AN: I couldnt wait to write more. So I did. I'm such a loser-.- Anyway, please be nice and review! This will be a short, light hearted chapter. Cheers!

Chapter 6. Breakfast

Draco Malfoy had stumbled to his room, threw himself into the shower with no regard for Blaise, and scrubbed himself in abandon. Granger was his partner. Granger was his partner. They had to dance together. They would argue till he turned blue in the face and died. He would try to be civil and fail because Malfoys were born to be devilishly good looking jackasses. So he would be a jackass and she would be a smart ass and they would be screwed. He banged his shampoo down. "Damn!" he swore. From outside he heard Blaise call decidedly unconcernedly, "At least she's hot. Hurry up mate, I need to shower too!"

He cursed again. And again. And again. "Oi! I appreciate vulgarities as much as the next Slytherin but would you please do me the honor of shutting the hell up?" Blaise yelled, this time a lot less unconcerned.

Draco finished his shower and pulled on his boxers. He banged the door open with vengeance and climbed into bed. Maybe it won't be that bad, he tried to convince himself as he pulled the duvet up to his chin. His last thoughts before he fell asleep echoed that of Blaise's. "At least she's hot," he muttered sleepily and then promptly dozed off.

;;;

Hermione Granger had stumbled to her room, with Ginny hot on her heels. She clambered into the shower and adjusted the water temperature with magic so that would be nice and warm and mist up all the mirrors. Malfoy was her partner. Malfoy was her partner. She would be nice to him and he would just be a prick in return because Malfoys were born to be devilishly good looking jackasses. He would insult her until she snapped and hexed him and then she would be sent to Azkaban and she would never be able to work as a Healer and free the house elves. Merlin help her, she was screwed!

"Hermione," Ginny called from outside the bathroom, "I think you're tired and cranky and your imagination is running away with you. You're not thinking straight. You won't go to Azkaban for hexing Malfoy. You would probably be awarded Order of Merlin, First Class by the Minister of Magic. You just need to get some rest and things will be better in the morning."

She realised she had been venting aloud, not in her thoughts. "I am not cranky, I know exactly what I'm saying," she wailed, rinsing off her shampoo.

"Hmm, maybe you're right then. I do agree with you, you know exactly what you're saying. Malfoy is 'devilishly good looking jackass' after all. "Ginny yelled over the sound of the shower.

Hermione immediately shut off the water, dried herself with a quick spell, dressed and banged the door open. "I did not say Malfoy was a devilishly good looking jackass!" she cried.

"Yes you did," Ginny said triumphantly, crossing her arms. "Think back."

Hermione thought back. "Oh God," she moaned, covering her face with her hands. "I did say Malfoy was a devilishly good looking jackass. You know what, you're right. I'm tired and cranky and I'm not thinking straight. I will go to bed and things will be better in the morning."

She walked to her bed and snuggled underneath the duvet. Ginny smiled fondly at her. "I must thank you, you were awfully quick in the shower. And don't worry, Malfoy really isn't that bad. Goodnight!"

Draco awoke jubilantly. He was still in the competition, for the first time in a long time, he had had a good long dreamless sleep, and life was good again. He swung his legs off the bed and looked around for Blaise.

"Well aren't you chipper this morning," Blaise commented, staring at him weirdly.

Something was up... Blaise's expression...last night. "Christ!" Draco put everything together and remembered the one thing he had failed to think of this morning. "Granger!"

He mussed his hair with his hand and looked at the clock. It was 10.00am. "Have you had breakfast?"

"Yeah I woke a good hour before you. Since when do I ever wait around?"

"Since your pal got the life threatening news of partnering a muggleborn," Draco answered sourly. He got up and walked to the bathroom to freshen up.

;;;

Hermione awoke and immediately slumped back down, sinking into her pillows. Ginny noticed she was awake and came to sit on the edge of the bed to offer some sage words which were along the lines of "Life sucks."

She continued sympathetically. "I got paired with Draco remember? And he's really alright. Really. Just try, make the effort to be nice to him. And don't rise to the taunt."

"You think I haven't tried that?" Hermione answered miserably, reflecting back on their seventh year. Draco as Head Boy was a shocking choice to most of the school population, but they guessed Dumbledore had really bought into the reformed, anti-Voldermort Draco and if the wise old man had his reasons, they would just go with it. Despite their positions, they actually managed to avoid spending that much time with each other, and managed to get the work done. Well, Hermione had been the one drawing up prefect schedules, organizing Hogsmeade outings and planning the Yule Ball. Draco did a bit of work, enough to keep up appearances, Hermione thought bitterly. But he left the brunt of it to her. And in public he had been civil, although if they ever were alone together, and those times were scarce, he would either keep them in stony silence or engaged in heated arguments.

Ginny reached forward and pulled Hermione up right. "You will let bygones be bygones," she said in a very good impression of Mrs Weasley's no nonsense tone, "You will go clean up. And then you will go to Draco's room and nicely request him to accompany you to breakfast because I have eaten without you. You will make civil conversation. Or I will hex you."

Hermione, knowing it was no use arguing, freshened up in the bathroom, threw on denim shorts and a fitting white tee and made for the portrait hole, grumbling under her breath the whole while.

"Wait!" Ginny raced forward. She draped a long vintage necklace around Hermione's neck, and shoved a couple of bracelets up her arm. "Better."

"Thanks," Hermione said sarcastically.

"Honey, its called tough love."

Draco pushed open the portrait door and climbed out, muttering obscenities mostly directed at Blaise. He had decided against apparating, thinking a walk could give him time to sort his thoughts. Maybe he could buy his way out of partnering Granger. Maybe he could bribe Granger out of the competition. Maybe she would be so disheartened at being his partner that she had already dropped out. He turned, ready to head out to the dining hall and came face to face with the very same woman. "Speaking of the devil..." he trailed off. Granger was dressed simply, but the outfit still revealed the same slender legs and shapely body that her costume had defined so well the previous day. She looked exceedingly uncomfortable and avoided looking him in the eyes.

"Malfoy, I wonder if you could..." she looked up at him, finally meeting his silver grey eyes. After what seemed like eternity, she blurted, "Ginny forced me to ask you to breakfast."

Draco's lips twitched in amusement. The she-weasel was a fierce one. Speaking of the redhead, she hadn't been as bad as he had thought. Maybe Granger wouldn't be either. He looked at her and throwing caution to the wind, he changed his mind. His life was already screwed. He'd made enough bad decisions in his past eighteen years to last a lifetime. What was one more?

"To hell with it! Let's give this stupid, idiotic arrangement a shot." he told her in his usual, lazy drawl.

He saw Hermione's eyes flicker in something that seemed like a mixture of surprise and relief. She was probably surprised that he had acquiesced.

"But I do have one condition," he added.

"What's that, Malfoy?" Granger answered. Draco imagined her running through a thousand different ridiculous possibilities in her head. She probably was.

"We eat outside. I think if people see us together, they'll come gawk and we'll be talked about and I rather not be subject to that."

He saw her visibly relax and he smirked. "I'm not going to eat you, Granger."

"I know," she said haughtily, but with a hint of a smile. "I was just going to say, I agree. I don't want to be the next hot topic for gossip."

"I'm always the hot topic for gossip." Draco replied arrogantly.

"God, you are such a prick."

"First, She-Weasel and now you! Who knew that Gryffindors swore?"

"Go jump off a cliff, Malfoy."

"Look, do you want to starve? Breakfast ends in twenty minutes."

"Oh. Right. Let's go then."

Draco walked beside Hermione down the hallway. The very idea of that was foreign to him. Maybe it wouldn't be that hard not be a jackass. Just don't make any pureblood, elitist comments and don't mention the war. Or Seventh Year. If he continued in his stuck up prat behaviour and kept his insults light and superficial, it would be fine.

"Malfoy?"

Draco shook himself. "Yes?"

"We're going the wrong way."