A/N!!

I adjusted chapter 1 to try and fix some self-made plot holes (oops!) Please comment or dm if you catch a problem:) thanks

p.s. i don't have a beta reader so that's why there needs to be adjustments, thanks for understanding!

The next week went by normally, save the fact that she didn't run into Malfoy either of the times she went up the stairs for Divination. Thankfully she still saw him in the Dining hall, with Theo Nott by his side and some other Ravenclaws who got along with him and his brains. Theo would make jokes and goof off, like a jester. It was objectively funny, but it made Hermione a little sad to see him play the clown.

A week from the previous Friday, Hermione missed him on the stairs again, plus she didn't even see him in the Dining hall. She pouted a little to herself, wanting someone to verify her attractiveness. When she didn't see him before class on the following Monday, she began to wonder if he was purposefully making sure they wouldn't see each other again. And that wouldn't work for Hermione, so she sat and thought up with a plan for Wednesday. She would see this boy again dammit.

Back in her room, Hermione was chatting with Ginny. It had been a week and a half since what she had decided to call "the incident" and she needed to tell someone. Thankfully the two had become close over the years, after how ever many Christmases spent together and lots of War strategizing. Weirdly enough, Ron's falling out with her didn't make Ginny friends with her any less. That made Hermione happy. Things hadn't been easy, most people with first hand war experiences had mental health issues. Ginny was a solid person who could relate to many of Hermione's war woes. Ginny was a good person. However, she could also get wrapped up in drama. And boy ever did Hermione come back with drama.

"YOU WHAT?!!!" Ginny wacked Hermione with a pillow. "I can't believe you. I thought you hated the git."

"I do!" Hermione defended herself. "But that doesn't make him less attractive." Her neck burned with embarrassment. "What about all the shit he did," Ginny continued. "I mean, it's hard to forgive, never mind forget."

"I didn't forget." Hermione furrowed her brow and flopped back on the bed. "But I also don't see the point in outright being an ass towards him. I mean, you saw O'Conner's dumbass try and fight him a week ago, right?"

"Yeah," said Ginny, "But still..." She looked at Hermione sideways and trailed off before flopping back next to Hermione. It got quiet as they lay awkwardly in the room. Hermione knew she shouldn't be attracted to Malfoy. He had bullied her all through school before. This year was different though. With the exception of a few days ago, he seemed to be leaving her alone this year. Hermione was genuinely surprised to see him at Hogwarts for their "8th" year. She had assumed he would be off in Italy or wherever the Malfoy's had property, to get away from prying eyes. Hermione sighed.

"Oh my gods did you see him in that fight?" Ginny batted Hermione's arm. Hermione grinned and took a turn with the pillow, sitting up and giving Ginny a good wack. "Gin I thought we hated him!" She said through laughter. "We do!" she replied, "but it's not my fault he's got fucking seeker muscles!" Ginny sat up and was laughing too. "When he took off his shirt? Oh my gods Herm I could forget everything he's ever done wrong." The both clutched their stomachs with laughter.

Hermione thanked her stars for Ginny and her ability to read a situation. It was nice to just joke about Malfoy being attractive rather than talking about the terribly sad choices he had made. She flopped back on the bed and stared at her all-too-familiar ceiling. "Is it terrible that I want to see him again?" Hermione asked. Ginny looked down at her and waited before cautiously speaking, "Um? You know what? I don't think so. I mean, it's pretty harmless to just look at someone, right? So I'm gonna say it's fine?" Ginny thought about it for a bit longer. "I don't know, Hermione. You don't think you could like him, do you?" Hermione looked Ginny in the eyes and waited before answering. Truthfully she didn't know. "Maybe?" she thought. "I don't think so, he's just done too many things." Hermione smiled at Ginny and got up from the bed. There was no way in hell she was going to tell Ginny that she might have a crush on Draco Malfoy.

Wednesday afternoon rolled around and Hermione began to put her plan into action. In the library like usual, she sat with her wand out on the desk instead of by her side. She hadn't ever kept an eye on the clock before Divination, but this time she had charmed her wand to emit sparks ten minutes before class began. That way she could get there before his class would be out, making absolutely sure to see him as he left. Hermione looked over todays bit of homework, sighing as she began to wonder if the class really was baloney or if maybe she had finally found the thing she couldn't handle.

Her wand began to dance around the table, flitting around and tempting fate with the sparks so close to the shelves. She jumped up to attention and reset her wand, collected her things and left the library in a rush. "Sorry!" she called after herself towards the "Shh!!"-ing sound behind the front desk.

Hermione picked up her pace as she headed towards the Divination tower. Her shoes clicked and clacked all the way until she cast a muffling charm. This way she could hear if he was coming down the stairs or into the corridor. Hermione strained her ears as she tiptoed toward the archway entrance. Nothing. Frustrated, Hermione huffed and dropped the charm, choosing instead to look down at her feet as she stomp-step up toward what had recently become the most disappointing time of her day.

This was fine until she noticed a pair of expensive looking shoes facing the opposite direction a step higher than her right foot. Hermione gasped and looked up, mouth open in shock. Malfoy stood in front of her, eyebrows raised. His eyes flicked down to her lips and Hermione quickly shut her mouth. "Oh uh, pardon me," she said. She smiled to herself and stepped to the left. He stepped to her left too. "Great," she thought her glee flipping to annoyance in a blink, "now he wants to start something." "Sorry," she offered, and stepped back to the other side. He did the same. "Did you need something, Malfoy?" She asked, hoping to convey the annoyance in her voice. "No," he shook his head, looking around. "Did you? I saw you yesterday waiting at the stairs. Were you waiting for me?" Hermione blushed. She hadn't told Ginny about that. It was kind of embarrassing.

She had, in fact, waited around at the bottom of the staircase for him. After he didn't run into her Wednesday or Thursday, and was no where to be found on Friday, she had decided to wait at the bottom of the stairs instead. He still didn't show on Monday, and a disappointed Hermione had run up the stairs, fearing late work and almost running into an also late Theo on the way. "How had he seen me waiting if I didn't seen him?" she wondered.

"I left for the Manor early on Friday," he offered, "But Theo said he saw you waiting for someone, so on Monday I left class early and sat on the bench over there to see if what he said was true." He pointed around the corner to an alcove Hermione overlooked. "I guess I hoped that someone was me." his cheeks grew redder.

"So not just the jester," Hermione thought. Malfoy held out his hand towards hers, grabbing it when she didn't immediately hold hers out, and pulled her into him. "So," he continued after a pause, "was it?" he repeated his question with a grin. He knew the answer. Hermione smiled up at him, but she was still confused. Did he like her? Why had he been so rude before? Why didn't she see him last Monday or Wednesday?

He leaned in to get his face closer to hers, and she did the same. Closer and closer she went, until she was close enough to feel the air leave his mouth and brush her lips. She wasn't thinking about the confusion she felt anymore. Instead she was thinking about what he would taste like. But there he waited. And she waited. Until finally, Hermione flicked her tongue out to wet her bottom lip, and he was on her in the same motion. It felt phenomenal. She had told Ginny that all she wanted was to see him again, and here he was, his mouth on hers. And he tasted sweet. As if every terrible thing he'd ever done didn't matter. And there was no way she was only ever going to want to just look at this boy. Hermione thought about how good they seemed to match, and remembered the way his eyes on would follow her when he would stay to talk with Trelawney. With his arms wrapped around her and their tongues dancing, Hermione could only think about how she wanted more.