Disclaimer: The things I would do to Draco if I owned him? Well let's just say that I wouldn't have much time to write this fic. Everything but my plot belongs to the wonderful J.K. Rowling.

Ch. 34

The next morning, I woke up to the sound of the smallest taps at my window. Too drowsy to comprehend anything, as anyone would be when they were in between the worlds of sleep and awareness, I simply turned in my bed and began to fully submerge myself into slumber again.

It wasn't until I had heard a rabid hooting that I awoke with a slight start. As I did, all of yesterday's events came flooding back to me – Ginny had visited, then Draco; and I had written a letter to my parents…

Mum and Dad. They had to be responding!

As soon as I could, I excitedly willed myself up and out of bed, walking still somewhat drowsily to my closed window. As I turned the latch, the tawny owl that had been resting on my window sill hopped in, bearing a response from my parents on its foot. Silently yet excitedly, I untied the letter from the bird's foot, stopping to reward it with an owl treat before turning to my letter.

Hermione was all it simply said on the front, and I realized my mother's penmanship almost immediately from the sleek bottom curve of the H and E. With trembling fingers, I opened the flap, slipped out the small note and began to read.

Hermione,

So great to hear from you, darling! Your father and I miss you so much! I am also glad to hear that you will be with us for Christmas so soon! We're both so sorry for your loss of friendship with Ronald, but hopefully it is only temporary! You two have gotten into rows many times before. As for your new friend, it is a bit sudden for an invitation…but due to his circumstances, it would be perfectly fine to have him over! You do know how I love guests! Your father is a bit wary – due to how you guys disliked each other so strongly before – but he'll be over it by the time you visit. I've already starting to plan everything! We miss you darling! Hope to see you soon!

Love always,

Mum and Dad.

I smiled in satisfaction that my parents had agreed to have Draco over for the Holidays. I trusted my mum would see to dad, and that everything would be perfectly fine. Looking down at the letter, I completely forgot that the tawny owl had remained in my room until it hooted impatiently. Still smiling, I walked over and gave it another treat before letting it go; watching as it flew far away, becoming nothing but a tiny speck in a few mere moments.

Things were finally starting to look up.

VVVVV

"Blaise you treacherous little bleeder!" I exclaimed angrily as I entered the Slytherin Common Room, scaring a few First Years on my way in. Scanning the large room, my eyes came into contact with Blaise's dark shorn head on the couch, his face plastered extremely close to a pretty, light brown haired girl's. Walking over from behind them, I made my way to the dark green loveseat they were sitting on, fuming with anger.

"Blaise!" I barked, and he nearly jumped a mile and off of the couch. Daphne Greengrass shrieked in surprise.

"Bloody hell, mate!" Blaise groaned, both from being surprised and for the sake that he had had to separate himself from the cute girl. "Couldn't you have made yourself present some other time?"

Looking down at Daphne for a moment, who turned her face in reddish embarrassment, my lips quirked. Whatever business they had been up to, I had most definitely ruined the mood, and for that, I was satisfied.

"You bloody wanker. What the hell did you think you were playing at by sending me to her room last night?" I seethed, pushing away the urge to smack Blaise or strangle him. At my comment, Blaise's eyebrows raised curiously, but nonetheless, he stood up and straightened his robes, leading me out to the corridor without a word to Daphne. It wasn't as if Daphne had had much to say anyways – she had been too busy trying to nonchalantly fix her slightly unbuttoned shirt.

Out in the empty corridor, Blaise only shrugged. "Sorry about that. Didn't suppose you wanted Daphne to know your business."

Ignoring his act of helpfulness and my gratitude towards it, I jerked my head impatiently. "Just answer the question, will you?"

"What the ruddy hell are you talking about?"

"What am I talking about? I'm talking about me stupidly going to see Hermione, only to find out that she had had no plans of having me over!"

Blaise scoffed. "Maybe she'd changed her mind! I was just passing on the message that Ginny had –"

"So Ginny fooled you, you're saying?" I asked, sneering skeptically. Blaise fixed me with his cool and casual gaze, one that he usually reserved for idiots.

"I guess", he shrugged; only slightly nonplussed. My jaw clenched in agitation.

Since when had little Weaslette been so conniving? How had she ended up in Gryfinndor?

"It's not that big of a deal, mate", Blaise replied, and I saw his eyes dart back to the entrance of the Common Room. He was obviously anxious to get back to Daphne and resume his…activities.

"But what was she playing at? It's not like Hermione and I would've done anything." I muttered, ignoring the thrilling yet unselected mental of image of Hermione writhing underneath me. I pushed the vision away as soon as it had come. I respected our friendship too much to think of her that way…as an object. After what I had done to Pansy, I reckoned it would be a long time until I would be able to get with another girl without feeling like a jerk about it. But then again, I usually ended up being a jerk no matter how hard I tried.

It wasn't as if I hadn't imagined being with Hermione before. Being in such close pretenses with any girl would make a guy think that way. And there had been the dreams…but I hadn't been able to control those!

Neither had she…

Blaise shifted his weight from foot to foot. "No idea. Why don't you just go ask her about it? As for me, I think I'll go try and take care of business." He smirked, and without another word, walked back over to the entrance. There was a slight pause, and he stopped again.

"Maybe there are just certain things…that are obvious to others and not you", Blaise mused, and before I could reply, he had disappeared into the Common Room again.

Ruddy hell.

VVVVV

It was Wednesday, making it three days since I had last seen Draco. Surprisingly, I hadn't expected him to see him until Friday, – minus when we were in class together, not like we could speak there – when he had agreed to help me pack.

But, fate had other plans.

I was stomping through the dewy grass of the grounds, wondering why it was so misty at noon, and regretting not wearing a sweater beneath my robes – when I spotted Draco.

With one leg up, he was resting against my tree again, his head lowered as he wrote something into the journal resting on his knee. Lips pursed, I walked over, stopping right above his blonde head.

"Whatever happened to our agreement, Malfoy? This tree is mine." I remarked playfully. At the sound of my voice, he smirked.

"Sorry. I've forgotten." Draco replied as he finished his sentence on the page. Looking down, I recognized his dark elaborate handwriting, although I couldn't see what he was writing. Closing the leather-bound notebook, he looked up at me.

"Are you expecting me to leave?" He asked, his steely grey-blue eyes boring into mine. Sighing, I plopped down next to him. He had apparently set a warming charm on the grass – and as I sat down, appreciation and warmth flooded into me at his magical ability. It reminded me of lying on freshly laundered, warm bed sheets.

"Guess not. That would mean risking a sprained wrist again, wouldn't it?" I reminded him, and he winced slightly. I shouldn't have, as I remembered that he had been extremely guilty about the whole incident.

"Right. Sorry about that by the way."

"It's fine."

After all, Draco had risked his image by carrying me into the Hospital Wing to be cared for in front of hundreds of students. Not wanting the silence to go on for too long, I poked a finger at the notebook in his lap. The leather felt smooth, and not nearly as rough as is looked against the pad of my finger.

"What class is this for?" I wondered, eyebrows raised. I hadn't heard of any class keeping notebooks for part of the curriculum this year. Perhaps Transfiguration…or maybe Divination?

"None", Draco answered briskly, clearing his throat. "I…err, keep a journal."

I nearly laughed at the coincidence, but decided against it. Instead, I wordlessly reached into my bag and pulled out the black and gold leather journal that I kept with me at all times. Draco smirked proudly.

"What a surprise. We, of all people, have to be the utmost example for the phrase, great minds think alike."

I grinned. It was true, in all aspects. We were both the smartest in our year, both Head Boy and Girl…we had many more things in common than I would've cared to realize up until a few months ago.

"I thought you had class at this hour?" Draco asked, and I shook my head. I had a free period, and today I had decided to use it for a bit of peaceful reading on the grounds.

"I could ask you the same question."

Draco's eyes twinkled mischievously at my comment. "I do."

Realization hit me and I hit the imp on the shoulder. "You prat! You shouldn't be skipping your classes!"

"Will you relax, Granger?" Draco replied disdainfully, rubbing the area where I had swatted him. "I've only skipped about twice this year. In fact, I've pretty much ruined my record –"

"Ruined you record? You mean you've been skipping your classes ever since First Year?" I asked, my mouth gaping open in shock. I had only missed about 5 classes in all of my years here at Hogwarts, either because I had been ill or I had been out fighting Voldemort with Harry – but never because I hadn't wanted to attend them. The very thought of me missing a class because I wasn't interested made me want to shudder.

"Third year, actually", Draco corrected me, looking as unconcerned as ever.

"Why would you do that! I should report you to the…to the –!"

"To the Head Boy?" Draco smirked smugly, pointing to himself. I glared at him.

"Never mind that! You shouldn't be skipping your classes! You're setting a bad example for the younger students! I scorned him crossly, my arms going up to link across my chest. I ignored Draco's blatant gaze at my chest, his eyes swiftly but nearly burning a hole through the fabric of my robes.

"Oh really? Well who's around now to see me? Besides, I think they'd make a bigger deal of you and me sitting together in broad daylight." Draco retorted. He didn't like being treated like a child; that much was obvious.

Although I was still upset at him for skipping his classes and missing out on all the wonderful things that he could've learned about magic today, Draco was right. What would someone think if they saw us here together, lounging in the grass, looking like a couple more than anything else? This view to any gossipy Hogwarts student would suffice to give birth to vicious rumors and comments.

"Right", I muttered, grabbing my bag and standing up. The cold air swished underneath my skirt as I did, and my legs trembled at the sudden change of temperature. I wished I could've stayed on the warm, charmed ground with him, but I knew better than that. Lunch would be starting soon, and that meant students would definitely be crossing our path. A sudden tug at the hem of my robes surprised me, and I looked down to see Draco lightly grasping a fistful of my robes in a pale slender hand.

"Stay. I didn't say that so you could leave." He said grumpily and assertively. Draco's voice was gentle yet curt, and as I looked into his eyes, I saw that he really didn't want me to leave. Contrary to what had come out of his mouth, his eyes claimed to say, "Stay, I didn't say you could leave."

Although his voice was domineering, Draco looked like a small child looking up at a parent with wide eyes. He was just trying to get his way, and I knew this well. I gazed down at him, and he dropped his hold on my robes. Tentatively, I reached out and brushed away a stray blonde hair that had been picked up by the wind, and smoothed it back into place on his head.

"I know. See you Friday." I smiled, before turning away from him and heading back towards the castle. I didn't look back to see Draco stare curiously at the back of my head.

So much for a bit of light reading.

VVVVV

Classes were boring the last week of school, I had decided.

Especially, Ancient Runes.

"Do you know the answer, Miss Granger?" Professor Babbling inquired, asking her to answer one of the many questions I hadn't been listening to.

"Of course", Hermione exclaimed clearly. "The Chimaen artifacts had been discovered in 1903 by a man named Professor Tidings, who currently resides here in the castle as a ghost on the third floor."

"Correct. Five points to Gryfinndor."

I watched as Hermione's face flushed in apparent pleasure. Of course she had gotten the answer right. Around me, many of my peers groaned or huffed silently in disdain, and had it been any other year, I would have joined them. I didn't care about the points now. Those hadn't mattered to me since Sixth Year, and during such a boring class as this one, I took pleasure in watching Hermione work, sometimes scribbling furiously onto the crevices of her already filled parchments, or just listening attentively and asking numerous, numerous questions.

Something else that I had noticed was that she always sat in the front of the class.

I didn't feel creepy watching her – why would I, it was perfectly fine to observe someone, but when she would look back and see me watching her, I always wondered why she didn't seem uncomfortable with it. Of course, I only stared at her on the boring days, such as this one.

"Astonishing, isn't it, how Granger always gets the answers right? Funny really, seeing how she hasn't an ounce of magical blood in her veins. Or in her hair for that matter. Maybe if she did, it'd be tamer." Zacharias Smith sniggered behind me.

Ignoring the urge to turn around and tell him off until he cried, I quietly slipped my wand out of my robes and sent a mild pinching jinx at him. Upon hearing his sudden yelp, I smirked as everyone in the class turned to see the Hufflepuff cradling his left foot, wincing.

Professor Babbling turned as well, cutting his lecture short to question him. "Is there a problem, Mr. Smith?" He asked, and I had to rest my head on my hand to cover the giant smirk plastered on my face.

"My foot Professor! There's something wrong with my foot!" He moaned, although the pain wasn't as bad as he was making it out to be. "I have to go to the Hospital Wing!" Zacharias babbled.

Huffing, the Professor sent him on his way, making Hannah Abbott accompany him. I smirked, turning back to the class with a look of utmost satisfaction. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw a curly haired head turn in my direction. Looking over, Hermione's eyes met mine, and I watched as her mouth shaped into a perfect little 'o'. I smirked, and with a wink in her direction, finally turned to pay attention to the lecture in front of me.

I smiled mischievously.

This class wasn't so bad after all.

VVVVV

Hello loves! This chapter was a little shorter than the others, but that's only because I have to save up for the next chapter! ;D! This was kind of just a cute fill in to cover the week. I'm sorry I haven't been able to update more often, but I'm trying my best! I have a few questions for you!

Do you think Hermione heard Zacharias's comment? If so, do you think she'll confront Draco about the pinching jinx?

Which character do you prefer and why? Draco or Hermione?

What are some things that I could improve on to make this story better?

What would you like to see happen in this story?

How do you think Draco and Hermione are progressing? (This goes for the story as well!)

You don't have to answer all of them, but answering one or a few of them would really help and give me inspiration for the next upcoming chapters! Please feel free to leave reviews, ideas, or constructive criticisms! Love to all! X