Disclaimer: Not mine. Not yours. Only JK Rowling's.

A/N: Well, Thursday's here (or probably Wednesday in your place. I'm following the time here in the Philippines). I can't really think of anything decent to type in my a/n. I'm seriously sleepy and my eyes are drooping close already.

Anyway, just some clarifications before you read. Hermione's seventeen here! I kinda realized that I mixed up her age after one reviewer pointed it out. I just remembered that she's supposed to be older by a year; thus, she's older than the other three Slytherins. SO, since I've written everything already and all, I'll stick with what I've written prior the reminder. Let's just pretend she's seventeen like the rest of the seventh years, okay?

Oh, and I've forgotten to include in the two chapters before this that this fic is loosely inspired from "You're Beautiful", a Korean drama. Just so you know, two of my one-shots are also inspired by the same drama. Take note: loosely inspired. Therefore, to those who've watched the drama, my plot is entirely different from the drama except some scenes that I thought would look awesome here in my fic. Oh, and yes, I did base Draco, Blaise, and Theodore's… ahem… Teddy's character from the three main boys.

So, that's it. Enjoy reading!

Chapter Three: First Impressions

"Are you all right?"

Harry watched as an annoyed, disguised Hermione Granger walked inside the room. She had sent him a distressed letter, asking him to meet her in the Room of Requirement. And though, tired on the first day of school, Harry had dragged his exhausted body inside their meeting room, ready for any complaints from his best friend.

"All right?" Hermione's almost hysterical reply, plopping down beside the comfortable couch Harry had conjured. "Do you think I look all right?"

Her hair, which Harry fixed before she was introduced as Hermes Austen, was disheveled. Her eyes were big and almost bulging and her teeth were worrying her bottom lip.

"Hermione?" was his worried question as the brunette completely looked at him.

"Oh Merlin, Harry!" she cried. "Hide me instead. I'd rather be accompanying dolphins and birds instead of that… that…"

"Calm down, yes that's a good girl." He tried to suppress a humored smile. "Breathe, Hermione. Calm down. Very good."

"Harry!" Hermione exclaimed, glaring at her best friend. Harry released a laugh and patted her head.

"Relax," he said. "Tell me what exactly happened."

Hermione's eyes showed horror. "Well, I was sorted in Slytherin, right?" she said. "I accomplished only the first part of my plan. And so, I was in my new room, waiting to meet my three new roommates." She took a deep breath and turned serious. "You know Theodore Nott?"

"Yeah," Harry said, knitting his eyebrows in deep thought. "The black-haired, blue-eyed bastard? The one who always insulted us whenever we are near him or something? Is he making your life miserable already?"

She shook her head, disagreeing. "Barely," she said, allowing herself to smile a little while thinking of the Slytherin. "He was… okay, I guess. Adorable, even. He acts like he's my best friend ever since he laid eyes on me. Do you know that he insisted on throwing a party for me?"

Harry only answered with a surprised look on his face.

"And then, Blaise Zabini, you remember him?"

"Tall, dark, and jerk? The Italian, right?"

Hermione once again nodded, absentmindedly running a hand through her short hair, ruffling it more. "Yes and I think he is okay too. He was polite all the time. Eh, he barely insulted us before, you know. He just stands and watches as the others do that for him."

"Okay, so your two roommates were tolerable," Harry said. "So, what's the problem?"

"Malfoy's my roommate," she said, scowling at every word.

"What?" came Harry's indignant cry.

"Exactly," Hermione said, looking hysterical once more. "I cannot live with that… that…"

"Ferret," Harry helped.

"Yes, that ferret for the rest of the school-year," she said. "I had to deal with Voldemort, for goodness' sake! I don't want to deal with Malfoy, too."

Harry was silent for a while. She expected him to agree with her but the next words he uttered shocked her to no end. "This might sound very impossible to you, Hermione, but I think the arrangement is bloody brilliant," he exclaimed, his face scrunched up as if he smelled something foul.

"Brilliant? What's so brilliant with living with Draco Malfoy? Harry, we are talking about Draco Malfoy, remember?"

"Hear me out before jumping into conclusions," he grumbled, looking at her pointedly. "Hermione, did you forget what Dumbledore told us last summer? Malfoy's a Death Eater."

"What's so good about that?" Hermione asked, frowning. She did remember Dumbledore telling them this revelation. And truthfully, she was not surprised at all. Having Lucius Malfoy as his father already sealed his fate – to be a Death Eater and served Voldemort for a lifetime.

"Hermione, Malfoy's on our side," Harry expanded. "He's a spy for the Order. And I know it's close to impossible. But Dumbledore trusted him. He can help you, you know."

Hermione made a face. Asking help from Draco Malfoy was like asking help from an Acromantula. But as she thought about Harry's words, she begrudgingly agreed. Harry was right. If she wanted to be a Death Eater, she could somehow ask help from Malfoy. Especially with him being a spy fro the Order of the Phoenix.

"You know, I always feel accomplished every time I say the right things to the one and only Hermione Granger," Harry butted in, a cheeky grin visible on his face.

"Oh honestly," she said with an annoyed voice, though, she couldn't help but show a smile. Harry always had the ability to comfort her, even in her most frenzied moments.

It was enough to thank Merlin she had a friend like Harry Potter.

Hermione had no idea whether to smile thankfully at Theodore Nott or strangle him to death.

Apparently, he pushed through with his 'grand plan' of throwing a Welcoming Party for her and the new first year Slytherins of the school-year. But based from the fact that a lot of seventh years and some lower levels were flanking her side and asking too many questions, she assumed that the Welcoming Party was mostly for her.

It also turned out that she was roommates with the three most popular boys in the whole Slytherin House and for her to be in their room for ten straight months was a dream come true for many, if they were in her place.

"Having fun?" Blaise Zabini asked, a charming smile on his face. He invited himself to sit on the couch Hermione was currently sitting on.

One thing she discovered about Blaise was that girls loved him because he was the typical 'Prince Charming' of fairytale stories. Sweet, charming, gentlemanly… name all of the traits of Prince Charming and he had it. Hermione found herself agreeing. Even if she just lived with him for two days, he proved to be the most polite of all of her roommates.

"I guess so," she said, looking around and seeing all of the laughing faces of her Housemates. "But," she continued, frowning at a nearby table filled with knick-knacks and drinks. "According to Headmaster Dumbledore's announcement yesterday, parties like this are banned."

Blaise released a good-natured laugh. "Hermes, we've been doing this for years, mostly because of Nott's persuasion. And I have to say that we were never, and I mean never, caught. And besides, Theo's right. The Slytherin common room is mostly… distressing. A little lightening up like a party is good."

Hermione shook her head and to her surprise, flashed a small smile. Slytherins were boggling her more and more. Contrary to popular belief, they weren't practicing Dark Arts every free period they had (Ron predicted that). Like her own Housemates, they hang-out with their friends and exchange insignificant or important anecdotes of their life.

She could not believe herself for thinking that Slytherins were actually… tolerable. And she meant that.

"Is it always like this?" Hermione asked to Blaise, who was now idly looking around the whole room.

Blaise looked at her and shrugged. "I guess," he answered, absentmindedly rubbing the back of his neck. "Do you do this in Durmstrang, too?"

"Not really," she answered. "Our punishments would be more severe if we were caught." She remembered the stories Viktor Krum told her when they were still dating.

"Oh," was his mere reply before giving her a smile.

Hermione smiled back. They bought her lie of studying from Durmstrang before she transferred to Hogwarts. The only truthful thing she said about herself was that something happened at her own home (completely burned down) and her parents were experiencing some… problems (kidnapped by none other than Voldemort). Vague, but still, she was being honest.

"Have you met people already?" he asked, cutting her off from her reverie.

"Well, some," she said, making a face. "But so far, my first impression of them is not that… good."

Blaise chuckled. "Some Slytherins are really weird but, you'll like it here once you get to know most of us."

"I guess," she said, shrugging her shoulders. "You and Teddy are really nice to me. I actually thought I won't have friends for a week. You know, being new and all." Her eyes widened upon seeing a black-haired Slytherin, whose eyes were darting around the room. She dove behind Blaise while he was looking at her in amusement.

"Hide me," she squeaked softly. "Don't let Parkinson see me."

Blaise chuckled once again and watched as a frowning Pansy Parkinson roamed around the room, her eyes seeking for someone. "Let me guess, you've met the whiny, flirtatious pug, already."

"That's what I exactly thought about her!" she exclaimed, resuming her previous position beside Blaise once Pansy was nowhere to be seen. "I am guessing she's really like that."

"Austen, Parkinson's like that with every other guy in the whole school," he said, picking a glass of butterbeer and gulping its content. "But, she's pretty nice to be with, as long as you aren't her objection of affection."

Hermione remembered the times when she saw Parkinson with a guy, which was everyday, and she had observed that she was with a different guy every other day.

"Don't worry, she would grow tired of you as the week ends," he assured.

"I hope so," was her reply, shivering at the thought of Pansy Parkinson trailing her around like an eager dog for the whole school-year.

Hermione had met other Slytherins with different personalities. One was Millicent Bulstrode, whom she had seen once in a while back when she was still not pretending to be another person. She was, let's just say, a manly female. She guessed that if you were to enrage her, you were likely signing your own death sentence.

There was also Stanley Mulkins, a sixth year student. He was a social climber, according to her own observations. He had been flanking her side a few moments ago and even if the words coming out from his mouth were flattering and sensible, she knew his true intentions. Teddy had warned her about this before the Welcoming Party and she was thankful she took his advice by heart. Stanley had been forcing her again and again to introduce him to her other three roommates and it irritated her to no end.

Adrian Pucey, on the other hand, amused her. He was, for lack of a better description, the resident womanizer. Blaise told her that his one and only goal in his life was to get into the pants of all the girls who showed interest in him. And so far, he was achieving his goal.

'Sick bastard,' she thought, drinking a butterbeer.

There was also a Slytherin named Rupert Montgomery who was said to be a loner in the whole House. He was a complete anti-social person and he drove away people who wanted to interact with him. There were rumors spreading around that if you annoyed him, he would creep into your room and hex you until you landed into the infirmary.

The most interesting person she had met so far was Gaston Gray. According to a scornful Teddy (which was surprising) and an insulting Blaise (equally surprising), she shouldn't interact with Gray at all. Apparently, he was once their roommate but he was a backstabbing bastard (sweet Teddy said) and so, they pleaded Snape to move him into another room. Hermione assumed his position as their new roommate.

"Hermes, the one person I wanted to see!" was Teddy's gleeful greeting as he hurtled towards his other two roommates. Hermione scrunched up her nose in disgust; Teddy was reeking of firewhiskey.

"You've been drinking," Hermione accused, removing the glass of alcohol from Teddy's hands.

He only frowned and grabbed back the said alcohol and gulped the rest of the drink down. "Rubbish," he said. "It's a party so I can do whatever I want."

Teddy sat down on the other side of Hermione and gave her a smile. "Are you enjoying?" he asked. "You're supposed to be, you know. You are the star of the party!"

Beside her, Blaise rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Where's Draco, anyway?" he asked. "I haven't seen him for a while."

The other boy scowled and jutted his thumb at a certain place in the room. "Sulking in a bloody corner," he said. "Party pooper."

Hermione followed Teddy's thumb and like what he had said, Draco Malfoy was seated in a secluded area in the room, a visible scowl on his face. He looked like he wanted to blend with the shadows and he was actually getting what he wanted.

"I miss the old Draco," Teddy whined, resting his mournful face on the armrest. "He's no fun anymore."

The brunette looked surprised. "What do you mean?"

Blaise gave Teddy a warning look; Hermione was able to see it. "Well, I guess he's changed," he answered slowly, cautiously. "He was not the same Draco Malfoy from the one we knew before."

Hermione thoughtfully frowned and looked at the lone blond sitting in the corner. Now that she thought of it, she never really knew the real Draco Malfoy. All she knew about him was that he was the Pureblood bully who had the sick habit of picking on people, even if they were in their lowest already. She guessed that if he knew she was alive and he knew about the state of her parents, he wouldn't hesitate but to rub that fact against her face for being useless on the time her parents needed her the most.

She looked away from him and scowled at her hands. Malfoy was a Death Eater and there was a big possibility that he was there on the day Voldemort and his minions kidnapped her parents.

"You okay?" Blaise asked. Teddy's head shot up and looked at Hermione, worried.

"I'm fine," she said. "Don't mind me."

Teddy frowned and shook his head. "This is your party," he said. "You should be enjoying!"

He looked around and whistled. An enthusiastic girl, probably in her second year, came bustling towards him, balancing a single glass of firewhiskey on a steel tray on her hand. "Lord Theodore has called me," she said, awe in her voice. "I am ready to serve you with all of my being. Just tell me what to do."

"Lord Theodore?" Hermione asked, amused, while Blaise just laughed beside her.

Teddy winked at Hermione and clutched the glass, giving the second year the most charming smile he could ever muster. The brunette swore the little girl would have swooned right there and then. "Thanks Mina. You can go now."

The second year softly squealed and bustled away.

Hermione, on the other hand, frowned and pointedly stared at Teddy.

"What?" he asked, giving her a sheepish smile. "She was willing to serve me at my beck and call. I'm just doing what she wanted me to do."

Hermione rolled her eyes and was surprised when Teddy had thrust the glass into her hands. "Here, drink it. That will lighten up your mood," he announced.

She eyed the beverage, curious. "I… don't drink," she said.

"Eh, it's just one glass," he said. "And you're a man. You should be able to hold down your alcohol."

"Theo," Blaise butted in with a sigh. "Seriously. You're being too pushy again."

"Nonsense," he said. "Now, drink it. You'll thank me afterwards. Trust me."

Hermione scrunched up her nose in disgust. She had tasted firewhiskey before and she instantly disliked it. 'Oh, don't be such a wimp,' she told herself. 'It's just one glass. It's no big deal.' Hermione looked from Teddy to Blaise and shrugged. "Just one."

And then, she gulped the contents of the glass.

The burning sensation started in her throat and she sputtered for a bit. Teddy absentmindedly rubbed her back to cease her coughing. Once it stopped, surprisingly, Hermione felt warm.

It felt nice.

"See, you did it," Teddy said, as if talking to a five-year-old. "Do you care for another one?"

Hermione was thoughtful for a moment before shrugging her shoulders once again. "Oh, what the heck."

"Brilliant!" Teddy was smiling so widely Hermione couldn't help but smile back.

Teddy then once again called for his enthusiastic second year avid fan.

"Another one, please," was Hermione' slurred comment, thrusting her empty glass towards Teddy's direction. "Come on, one more glass." She was dangling the glass now and Teddy, now frowning, pried the wineglass away from Hermione's slackened grip.

"Hermes, I think you've had enough," Blaise said from her other side, looking at Hermione worriedly. "How many glasses did you have already?"

"Uh." She raised a shaky hand and showed four fingers. "Three," was her gleeful reply.

"You've had eight glasses!" Teddy exclaimed, holding the unsteady Slytherin by her shoulders. "Even I cannot stomach that much."

"Oh don't be such a party pooper, Teddy dear," Hermione gushed out, trying to steal Teddy's half-empty glass of firewhiskey. Blaise had beaten her and hidden the glass behind his back.

"You've had enough," Blaise repeated firmly. He then directed his accusing eyes towards Teddy, who pouted at him in remorse. "This is your fault, Theodore. He clearly said he could not drink. Now look at what you've done."

"Well, I did not know he would get drunk after drinking his third glass," Teddy explained, holding both of her hands to prevent her from reaching a stray glass on the coffee table. "Merlin, he drinks like a bloody girl!"

"Anyway, what's done is done," Blaise said in an exhausted voice. "Let's just bring him back to our room before he does anything he will regret once he's sober."

He stood up and hauled Hermione up to her feet. Teddy also stood up and supported Hermione's other side. She was pretty wobbly on the way back to their room. It would have been much easier for Blaise and Teddy if they were not walking through a crowded Slytherin common room.

"Oh Merlin, how heavy is he?" Teddy proclaimed as they finally dragged the intoxicated brunette back into their room. The music coming from the common room was still heard, albeit a bit muffled. "Ugh, I think a headache's going to attack my head soon."

A pillow then came hurtling into Teddy and hit him squarely on the face. "Hey!" he cried.

"Shut up," Draco Malfoy grumbled, his voice thick with sleep. "Somebody's trying to sleep here."

"You're back here early?" Teddy sounded genuinely surprised.

"Party pooper!" the intoxicated Hermione butted in. "Hey, I'm having fun saying it. Let me say it again. Party pooper!"

"What happened to him?" the blond asked, now sitting up on his bed. Apparently, the noise his roommates made him wide awake.

"Drunk," Blaise answered, directing a pointed look at a sheepish Teddy. "Nott here's the culprit. Now, be a good roommate and help us with him."

"Oh honestly," came Draco's annoyed reply, although, he stood up and followed Blaise's request. "Seriously, he cannot stomach alcohol. Why the hell did he drink?"

"Ask him," Blaise said, jutting his chin towards Teddy as he forced Hermione to sit down on her bed. Too bad, an intoxicated Hermione was ten times more stubborn than a sober her.

"I just wanted him to have fun!" the offender whined. He then pulled Hermione in front of him and shook her, demanding her with a defensive tone in his voice, "Tell them you had fun! Go on, Hermes. Tell them!"

Hermione pushed herself away from Teddy and walked forward, her steps shaky. "Ooh, I did," she declared, stretching her arms over her head. Her three other roommates watched her carefully, thinking that she might pass out anytime.

She then twirled around, arms still stretched. "I haven't felt so wickedly awesome before," she continued, giggling softly. But then, her twirling stopped as she clutched her head and moaned. "But now I don't feel so good."

"What an idiot," Draco grumbled and rolled his eyes.

"Ugh, why is the room moving?" She released another pained moan. "Make it stop." Her eyes directed towards the other three and to their surprise, she laughed. "I thought I only have three roommates. Teddy, I can see three yous!"

Blaise sighed in defeat and retrieved his wand. "He leaves me with no other choice," he declared, pointing his wand towards the intoxicated brunette.

But before he could even utter a single word, Hermione tripped on her own left feet and toppled over. Draco, being the closest to the brunette, was instantly in front of her to steady her.

Unfortunately, Hermione's weight and erratic movements had knocked off Draco's balance and before he knew it, he was flat on the floor, his back aching from the sudden impact with the carpeted floor of their room. Hermione was now on top of Draco, her giggles the only thing heard in the whole room.

Teddy whistled lowly and looked at Blaise in nervousness. "I bet he'd blow up after five minutes," he said.

"Two," Blaise interjected, a small smirk on his face. "The loser will force to calm down Malfoy, okay?"

Teddy looked horrified with the consequence. An enraged Draco Malfoy was a dangerous one. He had a fair share of calming down his best friend and for him, he'd rather go on a date with the Giant Squid. But a bet was a bet. And he, as a Slytherin, never backed down. "Deal."

Meanwhile, on the floor, Draco was too horrified to talk. Eyes wide and mouth slightly agape, he stared disbelievingly at his new roommate, who was also staring back at him.

Hermione had this goofy smile on her face, and it grew and grew as she continued to stare back at her surprisingly soft pillow. "Ooh, you have a soft chest," she said, snuggling closer to him. Because of her intoxicated state, she was not able to hear the surprised gasp that came out from the blond.

She stared at his eyes once again and released a gasp of horror. "You have mercury in your eyes!" she cried shrilly, making a move to pluck his eyeballs out from their sockets.

Draco thanked his reflexes because if he was as slow as any normal person out there, his eyeballs would be now rolling on the floor.

'Relax, Draco Malfoy,' he told himself, breathing deeply. 'Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe…'

He was cut off from his musings when Hermione suddenly giggled, her freed hand now placed gently against his cheek. "But you have gorgeous eyes; do you know that, Draco Malfoy? I feel like I'm drowning deeper and deeper and deeper…"

She paused, scrunched up her nose, and then did something Draco wished he had predicted ever since he laid eyes on Hermes Austen.

She… puked on him.

Blaise's eyes were as wide as saucers and stared blatantly at an unconscious Hermes Austen, darting once in a while towards a stock-still Draco.

His eyes then averted to Teddy, who looked as horrified as him. "Theo," he said, and Teddy slowly looked at him, growing more surprised. "I won."

A/N: Well, that's it for now. You just have to wait for next Thursday again. Btw, I could probably update earlier or later, depending on my schedule (AND my mood). Junior year is so damn exhausting!

Anyway, I just want to thank those who read, favorited, and most especially reviewed by new one-shot entitled "Married Today". Your reviews made me SO happy. To those who haven't read it yet, allow me to shamelessly endorse the said fic. Just ready some tissues, 'kay?

Lastly, I know this fic is a Romance/Humor (and we all know who's going to end up together *wink*). But don't be easily fooled by the word 'humor'. Just because I try to be a little humorous doesn't mean the fic wouldn't have drama and all that shizz. Need I remind you that I'm going to kill off one character? I've typed everything, and I felt so depress after typing the death scene and I did not touch the computer for days.

WELL, enough of those foreshadowing craps. Please do leave some reviews, okay? It'll make my day (haha, they rhymed!)

With love,

2booklover4