At work the next morning, Hermione knew she had to talk to Malfoy about it, to get things cleared up. She did what she had not been doing the past week; she sought him out.

It was quite easy to find him. He was almost always in his office with Padma. Hermione bit her lip before she entered, and saw him working diligently. He looked pleasantly surprised to see her.

"Hello Granger. Come to return the forms?" he asked, and Hermione swallowed nervously and shook her head. He was quite attractive, now that she saw him the way drunk Hermione had.

"I've come to talk to you."

Draco cocked a brow at her, and the familiarity made Hermione's heart clench. He stared at her for a moment, then looked at Padma and excused himself before following her out.

Hermione led him to a broom closet and cast a silencing charm when they were both in it. "I don't want anyone to hear us," she explained when he looked at her funny.

"So…you remembered."

"Well, no. I got a Pensieve."

"Should've thought of that before."

"Yes, I know."

"So what do you want to talk about?"

"Malfoy, I just want to make things clear to you. I don't have any feelings for you, and nothing has changed between us. That was just one drunken night, and…we were pissed out of our minds! In our sober state, we wouldn't have done that. And I'm sure that we're respectable adults enough to be able to put this behind us and move on."

"Yes, except for one thing."

"Which would be?"

"We cheered to friendship. How about it?"

"What? Well, I wasn't talking about that, but…I suppose that can still stand or whatever."

Draco smiled. "You're delightful, Granger." He kissed her cheek and exited the closet.

Hermione sighed and leant against the wall. She had a feeling that he hadn't taken any of what she'd said to heart.

Work during the next few days was interesting, to say the least. Draco didn't act much different, but he'd always make an effort to somehow engage her in conversation and greet her with a peck on the cheek and a cheery 'hello Hermione', and several people she knew asked if they were dating, the change in their relationship was so great.

Finally, she got so frustrated over this that when he came to her office one morning, exactly two weeks after the after party (and two weeks since they'd shagged, not that anyone was counting), before he could say anything, she stood up and went over to him and poked him in the chest.

"This has got to stop!" she exclaimed, and he looked at her in surprise.

"What?"

"All this…this…this kissing and 'hello's', and you coming into my office just to see me; even my regular friends who work here don't visit me that often! They only come in during lunch breaks!"

"Let me set this straight. We're not kissing, I'm merely greeting you, and I don't just come in to see you, I come to give you the papers you need to fill out and sign!"

"People are beginning to think that we're dating, Malfoy! And I don't need everyone asking me every single day if we're dating!"

"And who asks that?"

"Theodore Nott? This morning, he asked me, 'Are you dating Draco Malfoy, Hermione?' I say no. He says, 'Are you sure? Because it sure seems to me like he fancies you, and you two don't fight anymore.' And I say, 'No, Theo, you've got nothing to worry about.' And he thinks I'm just denying it!"

"What's wrong with that?" Malfoy asked with a cheeky smirk.

Hermione scowled. "Will you try to act like adult here? Everything's wrong with that! We're not dating!"

"Well forgive me for trying to be a friend! Does everything I do have to be done in a way to please others?"

"Shut up!" Hermione exclaimed, and shut the door to her office. "I don't need your friendship, Malfoy, and it's becoming a burden to my daily life."

Draco stared at her.

"Just because we might've shagged two weeks ago, doesn't mean that we're friends! It was just one night! One drunken night! I never knew you to misinterpret things, but it seems like you're misinterpreting this!"

He frowned deeply.

"And I don't know what goes through that damn head of yours, Malfoy, but I don't like you! I never have, and I probably never will! This friendship isn't going to just sprout out of nowhere, so just stop trying to advance our friendship that's barely even started! I hope you realise now that I don't like you in any way, and I was drunk when I cheered to friendship, Malfoy, drunk!"

"You don't think I was drunk too? Maybe I just got pissed and shagged you and am using you now! Isn't that a possibility? You need to get off your high horse and stop thinking all about yourself and what other people think about you! You are so selfish, Granger—"

"You're calling me selfish?!"

"—and you don't think about anyone else but your friends and those less fortunate than you, like House elves, but you don't think about the other people—"

"The other people?! Do you mean Purebloods like yourself? Are those the other people?"

"—who have feelings just like them, and you are so stubborn! Why do you think I have to debate with you all the time? That's why you didn't like me before, because I argued with you all the time! And now when I actually try to be nice and try to be your friend, you turn me away! Arguing with you was my way of talking to you civilly! Isn't it true that you wouldn't have talked to me civilly before if it wasn't work related?"

Hermione had nothing to say.

"So don't you go yelling at me and telling me that we can't be friends, until you give it a bloody chance!"

He turned away, fuming, ready to yank the door open and storm out, when Hermione spoke.

"Malfoy, do you fancy me?"

Draco froze. "What?"

"Do you fancy me?"

He closed his eyes.

"Because I don't fancy you at all."

Draco opened his eyes and grit his teeth. "You've made that remotely clear," he stated coldly, and left.

Hermione frowned deeply.

-----------o------------

"I don't know what his bloody problem is! He's being such an melodramatic…child!" Hermione exclaimed into the Floo. She was going over the days' events with Ginny, and her best friend sighed.

"Hermione, I think you're being a little melodramatic. Who cares what other people think? I'm pretty sure he's changed."

"He acts like the same petty Malfoy to me!"

"Listen to yourself, 'mione! You sound absolutely ridiculous. What kind of sensible adult, woman, more specifically, would refuse a friendship with Malfoy? Just because other people are staring and making their own conclusions doesn't mean you should just throw his friendship away! What happened to your oath to give others a second chance?"

"I am giving him a second chance! He's just being a prat about it!"

"I'm going to throttle you. Don't you even feel guilty about being so rude to him?"

"A little, I suppose," Hermione admitted hesitantly.

"So apologise! Reconcile your friendship before it's too late! Sometimes I wonder how you'd last without me telling you all this."

Hermione sighed. "I don't know. I…I don't want to apologise."

"Oh, you stubborn, stubborn girl," Ginny sighed, sounding much more mature than she was.


A/N: So...yes. This chapter is done! Shorter than some of the previous chapters, though. Anoyhow, I'm trying to become a better writer, so please, any comments or constructive criticism is highly appreciated! Review!