds and illuminated half of his face, leaving the rest in shadow. Hermione's breath caught as he turned his eyes to her face. He was just so incredibly beautiful.

"When did this happen?" he whispered. He was so close.

Hermione kept very still. "I don't know." Very carefully, he tilted her chin up and kissed her. His lips were soft as he pulled his arms around her, pressing his body into hers. She was shivering all over as she kissed him back. She was hot where her body touched his, and her arms went around his neck.

"HERMIONE!" Total déjà vu spread through Hermione at Ron's bellow. She pulled away from Draco, frantic if totally unwilling. "WHAT THE HELL-" she ducked, and the jinx Ron had aimed, not very well, sailed strait over her head and hit Draco full in the chest. He fell back, tumbling to the ground.

Hermione freaked out. "RONALD WEASLEY YOU BASTARD!!" she roared. "I will KILL you if you hurt him!!! I will hex you into next MONTH!!!" He backed away, looking almost as wrathful as she felt.

"You were snogging!" he yelled in disgust.

"YOU THINK," Hermione kept advancing, "that you can just march in here and ruin EVERYTHING just when I'm HAPPY?!?"

"WHAT?!?"

"I HATE YOU!!!" She was so furious she couldn't think. She raised her hand and hit him across the face, so hard a red mark appeared. "Get OUT! I never want to see you AGAIN!!!" Hermione in this mood was someone no one wanted to even try to beat. Ron scrambled for the door.

Hermione turned back to Draco's limp body, shaking and calculating. There was no way she could carry him. Instead, she levitated hem behind her and made her way to the hospital wing, still muttering, "I will kill him," under her breath.

Madam Pomfrey have her an odd look when Hermione said that there had been an accident in Defense Against the Dark Arts, but didn't say anything. She poured a nasty-smelling liquid down Draco's throat and left to sit in her office. Hermione sat in a chair near his bed, waiting anxiously. When he opened his eyes five long minutes later, he smirked at her apprehensive look.

"Miss me?" he asked.

"God. Some people." She leaned back, closing her eyes.

"Did you kill the Weasel for me yet?"

"Don't think I haven't tried."

He grinned.

"I'll go get Madam Pomfrey and tell her you've woken up," she told him sweetly.

He sighed. "And I'll have to drink something nasty."

"And it'll make you feel better."

"I'm fine."

She stood. "I'll be right back."

"Do you have to?"

"Yep." She knocked on the door of the office and it opened. "He's awake now."

"Good," Madam Pomfrey said, walking towards draco's bed. "Drink this." He made a face, but gulped the potion down quickly.

"Can I leave now?" he begged.

She looked disapproving, but said, "Fine. Try not to overextend yourself for the rest of the day."

He swung his legs over the side of the bed and stood. "Yes, ma'am."

At dinner, Hermione and Ron were both fuming. Harry, Ginny, and Cho had no idea what was going on.

"What's with Ron?" Cho asked Hermione.

"He's being a complete git, just like always," she replied loudly.

"Oh, so now I'm the git?" Ron asked, outraged.

"Yes, you are."

"I didn't do anything! It was you snogging him!"

Harry, Cho, and Ginny all exclaimed, "What?" at the same time

"You jinxed him. If I wouldn't get arrested, I would kill you for that. I still want to kill you for it."

"Who?" Cho asked commandingly.

"That bloody git Malfoy," Ron snapped. Nobody looked surprised, but Harry's face tightened.

"Have you lost your mind?" he asked angrily. "And Ron is the one who's wrong?"

"I thought we discussed this. Cho explained it to you," Hermione said crossly.

"I don't want you kissing that… him."

"It's not up to you to decide what I do or net with whoever I like."

Ginny cut in. "Quit it, all of you." She looked at Hermione. "I may not like it but," she turned to Harry and Ron, "she's right."

"What?!?"

"It's none of your business. Hermione can look after herself."

"He's messing with her!" Ron snapped. "And she believes him!"

"He is not!" Hermione retorted hotly. "I know what I'm doing."

"No, you don't!"

She threw up her hands in disgust. "You don't know the first thing about it!?

"Enlighten me."

"No. You don't deserve it. Try to be a decent person, would you, Ron? But until you can learn to do that, forget it." She stalked out of the Great Hall.

A/N: This was longer than I expected, but I cut almost a page. Please, as always, review! Oh, and I know that Hermione had a slight overreaction there, but writing in all caps for a while was pretty fun. Just a warning: next chapter will be depressing! And short. Review review review!