Jealousy Games and Deadly Consequences

[Lissandra Sylvania]

Ma kibelesin seda siia panna juba tükk aega ja nüüd ma siis saingi hakkama. See jutt sobib neile kellele meeldib actionit, seda on palju siin ^^

Summary: When the darkness becomes the calling, who will resist the urge and who will accept it? Harry, Ron and Hermione are entering their seventh year at Hogwarts, but will it be filled with fond memories or nightmares unleashed? Voldemort and the Death Eaters lurk in the shadows as well as a mysterious voice.

Chapters: 103 (kirjutamisel)
Characters: Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, Ginny, Blaise (M)
Genre(s): General, Romance, AU
Era: Hogwarts
Pairings: Draco/Hermione, Harry/Ginny, Ginny/OC, Other Pairing
Warnings: Strong Language, Strong Violence, Scenes of a Sexual Nature, Sensitive Topic/Issue/Theme, Contains Spoilers


In this Chapter: Hermione is ready to go back for her 7th year and she is also ready to profess her feelings to the one, the only; Harry Potter. She's also aquired a rather unusual piece of reading material. Hermione is in high spirits and her upcoming year at Hogwarts should be the best ever...Right?

Chapter 1 - Her Thoughts, A Book, and Comforting Daydreams

Hermione sat on her bed reading a book in her room. She had stayed in her room most of the summer to avoid the constant bickering and complaining of her muggle parents.

Yes, muggles.

How Hermione longed to be back at Hogwarts, where she could be with her friends instead of having to listen to the constant fighting around her house. She sighed as she looked around her room.

It was so cold. But then again so was her life.
Her parents couldn't stand the thought of her being less than her best.

They wanted her to become even more. With her potential, they were certain that she would rise up and gain the respect of high class wizards. And they of course wouldn't be cast aside in the shadows.

They would be able to stand proudly with their heads held high and feel important. After all, what muggle wouldn't want to be accepted by the wizarding society.

Gaining the respect of the pureblooded wizards that inhabited the wizarding world, would indeed show they were worthy and it was a great help if their daughter was the one gaining them the recognition.

Hermione's parents were unlike Harry's aunt and uncle who wanted nothing to do with him and cringed at the mere mention of magic.

This muggleborn's parents always wanted her to work as hard as possible and they constantly pushed her as hard as they could; in hopes that she would achieve their dreams and put them up on a pedestal.

This kind of behavior made her resent them even more.

At least at the magnificent castle that is Hogwarts, she could learn and grow as a witch and as a person without them constantly shoving magic books into her hands.

Why must they do this every year? she thought as she looked at the seven new sparkling books that were stacked up on her dresser. Her parents seemed to delight in overloading her with learning material.

Oh she loved books and she loved to read, but there were times where she just wanted to sit and daydream and be well, as close to a normal teenager as she could be.

This is going to be my last year at Hogwarts and mom and dad are probably going to be sending me even more books on learning. Why do they have to do this to me every single year? her mind screamed.

And then her thoughts shifted to Harry and Ron. She hadn't heard anything from them since last term when they were saying their goodbyes.

"I promise to write you over the summer, Hermione!" Harry had said to her.

But he hadn't. Neither had Ron or Ginny.

This hurt her and she couldn't help but wonder why they hadn't contacted her.

They were the only people she could talk to outside her family.

She recalled her previous years with Harry and Ron and sighed. "Not one letter from either of them." she mumbled sadly.

But then she shook her head. I shouldn't get all worked up about it. I mean I am quite sure that Harry has a reason why he didn't write...although he did promise to. She thought with a faint sigh.

"Well it doesn't matter. I am quite sure he has a valid reason. He might have had no chance to write knowing how the Dursleys are. I shouldn't be upset." She said aloud in a firm tone. "Harry will explain. And anyway, once we confess our feelings to eachother this year, I just know it will all work out."

Then she looked down at the book in her hands.

It was titled, 'Discovering Your True Worth and Finding Where You Belong' and it wasn't a learning book.

It was filled with stories, and yes from what she'd read it did have some pages of learning such as spells, but it was also self motivating.

She'd been reading it all day. It was quite a fascinating book, and she'd found it at an old antique store, shopping for last minute school supplies yesterday with her family. Its black cover was worn and rugged, and its pages were dark yellow due to its old age.

It looked to have been around for many decades though Hermione could not be certain.

The book keeper that had sold it to her had claimed that it had been brought in by a stranger along with a bunch of other old things the day before.

She had seen it sitting by its self away from the other books and thought that it was special.

When she picked it up and opened it, she'd skimmed the first few paragraphs and was intrigued by what she had read.

So, she bought it.

And she hadn't put it down since. Well except to eat and sleep. But it wasn't just the fascinatingly and somewhat dark stories that kept her glued to it.

No, it was the message that she got from it.

And the deeper she read into it, the more it sounded like what she was feeling in her life.

Sadness.

Depression.

Lonliness.

And so much more.

She sighed and then turned the page as her eyes traveled across each word as she began reading again.


As so many witches and wizards faced such sadness within their families, they began to branch out on their own. They followed their own paths whether they became good or evil, atleast it was by their choice and own free will. An account of such events was published long ago as one brave witch set out on her own. Her name was Cremella Ridgespire. A kind, warm caring, gentle soul. She came from a broken home, born into an overbearing, muggle family, ridiculed by pureblooded wizards and witches.

The pain she felt was so great and she couldn't handle it.
Her calling came one blustery night in September. As she was being ridiculed by one who'd claimed that not only was he her friend but that he loved her. His name was Greyson Mixby. The two had been friends for many years before that. He'd vowed to love her forever, but instead he turned around and ridiculed her, by falling into the arms of another woman. That other woman was Feera Luscly; Cremella's dearest and closest female friend who had been jealous of her right from the start. For as Cremella became more powerful, Feera became more sinister. She had a man of her own but she chose to go after Greyson; Cremella's love. Greyson was bewitched into Feera's chambers one night as Cremella stood sadly watching. Torn and scarred by such a betrayal, Cremella snapped and made a vengeful decission.

And so the next night, as the blinding rain was pouring down, Cremella went outside to find Feera and Greyson laughing and frollicking in the stormy weather.
She approached the two, telling them how happy she was that they were together and how she'd forgiven them both. And then as they turned to walk away, she drew her wand and spoke the Killing Curse, sending the eerie green light at Feera and Greyson who immediately crumbled to the ground.

They lay dead at her feet as Cremella stood staring down at them hatefully. Her once fragile heart was now a broken pile of dangerous, jagged shards, her trusting soul had been betrayed. And at that moment, Cremella-the kind, sweet, good hearted, smart, well behaved student-was no more.
In that very moment she had transformed into a dark witch...

Hermione stopped reading, as she gasped.

"No wonder Cremella killed them. They deserved it!" Hermione shouted at the book.

Then she blinked and shook her head. "Wait, what am I saying? That's absolutely horrible. She killed the two of them because of love? How could someone who was so nice and kind, turn around and do something so terrible as to kill?

I would never just turn around and kill someone like that no matter if they cheated or not. There are better ways." She grumbled, as she slammed the book closed.

I feel sorry for Cremella but she shouldn't have killed them like that. Anyway, I think I need to take a break from reading this for a bit.

Just then, she was snapped out of her thoughts by the screech of a large grey owl. It flew into her bedroom, dropping a thick envelope on her bed.

Hermione blinked then watched as the large bird circled around her room and then flew back out the window.

Hermione slowly picked up the envelope to see the Hogwarts seal on the back of it. She smiled and opened it.

There were three things inside of the large envelope. Her school supplies list, her Head Girl Badge, and a welcome back letter from Professor McGonagall.

She pulled all of the contents out and glanced over the school supplies list. She smiled as she'd already gotten everything ahead of time. She then tossed it aside and then read the letter from Professor McGonagall:

Dear Miss Hermione Granger,

We would like to congratulate you on becoming our new Head Girl this year. Here is your rightfully earned badge.
You will be sharing you new living accommodations with the Head Boy, Mr. Draco Malfoy.
We look forward to seeing you at the start of next term.

Professor Minerva McGonagall

Hermione blinked as she read over the letter again then gasped.

"Oh no, Draco Malfoy is Head Boy? I can't believe this!" she groaned.

She recalled all of his taunting and teasing from the years before. All those nasty insults and cruel tricks.

And now she was going to have to endure it all over again. Only this time it would be in their shared living quarters. Now more than ever she was dreading her return back to Hogwarts.

"Why do I have to live with Malfoy?" she whimpered as she slammed her face down into her pillow.

Then after a few moments she lifted her head back up as Harry's image flashed in her mind. She smiled slightly then sighed dreamily.

Finally, this year I am going to confess my feelings to him. I just know he feels the same way about me. He has to. After all we've been through together.

She giggled out loud and stood up, facing her mirror.

"Harry, I am so glad to see you again." She said to it, as if he were really there. "I...I need to tell you something. You see, ever since we met we've had this connection and...."

She stopped and shook her head. "No, that's all wrong." she scolded herself, blushing furiously.

Then she cleared her throat and tried again.

"Harry, I was thinking that since we've been through so much together..." she stopped; feeling her cheeks burn again.

This is going to be very hard. She thought with a nervous sigh.

But,I'm sure he's going to be just as scared about confessing his feelings to me as I am to him.

[Liz-Miia Parker]

What a hell? Harry, nonononono aga nii kui Hermy kirja sai..ma kohe arvasin, et olgu draco on head boy - see on lihtsalt niiii tüüpiline ficide puhul aga päris lahe

[Lissandra Sylvania]

In this chapter: Meeting back up with Harry and Ron would usually make Hermione happy, but something happened over the summer that has brought the brunette's world crashing down.

Chapter 2 -Beginning of a Jealous Heart

It was two weeks later.

Hermione raced through the wall to the Platform nine and three quarters to see the Hogwarts Express train.

"Today is the day!" She giggled to herself as she loaded her things on.

Then she quickly boarded the train and walked along the compartments looking for Harry. Oh how she wanted to see him. That messy hair and those piercing green eyes; just the thought of him made her almost melt.

Excitment was building inside her as she swept down the rows; her brown eyes lively inspecting each compartment in search of her dear friend.

The thought of she and Harry being together made a giddy smile cross her face.

It seemed that it couldn't get much wider and she'd even gone through a bit of trouble by purchasing and applying some sweetened muggle lip gloss. It was strawberry flavored; and surely she'd let him have a little sample if he so wished to.

Her eyelashes fluttered dreamily as a sweet little image of Harry kissing her softly, appeared in her mind. She could almost feel the warmth of his lips against hers and closed her eyes to savor the daydream.

"For Merlin's sake, move out of the way, Mudblood!" hissed a cold female voice behind her.

Startled; Hermione's eyes flew open as she felt a shove from behind her. She half turned to see the pug-faced Pansy Parkinson standing there, glaring.

For the moment, Hermione had forgotten that she was head girl this year and so passively, she moved aside as the pug girl snorted, and then stalked down the aisle.


Hermione sighed in frustration for a moment before she remembered that she was about to see Harry and that today the two of them would be together.

She once again smiled at the thought of that. No pug-faced Slytherin was going to ruin what was going to be the most wonderful day of Hermione's life.

She was half-way through the train when she found Harry in a compartment with Ron, and Ginny Weasley. Her heart leaped with joy and she had to force herself to keep her composure as she walked towards the compartment.

Harry, I'm so glad to see you. She thought as her eyes sparkled.

"Oh my gosh, Hermione!” Ginny squealed happily leaping up and hugging the brunette. "Good to see you! How was your summer?"

"Ginny, good to see you too. Oh it was the same old thing. Boring as ever." Hermione replied as she hugged her back.

"Hey Hermione!" Harry greeted her.

"Harry!" Hermione squealed as she practically flew into his arms hugging him tightly.

"I missed you so much!" she cried, unable to contain her emotions.

"I missed you too." He replied hugging her back just as tightly.


"Uh...Ahem...Hermione, I'm glad to see you too." Ron chimed in, as he went to hug her as well.

She frowned slightly as she pulled away from Harry and returned a quick hug to Ron.

"I'm so glad to see you guys!" she said excitedly, smiling only at Harry the entire time.

"We're glad to see you too!" Harry said happily.

"So, how was your summer?" She asked; once again, her eyes sparkling dreamily at Harry.

"Oh it was loads of fun. I spent most of the time at The Burrow with the Weasleys. I didn't have to see the Dursleys that much at all. Well, especially after I 'accidentally' blew up Aunt Petunia's cake." Harry said chuckling.

"You did what?" Hermione asked.

"Well Dudley made me quite angry, almost as much as Marge just before third year when she was insulting my mother. Dudley saw me looking at the photo album that Hagrid gave me and saw my parents and said that he was glad that they were dead so that they couldn't make any more children." Harry exclaimed looking a bit irritated.

"Oh that's terrible." Hermione snapped sympathetically.

"Well anyway he started it again when I was at dinner and I just lost it." He finished.

"Yeah and that's when he owled me and said he wanted to come stay with me." Ginny giggled.

"Us!" Ron corrected with a frustrated frown. "He owled us!"

"Fine then, us!" Ginny snapped rolling her eyes.

Ron then sighed and nodded as Harry went on and on about how much fun their summer had been.

Hermione nodded over and over as her eyes stayed fixed on Harry.

Ron's smile shifted to a dark frown as he glanced to his sister and Harry. With a roll of his eyes he let out a frustrated groan.

Surprisingly, it caught Hermione's attention.

"Ron? Are you alright?" She asked curiously.

Oh yeah, now she pays me some attention. Ron thought, shaking his head as he let out a grunt.

When he didn't answer her, she looked to her other best friend.

"Harry? What’s wrong with him?" Hermione asked, as she gestured at their red headed friend who had now turned away from the group.

“Oh he’s been that way ever since Harry and I started dating.” Ginny chimed in quickly before Harry could reply.

Hermione's smiled faded slightly as she heard this.
"You... and Harry are...dating?" She sounded a bit annoyed but no one seemed to notice.

"Yeah, isn't it wonderful?" Ginny giggled.

Hermione's eyes traveled down to see Harry and Ginny's hands entertwined.

She couldn't help but feel a slight pang of jealousy in her chest as she watched him kiss Ginny's cheek.

No! It's not wonderful. Hermione thought staring at their hands. It's horrible! I was finally going to confess my feelings to Harry. I was planning on being brave for once in my life and...and telling him...that I...

Suddenly, she felt angry. Very angry.

Ginny Weasley had taken away the one guy that she was going to confess the feelings of her heart to. Harry Potter.

But, being a calm and collected young woman, Hermione did not show her fury.

Instead she slapped on a fake smile as she looked to them.

"Of course it's...wonderful!" She stumbled over that last word. "I'm quite h-happy to hear about you two."

Ginny giggled excitedly, as she clung to Harry.

"It was so romantic how we got together." Ginny went on. "Harry and Ron were playing Wizard's Chess one day and..."

As Ginny babbled on, Hermione tuned her out; only catching pieces of the conversation as she went into her own little world.

Just when I felt that I could finally tell Harry my secret feelings for him...Ginny has to snatch him up! Some friend she is.

She could feel her hands rolled into tight fists as the jealous feeling washed over her again.
She couldn't stand it.

Harry and Ginny. Together.

It was clear that they were all having a wonderful time over the summer. Not one of them had even bothered to send her an owl or anything.

Harry promised he'd write...He never did.

He'd broken his promise all because of...Hermione's eyes lifted to look at the red headed girl beside Harry. Her!

Hermione couldn't help but feel a burning feeling inside her. It was somewhat bitter.

However, she quickly shook the feeling away as she fantasized about being Head Girl.

Then it dawned on her that she hadn't told them about that yet.

"Guess what?" She suddenly blurted out, purposefully interrupting an almost kiss between Harry and Ginny. "I’ve been appointed Head Girl!" she announced now in almost a flaunting tone.

She gasped at herself as she hadn't meant for it to come out that way.

But no one seemed to notice how she'd sounded.

Instead they gave her a quick congratulations each.

She frowned slightly at them, as they weren't sharing her drawn out enthusiasm. It was a big deal to her, after all. Being the Head Girl would give her privleges that they could only dream of and she wanted to stir the conversation to that point but unfortunately, the subject was quickly dropped.

Harry and Ginny had gone back to playing around with each other and Ron went back to moping in his own silent, pitiful world.

Ginny giggled as she leaned in to Harry and kissed his neck making him blush.

"Ginny, for Merlin's sake we're on the train..." Harry chuckled.

Hermione's eyes narrowed at the two.

The jealous feeling she'd felt earlier suddenly returned to her and this time it was stronger and almost dark. And a strange urge had suddenly hit her. It was almost a nagging feeling as she looked to the bag that she had carried on with her. With a heavy sigh, she opened it and the first thing that she saw, was the black book that she had gotten from the old antique shop. As she reached down and pulled it out, she felt a tingle inside of her hands. She blinked and then took in a deep breath, closing her eyes.

How dare she! she thought as she turned away from the group and hugged the book to her chest. How dare she steal Harry, my Harry away from me! Then after a moment, she opened her eyes and slowly opened the old book. Interestingly, enough, the book had opened to a page where there was some scribbled writing. Closely examining it, Hermione realized it was like a journal entry. She glanced over her shoulder to the happy couple again, only to regret that she'd done so for the two were now lip locked. I hate her! Hermione thought as she ripped her eyes from them and plunged into the black book in her hands. She wanted to escape and at this point, reading was her only way.

I have been told that I will be found soon, yet I do not care. I have done what was necessary for my heart to survive. My heart is still not at rest though the traitors are dead. Must I kill another to feel complete? I told her I would kill her and so I have. I told him that I would kill him, and I did. And now what is left for me? My body will wither soon they say, but I shall never die. I will never allow death to defeat me, to steal me as his own. True friendship? She promised forever. True love? He swore for all eternity. Did they not believe that I would follow through with my intentions? My tears fall steadily now, but soon they shall fall no more. I will find strength. To think my heart was broken by such treachery; by such wicked intent. Did they know they were killing me each time they kissed? Did they not see the crumbling of my self being when they embraced one another? Were they too blinded by their foolish lust to see the tears sting my eyes?

Hermione stopped as she felt her own eyes watering. Though this woman had committed a terrible act, she'd also suffered a lot of pain. Pain that Hermione was beginning to relate to. She wanted to break down and cry but not there. Not in front of Harry and Ginny. She sniffled silently as she tried not to draw attention to herself. She even faked a couple of sneezes when Ron glanced over at her. She flashed him a quick friendly smile, before glancing to Harry and Ginny with a bitter glare.

Do they not see the crumbling of my self being when they embrace each other? Are they too blinded by their foolish lust to see the tears sting my eyes? She found herself thinking over and over. And then her hands tightened around the book. I hope she dies! She thought bitterly. With Ginny out of the way, Harry and I could be happy together.

Then she suddenly gasped at herself. What did I just think? That was rather harsh. She mentally scolded herself. Those terrible thoughts had come out unexpectedly. She'd never wished death on anyone before. It was completely unlike her at all. It had felt as if she had been in a trance or something even though it had only lasted a few moments.

"Hermione? Hello? Are you going to answer me?" Ginny's voice broke through her thoughts. Hermione shook her head, shoved her book back into her bag and turned back around to face the group.
"Huh?" She blinked looking to the red haired girl. "I'm sorry what did you say?"

"I said that I heard that the Head boy and girl get to share a large, spacious dorm." Ginny giggled.

"Really?" Hermione cringed.

"So, tell us already who’s Head Boy? I know Harry and Ron aren’t." Ginny asked anxiously.

"Well, you're never going to believe this but...it's... Malfoy." Hermione replied, now frowning.

Harry scowled at the name.

"What?" Ron gasped snapping out of his moping mood at the mention of their enemy's name. "Why in the bloody hell is Malfoy Head Boy?" He snapped.

"I don't know, Ron. But unfortunately, I have to share a dorm with him." Hermione replied with a disgusted look on her face.

Ginny frowned at her sympathetically. “I feel so sorry for you, Hermione. He's the worst person that you could live with."

Then she looked to Harry. "Thankfully I get to be with you, Harry." she said to him sweetly.

Hermione frowned even darker at the display before her.

"Cheer up," Ginny said rolling her eyes "Maybe he'll be nice since you two will be rooming together this year. After all you will both have many responsibilities to-"

“Excuse me?” Harry, Ron, and Hermione gasped, abruptly cutting her off.

"First of all, Draco Malfoy doesn't know the meaning of nice!" Hermione snapped.

"Yeah, he probably wouldn't know the meaning of that word, even if a rouge bludger hit him in the head!" Ron added.

Harry laughed. "Yeah, that'd be a sight to see."

"Look Ginny, we know how Malfoy really is and there is no way that he would ever be nice to anyone, except his ego!" Hermione snapped bitterly.

Ginny jumped at the almost angry tone in Hermione's voice.

The red headed girl nestled closely to Harry.

"Look, I...I was just trying to see the positive side of things, Hermione. I thought that would help you feel better. That's all." Ginny stuttered defensively.

"Well that doesn't help!" Hermione snapped again at the red headed girl. "Anyway, this year I will not be bullied by Malfoy. If he even dares to start something, I will be the one to finish it!" Hermione sneered in such a tone that it startled the three sitting with her.

"Whoa, settle down Hermione." Harry said gently.

Ron gave her an uneasy look but stayed silent.

Hermione was about to say something, when they heard the sound of footsteps walking by their compartment.

Then as the footsteps stopped, voices outside caught the group's attention.

"What is it?" Ron whispered.


"There you are! I found you!" cooed a squeaky female voice.

Then they heard the unmistakable drawl of Draco Malfoy.

"Will you get away from me, Pansy? Geez, I told you that I am not in the mood to deal with you right now." He said harshly.

"Oh, but I'm worried about you, Drakie!"Pansy replied sweetly. "I mean this is the fifth time that you've tried to hide from me!" she added worridly.

"d**n it! I wasn't hiding! And didn't I tell you not to call me that name! You know how much I hate it!" Draco snapped at her.

"I’m sorry, but you are acting so stressed out lately and avoiding me...Oh! there's not another girl, is there?" She gasped suddenly. "Oh no, please say you haven't found another girl!" She squeaked louder.

"You would know if I had." he grumbled. She then let out a loud, happy sigh as he said this.

Moments later, their footsteps died off.


Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all looked at each other.

"Drakie?" Harry said as he chuckled.

Then everybody burst out laughing.

"Drakie? Oh Malfoy must love hearing that all day." Ron joked as his mood lightened up.

"What could Malfoy possibly be stressed about? He's the most pampered git in the whole school." Harry scoffed.

"He probably made a few more enemies and now he's worried about getting pummeled." Ron chuckled.

"Well if the idiot went and got himself in trouble with some tougher crowd than his; he is just going to have to learn his lesson. That's just how it is." Ginny said shrugging.

Then she looked to Harry. "This year is crucial for you, Harry. So, you don't have time to be messing around with Malfoy. You should worry about N.E.W.Ts above everything else. You need to study, study, study. This year you will have to put your nose in those books." She said firmly.

Hermione scowled.

Scolding Harry was her job not Ginny's.

That bitter feeling returned to her. Who does Ginny think she is? First she takes my Harry and now she's trying to take over my place in the lecturing department!

"I hate to admit it but Ginny’s right, mate." Ron said
seriously.
"We're in our last year here. It's best we focus on all we can this year. After all, we're on our ways to becoming Aurors, you know?"

Hermione hesitantly nodded in agreement as her eyes glared daggers at Ron's sister.

Ginny's right?

She shook her head bitterly and got up and grabbed her robes.

"We're almost there. It might be a good idea if you three change into your robes." She said bossily turning and walking out.

The three blinked as she left the compartment. There were changing rooms on the train and luckily Hermione happened to find one that was unoccupied. She squeezed into the tiny room and closed the door. She drew the dark curtain that closed so that both the windows and the door were safe from peeping wizards. As she began to get dressed, she couldn't help but think about the thoughts that she had had earlier. Certainly, she was jealous but not enough to kill Ginny. She reasoned with herself that she wasn't jealous enough to kill anyone. After making sure her robes were on straight, Hermione opened the door to the changing room and began to make her way back towards her compartment.

"...and hopefully Hermione won't be as uptight this year." Ginny's voice faded in as Hermione got closer to the compartment.

"Ginny, you know that she's bossy. She's always bossy but that is our Hermione. She never changes and in a way, it is good." Harry replied.

Hermione rolled her eyes. They'd been talking about her and what nerve; calling her bossy and uptight. Yes, she could be that way at times and she knew it but was it really necessary for them to draw it out into the open? She sighed then quietly approached them.

"The bossy, uptight, Head Girl is back!" She announced with her hands on her hips.

"Oh, you heard that?" Harry chuckled a bit startled at her quite return.


"Well, you three weren't exactly whispering." Hermione replied, as a genuine smile crossed her face. Something about Harry always seemed to calm her. Maybe it was those piercing, green eyes or his charming grins that did it. Who know? All Hermione knew was that she was feeling a bit better now.

Harry Ron and Ginny all stood up, grabbed their robes. "Looks like it's our turn. We'll be back." Harry said. Hermione nodded as the three walked out.


Those three can be quite annoying at times. she thought. Then she decided to dig out the black book again and continue reading it. As she did so, she suddenly frowned. The angry, jealous feelings came racing back and she felt her hands once again tingle and tighten around the book.

Harry and Ginny are dating now. Ugh! I've got to do something. I need to think of a plan to break them up. No, I need a plan that will make Harry break up with Ginny. I somehow think that Ginny getting dumped would be more entertaining. Then she gasped at herself.

Where did those cruel thoughts come from! she wondered.

Just then Harry and the others returned wearing their robes.

"Harry, your tie is crooked." Hermione remarked as she was quite observant.

Harry chuckled and began to fumble with the tie, even going so far as redoing it completely. Ginny didn't look to impressed and frowned at Hermione briefly before looking away.

"There, is that better, Hermione?" Harry asked with a half smile.


Hermione smiled and nodded approvingly.

"I really hope you losen up a bit this year, Hermione. I really would hate to see you go mad over all the tests and exams we're going to have. Come to think of it, it makes me a bit scared just thinking of it!" Ron said looking very nervous.

A few moments later the train screeched to a halt and all the students jumped up and began to unload from it.

[Liz-Miia Parker]

Auch!

[Lissandra Sylvania]

Chapter 3-Back At Hogwarts

"You'll see, this year will be great!" Hermione said, forcing herself to sound happy as they pushed their way through the crowd of students. The four of them stopped a moment to examine the carriages; hoping to find one that was available. That was quite difficult as it seemed that each one they saw was immediately occupied by someone.

"I'll go look over there." Ginny said as she gestured towards the end of the line. Harry nodded and watched her walk away, then he turned his attention back to Hermione and Ron.

"Will you two stop looking so dull! Come on, smile and be happy. This year is our last at Hogwarts and it's going to be a lot of fun!" Hermione said in an upbeat tone.

"I do hope you're right, Hermione. I could use a bit of fun this year." Ron mumbled as his eyes scanned around. "Because the last few years have been nothing but creepy and full of danger!"


"Especially our second year, eh Ron?" Harry chuckled as he gave the red head a playful nudge.


"Don't remind me." Ron replied grimly. "Those bloody spiders still haunt my dreams!"

---

Ginny glanced over her shoulder to see Harry chatting with Hermione and Ron. She then turned and headed towards a group of carriages that had been aquired by a group of Slytherins. Ignoring the glares and snide remarks they made, she walked right past them and towards a tall young man with rich, tanned skin and slick black hair pulled back into a tight, short ponytail. At first, he did not see her, but then Gregory Goyle, a fellow Slytherin, gave his a hard nudge and he turned around to see Ginny standing there with her arms folded.

"Zabini." She said sharply staring at him with a slight frown.

"Weaselette." He replied in the same manner.

Ginny watched as Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle advanced towards her, glaring at her the entire time.

Draco, on the other hand, looked a bit confused but he hid it with a smirk.

"So, looks like Weaselette can't resist you, Blaise." He sneered.

"It's obvious." Blaise said with a cold chuckle, though he clearly looked dead serious.

"Drakie!" Pansy squealed as she rushed over and latched onto his arm. "We need to find our seat."

Draco groaned and rolled his eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you not to call me that ridiculous name?" He snapped.

Pansy just giggled and clung to him even tighter. "I'm sorry, but you know how much I absolutely adore you!" She paused then pointed at an empty carriage. "We need to get into our carriage before someone else does!" She added quickly. With a defeated sigh, Draco nodded and allowed her to lead him away.

The other Slytherins began to head to their own carriages leaving just Blaise, Ginny, Crabbe and Goyle standing there. Crabbe and Goyle looked to Blaise who nodded at them. They nodded back and stood in place in front of their carriage. Blaise suddenly grabbed Ginny's arm and pulled her to the other side of it where they couldn't be seen as well.

"You really need to be less obvious." Blaise sneered at her.

"I am just doing what you told me to do." She snapped back. "A deal is a deal."

He raised a brow then his features softened a bit. "So, you're actually going to be a good girl and do what is asked of you?" He asked almost in a taunting manner.

"Yes." She replied firmly.

Blaise looked around then pulled out a rounded piece of parchment. It had been tightly wrapped around something though it was hard to tell just what. Blaise shoved it to the red headed girl who pocketed it at once. You can use that as long as you continue to do as you are told. And don't use it carelessly! And you are not allowed to use it to help your boyfriend. That would be against the deal and any sign of treachery, and HE will know." Blaise's voice lowered. "And you know that he does not tolerate treachery."

Ginny swallowed and nodded slowly.

"Good girl." He smirked and ran his fingers down her left cheek slowly. "We'll be meeting again soon."

And then he walked past her and around to the other side of the carriage; and joined Crabbe and Goyle who had already climbed inside.

Ginny took a moment to catch her breath and then with her eyes cast to the ground she quickly turned and walked away; heading back towards the trio.



"Ginny! For Merlin's sake, it took you long enough to get back!" came the annoyed voice of her brother. Harry and Hermione are already in the carriage. We found one while you were gone."

Ginny nodded but said nothing as she followed Ron to the carriage and climbed in.

"Ginny, where have you been?" Those were the first words that had come out of Harry's mouth as she had entered. She brushed her hair from her face, as she sat beside him. "Sorry, I-I got lost." It was all she could say as her mind was not functioning that well at the moment. She knew it was a weak response but was relieved that they took it without asking anymore questions of her whereabouts.

Harry smiled warmly and put his arm around her. She leaned against him, as she began to feel more comfortable and relaxed. However she couldn't help but touch her left cheek now and then as she thought about how Blaise had run his fingers down it. Why had he done such a thing? What was he up to? Just thinking of it made her blush. She had no idea why.

A few moments later Harry's lips brushed across hers lightly and suddenly all thoughts of Blaise and their meeting were gone.

Ron rolled his eyes. "You two don't start any of that mushy stuff until we get to the castle." He grumbled at them.

Hermione glanced to them silently. She had been deep in thought over what she'd read in her new book, particularly that journal entry. It just wouldn't go away and she'd begun to think of different variations of it to fit her situation. Why can't he see the tears I want to cry? Does he not feel the burn of my skin when he touches her? Will he never feel what my heart wants to say? She continued with her little variations until Ron's voice cut into her thoughts.

"Hermione, since you are Head Girl this year, do you think that maybe you could just give out a lot of Gryffindor points and only take points from Slytherin?"

"Ron, you know that I can't do that." Hermione snapped then she sighed deeply and turned to stare out the window; not wanting to look at the annoying red head who'd just gotten on her nerves or happy couple as they seemed to be absorbed in their own little world.

Ron noticed Hermione's irritation and so decided not to say another word to her for the time being. He then shook his head and folded his arms tightly across his chest. He too wasn't all that thrilled about the lovey-dovey atmosphere and tilted his head back against the seat, closing his eyes.

There was an uneasy silence between the trio as the thestrals pulled the carriage along.

Ginny noticed it but simply shrugged and snuggled up closer to Harry who chuckled lightly and blushed.

Falling deep into her thoughts; Hermione blocked out the sounds around her.

She could feel her chest tingle with pain and she knew why. It seemed so unfair that Harry and Ginny were dating now.

Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if Harry had actually owled her and told her instead of making her wait all summer, getting her hopes up and then crushing her the moment she was ready to reveal her feelings for him.


Finally, the castle was coming into view and as they approached it, Harry marveled at it with a look of awe.

Those grey, stoned walls were a sign of welcoming to him and he let out a happy sigh. "It's good to be home." He mumbled; his green eyes twinkling brightly.

"It is indeed." Ginny said as their carriage came to a full stop. "Just think, it's your last year here." She added as she followed him out.

Hermione and Ron exited the carriage silently and looked around.

"Come on, you two. Don't look so glum." Harry said to them happily. "We're back for our final year, let's make the most of it! We should head to the Great Hall."

"Yeah, sure." Ron muttered lowly. Then his stomach made a loud rumble- loud enough to make both Harry and Ginny laugh.

"Sounds like your stomach agrees with us." Ginny laughed.

----

Inside the Great Hall, Harry and Ron both sat down at their spot at the Gryffindor table.
Hermione and Ginny walked into the hall and slowly began making their way towards the table as well.

Hermione looked around as she walked along and then came to a stop momentarily as she glanced over at the Slytherin table.

She saw Draco Malfoy, laughing along with his friends Crabbe and Goyle. He seemed so happy and carefree as usual.

That meant he'd be trouble again this year. She frowned at the thought of that. But then she looked around the Great Hall again and for some reason she couldn't help but smile slightly.

It really did feel good to be home; home here at Hogwarts.

Suddenly, she was pulled out of her peaceful thoughts.

"Hermione, come on, the guys have saved us a seat." Ginny said rushing over and grabbing her arm.

"Huh? oh okay." Hermione replied as she looked to the girl that had grabbed her.

She faked a smile, politely jerked her arm out of Ginny's grasp and then strolled over to where Harry and Ron were sitting.

As Ginny walked over, Hermione purposefully plopped herself down in between Harry and Ron, smiling.

Ginny just strode over and sat on the other side of Harry like it was no big deal.

Watching the sorting hat ceremony brought back many memories for Harry, Ron, and Hermione. For Ginny too.

They remembered just how nervous they had been their first year at Hogwarts.

Watching the new first years nervously fidgeting was all too familiar.

"I remember when that was us, Ron." Harry said to his red headed friend.

Ron nodded slowly. "Me too, Harry. And I remember how scarey it was too." He replied with a sigh.

Hermione looked to the first years then slowly shifted her gaze to where she was watching a certain blonde Slytherin from the corner of her eye.

But she wasn't the only one whose eyes strayed to the Slytherin table. Ginny's eyes kept drifting over there as well, though her gaze did not fall on Draco Malfoy, but on the young man beside him; Blaise Zabini.




After the last student had been sorted, the Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore stood up and began his speech.

"As Headmaster, I would like to extend a warm welcome to our first year students and to all returning students as well. Please note that the Forbidden Forest is off limits to all students. It is especially dangerous and we do not want anyone to end up missing."


He then continued on for another good five minutes or so.

Harry had memorized the speech and smiled slightly at the new first years.

Ron had to keep from dozing off; he'd been bored with hearing the same old speech every year and found that he could take a quick nap during it.

Hermione however paid close attention to every word just like she always did, and mouthed every word to herself.

Draco and the rest of the Slytherins rolled their eyes and shook their heads mockingly as they had always done each year.

"And finally, before we begin the feast, I would like to announce our Head Girl and Head Boy for this year."


"Miss Hermione Granger of Gryffindor House and Mr. Draco Malfoy of Slytherin House."


From the Slytherin table, Draco's eyes lifted, and he began slowly scanning the Gryffindor table.

Once he saw Hermione, he glared at her.

"Stupid Mudblood." he whispered under his breath eyeing her for a few moments.


"I hope that you will respect them as you would me or any of our teachers. They have the authority to give or take points away from any house; within reason. And they will be patrolling the corridors at night. They also have the authority to send any students wandering around afterhours, to detention. Now, let the feast begin." Dumbledore said raising his hands.

And with that, food suddenly appeared and the hall became alive with a chorus of voices.

"I can't wait until you start taking Slytherin points away!" Ron said proudly to Hermione. "That means you can give them all to us."

"No, Ron. I thought I made it clear that I can't use my status like that." She retorted. Then she looked over at the Slytherin table and frowned. "Besides if I start taking points off of Slytherin, Malfoy will do the same to Gryffindor." she added.

"Well we'll certainly miss you not being in the Gryffindor dorms with us." Ginny quickly said, sounding a bit too upbeat for the occasion.


Sure you will! Hermione thought as she frowned at Ginny. She knew by her tone that Ginny was taunting her and she didn't like that one bit. But instead of calling her on it, Hermione forced a smile on her face as she replied. "I'll miss you too, and I am completely dreading going to my own common room at this point." The last part was genuine as Hermione really felt uncomfortable about living with one of her worst enemies.
"I'm sure you can handle it." Ginny said smiling at Hermione.


"The thought of sharing a dorm with that destestable jerk is almost unbearable!" Hermione grumbled trying to resist the urge to slap that smug smile off of Ginny's face.
Then her eyes caught the sight of the two holding hands. It was all she could do to keep from wanting to cry.

The time in the Great Hall passed quickly and soon the feast came to an end. It was now time for the students to head to their dormitories. As Hermione stood up, she felt like she was going to be sick.

"Hermione, are you okay?" Ron asked as he noticed that her face was now a bit pale.

"I'm fine, Ron." Hermione mumbled. Then she felt Ginny grab her arm. "Hermione will be okay after she gets some rest. You two boys go on to the Gryffindor common room while I help Hermione to the Head's dorm.

Harry and Ron both nodded. "Okay, we'll see you in a bit." Harry replied. Then he and Ron waved to the two girls and walked away.

Hermione was not very happy that Ginny had dismissed her two friends in such a manner but she really didn't want to argue; especially since her stomach was now causing her pain and she just knew that she was going to throw up.

"You'll be okay, it's just your nerves." Ginny mumbled as they walked along. "I am sure that it's hard to function when you are nervous. I know I was when Harry first kissed me. I was a bundle of nerves but then we just sort of melted together, like a perfect fitting puzzle."

Hermione really hadn't wanted to hear about that. it just made her feel even worse. Luckily, they had made it to the Head's dorm where they found themselves standing in front of a phoenix portrait.

The fiery bird turned it's head and looked at them; waiting for the password.

"Ugh! I don't want to go in there." Hermione whimpered as the portrait came into view.

"I wish I could help you. But here take this." Ginny handed Hermione a book with a soft gold cover. "If you get upset just write in this, it's an enchanted diary and supposed to make you feel better." Ginny added with a crooked smile.

"Uh...Thanks," Hermione said hesitantly taking it. Then she took a deep breath. "Well, this is it."

"Good luck. You’ll need it." Ginny said as she turned and walked away.

Hermione turned to the phoenix, her hands were sweating, her heart was rapidly beating.

She knew what lie beyond this portrait and she dreaded seeing him.

Then, after taking a few deep breaths, she spoke the password.

“Phoenix Blossoms.”

[Liz-Miia Parker]

I hate Ginny, i always have.

[Lissandra Sylvania]

Chapter 4-Sarcasm, Scuffles, and Slytherin Greetings

The portrait door swung open and Hermione slowly entered the cozy-looking, common room. She stood there for a moment just taking in her new living quarters. It seemed like every detail was perfectly in place just like how she would have arranged it herself. With a slow stride, she began to wander about the common room, curiously.

It had been decorated with half Slytherin and half Gryffindor colors. There was a black and red couch with a small, wooden table in front of a warm inviting fire.

The room itself was large and spacious just like Hermione had dreamed. She looked around let out a loud sigh of relief seeing that Draco hadn't even arrived yet.

And then she noticed the thin, metal staircase. She looked up to discover that there was a rounded, overhanging balcony with iron balusters. It was a very lovely addition to the dorm and Hermione couldn't resist getting a closer look. As she walked up the stairs, she couldn't help but marvel at the second floor decorations. Beautiful paintings and tapestries glistened with elegance.

Having made it to the top, Hermione glided across the smooth floor and looked down from the balcony. She could see the entire common room! "This is marvelous!" She said outloud and she twirled around a couple of times. But then she felt herself become a bit lightheaded and so she stopped. She turned around and saw that there were three doors that she had neglected to check out. With a content sigh, she walked over towards them. The three doors stood side by side and she knew that one was her room, another one was his and the remaining one had to be their joining bathroom.

Ugh! I just know living will Malfoy is going to be impossible! she thought and cringed at the very thought of trying to take a bath while he was so close by. She then shook away any uneasy thoughts and looked upon each of the doors, starting with the one on the left.
Hermione looked at the door to discover a portrait of a coiled serpent. As soon as it saw her, it began to hiss low as its forked tongue flicked in and out of its scaley mouth. Obviously, she knew whose room that was. And to confirm it, the name 'Draco Malfoy' was written in silver letters just above the hissing portrait.

Hermione swallowed as the reptile continued to glare at her with its unblinking, yellow eyes. "Trying to scare me, are you?" She snapped at it. The snake responded by opening its mouth a bit to show its fangs. However, since it could really do nothing but hiss and look intimidating, Hermione just rolled her eyes and continued on her exploration of the doors.

Stopping in front of the second one, she discovered the painting of a mermaid sunning herself on a beach. Hermione smiled and then pushed the door open to discover a sparkling, clean bathroom. The first thing that caught her eye was the beautiful mirror that hung over a glistening white sink. As she continued to look around, she found that there was a shower area that was separate from the bath tub. Hermione couldn't resist and pulled the semi clear curtain open so that she could get a better look at the large and deep oval tub that sat towards the back of the bathroom. It was tempting to strip down and bathe at that moment, but she had to remind herself that she was not the only one who would be using it. That made her want to go to the last room; which she knew would be hers.


Hermione exited the bathroom and walked to the third door, where the portrait of a lion resided. She could hear a deep throated purr and smiled as it eyed her curiously. "Nice to meet you too." She said to it. And then above it, she found her name in gold letters. 'Hermione Granger'.
She set her password. "Angel Dust" and went in.

Her room was beautiful, filled with red and gold and she had a large Gryffindor comforter that covered the full size bed. There were four pillows accenting each corner of it and it even had a privacy curtain in case she wanted that extra comfort of solitude.
Hermione smiled and then sat on the comfy bed a moment looking around. Then she stood back up, exited her room and walked back over and leaned on the finely crafted balcony, looking down at the common room below. "I think I am really going to like it here." She mumbled aloud.

But, just then, the portrait door swung open and in walked a familiar blonde male Slytherin.

"d**n it, why do I have to get stuck with a mudblood?" He muttered bitterly as he stomped over to the couch. "I can't believe this!"
He let out a frustrated groan and then plopped down. He unzipped his bag, pulled out what looked like homework and quickly began working on it. It was obvious that he didn't notice the brunette watching him from above; he was too busy complaining.
Hermione shook her head and rolled her eyes as she slowly descended the stairs; still hanging on to the diary that Ginny had given her. She made her way to the couch and sat on the opposite side of it.

She looked at him a moment. He was busy writing on a piece of parchment and from what she could tell he had barely legible writing. It was tempting to point that out, but she decided to let him concentrate for the moment.
Then she sighed silently as she looked at the diary that was still in her hands with an uneasy frown.

Ginny's used to having diaries. Hermione thought as she recalled second year when Ginny had been controlled by the diary of Tom Riddle. Who knows why she still writes in these things.

It didn't make her feel any better that the red headed girl had given her such a thing. In fact,at this point anything that Ginny gave her, she refused to keep because in her mind, Ginny was no longer her friend. I'll never forgive her. Hermione thought and with that thought, she quickly stood up.

Her eyes narrowed as images of Ginny and Harry flew through her mind.
The news that they were dating, the hugging, the snuggling, the kissing!
"Stupid..!" She suddenly snarled causing Draco to jump slightly as he looked up at her with a confused glare.

Then with all of her might, Hermione angrily flung the diary into the fire.

"Burn you little pregnant dog!" she seethed hatefully watching the pages curl and burn.

Draco's eyes widened as he looked at her with a startled expression.
Hermione had uttered a profane word and had viciously thrown a book into the fire. It was somewhat funny but at the same time unnerving to him.


Hermione stood there glaring into the fire, watching the book completely turn to ashes. the expression on her face was dark and menacing; enough to make even the arrogant Slytherin notice.

"d**n Granger, I never knew a book could piss you off so much. I'm almost...jealous." Draco commented with a slight chuckle.

Her angry eyes darted to him. But as they fell upon him, a relaxing feeling washed over her and she began to feel herself calm down. It was odd because she was certain that he would add to her anger and frustration.


"What are you staring at?" He sneered, now glaring at her.

"I don't know but once I figure it out I will let you know." She said bitterly as she turned and walked back up to her room.

"Angel Dust." she said then went in. Her things were all there and she was relieved to see that her bag from earlier was sitting on her bed. She opened it and pulled out a familiar black book. She stared down at it a moment, letting her thumb rub over the tattered, worn cover. It was smooth, soothing, and she felt the strong urge to open it up and read it. So, holding it rather tightly in her hands, she turned and walked out of her room, closing the door. She descended the stairs and strolled back down to the common room where Draco was still working.

He frowned darkly at seeing that she had returned and rolled his eyes as he looked back to his parchment.

Hermione let out a deep sigh as she walked over and plopped back down on the right side of him.

He quickly scooted as far away from her as he could. No way was he about to let her sit too close to him.

However, Hermione paid him no mind and opened her book to the place she'd left off. As she began to slowly sink into the words, the annoying Slytherin spoke.

"Do you mind? I have to finish this and you are distracting me!" He sneered at her.

"How am I distracting you?" she asked, glancing over her book at him.

"You know d**n well, how!" He growled bitterly. "If I don't get this done for McGonagall, she'll never let me hear the end of it!" He muttered aloud to himself. "Not to mention I still have to do my Potions essay for Snape. So, I can not be distracted by a filthy mudblood."

Hermione scowled at his remark. "Well, it's not my fault that you're so irresponsible. Perhaps if you would have done your homework over the summer like everyone else, you wouldn't be needing to rush through it now. Honestly, you're just like Ron." She spat turning a page in her book titled 'Discovering Your True Worth and Finding Where You Belong'

"How dare you compare me to that poor dirty Weasel!" He was outraged.

"It's true though. Honestly, I thought that with your intelligence, you of all people; would have everything done before school started." She said disappointedly.

He raised a brow at her comment. That sounded almost like a compliment. He thought.

Then he shook his head.
"Well for your bloody information I...I had a lot to do over the summer. Things that a Mudblood like yourself wouldn’t understand." He snapped and then glanced down at his parchment again.

"Like what? Sitting on your ass and ordering your house elves around all day?" Hermione sneered not looking up from her book.

"Well unlike you I was traveling, and training to be..." He suddenly stopped and then quickly became silent. "d**n it, Granger you made me lose my concentration!" He snarled.

"Training to be...what?" Hermione asked suspiciously raising a brow.

"Well I..." He began then suddenly caught himself and glared at her. "I...That is none of your d**n business!" Draco grumbled as he rubbed his head, trying to remember what he was going to write.

"I see. So you must have been doing things for yourself for once, instead of depending on your father who can't help you because he is locked in Azkaban." Hermione said bluntly.

"Mind your own d**n business. What happens in my life does not concern you!" Draco said annoyed.

"Fine." Hermione said shortly as she began reading her book once more.

Silence fell on them which suited Hermione just fine as she was thoroughly engrossed in what she was reading.

But for Draco the silence made him more annoyed.

It was now too quiet.

He shook his head looking down at what he wrote on his parchment.

He glared at it as it didn't make any sense and tapped the side of his head lightly trying to think.

Suddenly, Hermione let out a gasp as she had stumbled onto something rather interesting in her book.


...and some wizards and witches find their worth by other means. Many wizards and witches who find themselves feeling worthless; dabble into the Dark Arts for comfort; for they know that it gives them the ability to achieve great things. The power they receive is easier to grasp. Some ways that these beings have made themselves known have been by trickery but trickery only goes so far. Seeking vengeance for wrongdoings is often how these powerful beings stumble into the craft." as quoted by Marvelina Ridu-who was once a sad, lonely witch, and now who's become successful thanks to using the Dark Arts to her advantage. And so one needs only to seek, to dabble to find ones way. It is not wise to be a follower all one's life. Once one finds their true self worth they should never turn back. When one finds where they belong, the door to their future will open and the door to their past will forever close.

Draco; having heard her gasp, looked to her oddly.

The way she was staring into the book so intensely made him uneasy. Finally, having had enough of the silence he spoke.

"So mudblood, is this your new boyfriend of the week?" He sneered pointing at the book.

She just rolled her eyes. "Really Malfoy, you're unbelievable. You have to start something on our first day here." she said coolly.

Then she looked over at his parchment. "You're still working on that?" She asked.

"Yeah, what's it to you?" He snapped.

"Well, you've been working on it for a while now. You look like you're stuck. So, if you want, I can help you finish it." She replied confidently.

"Look, I don’t need help from a filthy Mudblood." he grumbled.

"Can't you extend your vocabulary a bit more, Malfoy?" she asked with a smirk.

He frowned at her cool response.

"I happen to have a very extensive, vocabulary but there's no reason to waste that many words on you, mudblood!"

She pursed her lips then glared at him.

He noticed the look on her face and grinned. "Besides, I like calling you that because it pisses you off so much." he added proudly.

"Fine then." She replied. "I'm sure that I can find a name that will piss you off as well."
"Yeah right. You go ahead and do that if it makes you happy. Meanwhile, I will be finishing my homework." He said smirking at her.

"Fine then, you annoying git." She said trying to get him to react but he didn't.

"Bastard! Jerk!" she said, but his attention was on his parchment.

Not a single thing she'd said had caused a reaction.

"Foul, obnoxious toad?" she said almost as if she were asking.

Nothing. Nothing at all. She tried to think harder.

"You're...detestable...you're an idiot, a moron, a...a snake!" she shouted now with an annoyed frown on her face.

"If that is the best you can come up with Granger, I'd hate to see your worst." He chuckled.

"Agh! You...you d**n...ferret."She snapped.

He twitched slightly. I'll never forgive Moody for turning me into that stupid ferret fourth year! I still haven't forgotten that. he thought. Then he shrugged it off.

"So close...ah well." He muttered as he smirked and continued to write. There's no way that I'm going to play her stupid little game. he convinced himself.

Hermione fumed at him. "Agh! You just wait...I'll think of something..." She snapped at him.

"Yeah whatever, mudblood." He replied arrogantly as he continued writing.

Then suddenly she remembered what Pansy Parkinson had called him on the train.

"Drakie." she said softly almost in a questioning tone.

Draco immediately dropped his quill and looked at Hermione coldly.

Then his eyes slowly narrowed at her.

"What did you just call me?" he asked in a cold voice just above a whisper.

Hermione’s smile widened.

"I called you Drakie." she said again this time a little louder with a light chuckle.

"How...dare...you!" he snarled venomously.

Then without warning, Draco lunged across the couch and pounced on her. She gasped and tried to push him off but he was too fast and quickly grabbed both of her wrists and held them down firmly.

"I'm too fast for you, Granger." He sneered menacingly.

"Ugh! Get off of me ferret!" She hissed fighting back, refusing to let him get the upper hand.

"Not until I teach you some manners, Mudblood! You are not going to get away with an insult like that!" He growled as he struggled with her.

She continued to fight him but soon found herself weakening slightly. He was physically much stronger than she was, and she knew that she wouldn't win this way.

His grip on her wrists were strong, but then she noticed something. Her legs were free. He'd neglected to pin them down.

Realizing that she couldn't free her hands of his grip, she decided to use her legs, or rather her knees.

"Give up, Mudblood!" He growled as he squeezed her wrists tightly.

"N-Never!" She replied wincing slightly as his tightened grip was causing her wrists to hurt.

Then with all of her might she brought her knees up quickly and caught him right between the legs.

He let out a painful groan, as he let go of her hands.

As he did so, she went to push him off of her, but he recovered enough to grab the front of her robes before falling off the couch.

Hermione squeaked as she was pulled down to the floor with him. She landed across his chest with a soft thud.

"Oof! Get off of me you stupid pregnant dog!" He snarled as he flung her off.

She rolled across the floor.

"Malfoy, you jerk." She mumbled with a groan.

She slowly managed to sit up on her knees rubbing her now aching head.

She looked to see if he was going to pursue her. But he was already settling back in his spot on the couch.

He then smirked down at her. "That's a good little Mudblood. You just sit there on the floor where you belong, until I give you my orders." he sneered arrogantly.

"Go to hell!" She hissed at him, as she sat there straightening her wrinkled clothes. He grinned as he continued to taunt her. "On your knees at your master's command so obediently? Why Granger, you're learning how to behave properly in my presence." he mocked dramatically.

She glared daggers at him and quickly jumped to her feet. "Shut up, Malfoy!" She hissed as she jumped up and angrily plopped down on her side of the couch again.

"Aw get back on the floor, Mudblood, I liked you better when you were in your rightful place." He drawled.

"I'll put you in your rightful place one of these days, Malfoy!" she snapped at him hatefully.

"Keep telling yourself that, Mudblood." He chuckled bitterly.

"Oh I will...Drakie!" She sneered.

Draco's right eye twitched and then he threw his quill down again, only harder this time.

"Oh, I forgot that you don't wike that wittle name." She taunted in a baby-talk kind of voice.

"Mudblood..." he growled, feeling his temper rise.

"Aww, what is it?" She taunted. "Am I upsetting you, Drakie?"

"That's it!" he snapped as he lunged at her for the second time.

"Agh! Let go of me!" She hissed as she once again tried to struggle against him.

But she was so tired from their previous scuffle moments ago, that she wasn't as fast as before. However, she wasn't about to give in.

"You're going to learn not to mess with me!" he snarled angrily as they wrestled.

"What's the matter? You can't handle being teased?" She sneered.

"You stupid mudblood!" he growled as he shoved her against the back of the couch.

She gasped and let out a grunt as his body came crashing down on top of hers.

They wrestled for a bit more until Draco was finally able to grab both her hands and pin her down.

She tried to struggle but was too tired and his grip was too strong to break this time.

The blonde Slytherin was breathing heavily, as he glared down at her, his cold, menacing eyes seething with anger.

"Don’t ever call me that name again!" he whispered in a dark tone. "If you do, you will regret the day you ever met me!" He added, more forcefully.

Hermione glared at him. She knew that he had the upper hand, but she wasn't about to show any fear.

Not to Malfoy at least. If he knew that he could intimidate her so easily, he'd make her life worse than he did now.

No, she knew she had to keep her cool. And so after a moment, she found her voice again.

"Look, the only reason that I called you Drakie was because you always call me Mudblood." She said trying to sound calm.

"Yeah, well that's my Slytherin Greetings to you." He boasted.

"Your what?" She snapped.

"My Slytherin Greetings. You get the privilege of having your own personal greeting from me, so you should be grateful." he sneered watching her eyes flash with anger.

"Calling me a Mudblood is not something that I consider a privilege." She hissed.

"Yeah, well I only call you what you deserve to be called." He snapped arrogantly as he glared at her.

"Yeah and I hate it as much as you hate being called Drakie." She snapped back.
He glared even harder at her as she quickly continued. "I only called you that so that you would see how it feels to be called a name that you despise so much. The way you feel about the name 'Drakie' is the way I feel about the name 'Mudblood'."

He squinted and nodded slightly with a smirk.

"Honestly, I don't really want to call you by that name. I mean it sounds quite pathetic. But I also don't want you to keep calling me 'Mudblood' either." she said, still trying to keep her voice calm.

"So just what are you getting at, Mud-er-Granger?" He asked raising a brow.

"I'm saying that I won't call you that name again as long as you agree to stop calling me 'Mudblood'." she replied.

He continued to hold her down as he cocked his head to the side, contemplating what she had just said.

It was then that he noticed something. This was the closest that he had ever been to Hermione and he wasn't sure he liked it. Then again, he wasn't sure that he didn't like it either. It was rather awkward and he wasn't sure what to say next.

Hermione seemed to realize the same thing. This is the first time that Malfoy and I have ever been this close. she thought as she stared up at him.

His soft blonde hair fell around his icy grey eyes that were glaring into her soft brown ones. He looked almost cute.

"So...what do you say? Do we have a deal?" she asked hopefully.

Draco hesitated then nodded slowly. "Alright then, deal." He mumbled in a low tone as he slowly let go of her hands and got off of her.

Then he settled back down to work on his homework.

Hermione slowly sat up and picked up her book that had fallen to the floor.

Then after brushing a few strands of hair out of her eyes, she stood up.

Draco glanced to her out of the corner of his eye. "Where are you going?" he grumbled bitterly.

"To my room." She replied coldly.

And then without another word, she walked away.

[Lissandra Sylvania]

Chapter 5- "Granger is Our Queen"

Draco turned his head slightly to catch the glimpse of the bushy-haired brunette starting up the stairs.

He then rolled his eyes and looked back down at his work.

He picked up his quill and then started to write again, but he couldn't concentrate.

d**n that Mudblood, she wouldn't stop distracting me! Argh! And now I can't concentrate!

He tossed his quill down and leaned back against the couch, running a hand through his hair.

As he took a moment to close his eyes, he suddenly remembered how Hermione had cursed when she had thrown a book into the fireplace.

I wonder why she did that? I never thought I'd ever see her destroy one of her precious books.

He then shook his head and opened his eyes again. Wait a minute, why the bloody hell am I thinking about her?

He then stood up and stretched.

I need a shower. He thought as he turned and went up the metal staircase.

Hermione lay on her stomach staring blankly at the book that lay before her. But she was having trouble reading it because she kept finding herself thinking about Draco.

But just as she began to push him out of her mind, she heard the bathroom door open and close.

Then she heard the sound of running water.

Good, at least he can't bother me while he's in the shower. She thought.

Then she let out a sigh and was about to start reading her book again when suddenly she heard him humming a tune.

She grimaced as she recognized it. "Oh no..." she groaned.

The tune he was humming was from a song that he'd made up in fifth year to taunt poor Ron. 'Weasley is Our King'.

Of course Ron had come through in the end and the Gryffindors had turned the song around, but still she didn't like it. It was annoying to no end and she was sure that Draco knew that.

"Hey Granger, I've got a song for you!" Draco drawled loudly. "Do you remember the classic that I made?"

"Not that 'Weasley is Our King' song, Malfoy!" She snapped.

She heard him laugh and firmly added. "If you spout out that ridiculous song, I'll hex you!".

"Oh but I wasn't going to sing that song!" He replied. "I mean I can't after those stupid Gryffindors tainted it!"

"Oh...well that served you right!" She shouted.

"No, the song I was going to sing has nothing to do with Weasel!" He drawled.

"Well...good. Now, stop talking to me, I'm trying to read!" She snapped.

"Fine." he snapped back.

For a few brief moments, there was silence. But then....


"Granger is our Queen,
Ugliest Mudblood I've ever seen,
Foul tempered, and so mean!
Granger is our Queen!" sang Draco loudly.

Hermione grimaced. "Malfoy..." She growled.

But he quickly jumped into a second verse.


"Granger lives in a tiny house
She's annoying like a mouse.
She's so filthy and so mean!
Granger is our Queen!"

"Malfoy!" She shouted but he went on singing yet another verse.


"Granger was born from the dirty ground,
She should go back to the lost and found!
Or better yet the muggle pound!!!"


"Malfoy!" She shouted jumping up from her bed and rushing over banging loudly on the bathroom door.

"Oh is that an applause that I hear? Do you want to hear more, Granger?" He shouted arrogantly.

"No! I most certainly do not!" She hissed.

"Very well, another verse it is!" He shouted gleefully.

"Don't you dare..." She yelled but he was already singing again.


"Granger doesn't stand a chance,
To get a guy or have romance
Cause she so dirty and so mean
That's why Granger is our Queen!"


"MALFOY!" She shouted as she burst into the steamy bathroom.

But then, she froze as she realized what she had just done.

"Agh! Get out of here, Granger!" Draco shrieked in a high pitch tone.

Hermione spun around and ran out almost as quickly as she'd rushed in.

As she slammed the door to the bathroom she plopped onto her bed and gasped. Oh my gosh, why did I just run in on Malfoy in the shower?

How dare that Mudblood burst in on me in the middle of one of my best songs! Draco grumbled as he stepped out of the shower and grabbed his towel.

After drying himself off and getting dressed he combed his wet blonde hair back and then turned and glared at the door that led to Hermione's room.

Hermione sat on her bed holding her head in her hands.

Why did I do that? I can't believe that I ran in on him while he was in the shower! She gasped.

Then she blinked and sat up straight. Wait a second, I didn't see anything; it was too steamy! So, I shouldn't be embarrassed. Either way though, I think I'll just stay in here, read my book, and simply avoid Malfoy for the rest of the night.

Then, just as she was starting to relax again, her door that led to the bathroom, swung open and Draco stomped in.

Hermione gasped and immediately jumped to her feet.

"What do you think you're doing in my room, Malfoy?" She demanded putting her hands on her hips angrily.

"The same thing you were doing in my bathroom, Granger!" he retorted.

"It's both our bathroom and you have no business being in my bedroom!" she replied sharply.

He then smirked and let out a cold chuckle. "I just came in to sing you a lullaby, Granger so that you can sleep well." He sneered.

Her eyes narrowed at him and she shook her head. "Oh no you don't!" She snapped as she pointed to the door.

"Oh you want me to leave?" He asked with mock sadness.

"Yes, now get out or I will inform Professor McGonagall!" She stated firmly.

"Fine, I'm leaving." he snorted. "Besides, if I stay in your room too long, I might catch something."

And then he turned quickly and walked back into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

"Ugh! This year is going to be a nightmare!" She groaned, plopping down face first into her pillow.

Thatevil little ferret is already acting rudely towards me and it's only our first night here. Is this what I will have to put up with for the rest of the year?

She then looked to her alarm clock. It read 10:45pm.

I'd better get to sleep. She thought as she curled up under her covers. I want to be well rested for tomorrow.

And with that she closed her eyes and settled under her warm blankets.


But no sooner had she started to fall into a restful sleep then....


"Granger is our Queen,
Ugliest Mudblood I've ever seen.
She'll make you want to sell your spleen!
Granger is our Queen!" sang Draco from downstairs.


Hermione screamed into her pillow and then shot up in bed.

I have a good mind to go down there and hex him! She thought as she rubbed her sleepy eyes.

Draco continued to sing, purposefully raising his voice. She knew that he was trying to annoy her and it was working!

With a groan she jumped out of bed. Fine, if I can't sleep then I may as well go annoy him! She thought as she grabbed her book and stormed out of her room.

She scowled down to see the blonde Slytherin below, sitting on the couch. Angrily, she stomped down the stairs.

Draco smirked to himself as he heard her loud, angry footsteps. He stared down at his homework, as he let out a low chuckle.

Hermione held her book against her chest as she slowly made her way across the room.

"Miss me already, Granger?" he sneered as he heard her footsteps moving closer.

"No, I...just got cold and decided that I'd rather come down and warm up by the fire." she stated coolly as she sat down in her spot on the couch.

He raised a brow at her calm response but then rolled his eyes as he started writing again.

Hermione opened her book to the last page that she'd left off on and began to read quietly.

"Granger is our Queen...hmm hmm hmm." Draco sang just loud enough for her to hear him.

She was about to say something, when suddenly he stopped singing. "Well, I'm done with McGonagall's assignment, now all I have to do is my Potions essay." he announced as though it were a big deal.

Then he pulled out a blank piece of parchment.

"Ah well, I'd love to keep serenading you with my brilliant song, Granger but I need to do this assignment." he added arrogantly, making it sound as though she would be disappointed.

"Fine, not like I care." She replied shortly as she turned back to her book.

And then there was a long silence between them.

Hermione seemed perfectly at ease with not talking, but Draco was another story.

He kept fidgeting and shifting restlessly. He couldn't help but feel awkward and uneasy.

This is odd. Granger hasn't even spoken to me in a while now. She's not even acknowledging my presence! He thought with a disgruntled frown. She actually seems comfortable with us just sitting here in the bloody silence.

He then ventured to glance at her out of the corner of his eye. I can't handle this. And then he tossed his quill down lightly, and leaned back against the couch rubbing his eyes.

Hermione lifted her head slightly to look at him before turning back to what she was reading.

Another few minutes of silence.

Draco rolled his eyes and then unable to handle the silence any longer, he spoke.

"You know if you're cold you could just go jump in the bed with Weasel. I'm sure he'd warm you up." he sneered.

"No thank you, I don't want fleas!" She retorted bitterly.

Then she gasped at what she'd just said.

Draco raised a cocky brow. "Oh? Do I sense a bit of hostility, Granger?" He asked in a sing-song manner.

She just rolled her eyes with an annoyed frown. "Just drop it, Malfoy." She snapped, looking back at her book.


He chuckled. He'd found something to annoy her with and he was going use it.

"So, what's going on with the Golden Trio now days?" he asked. "I've been so busy doing serious, important stuff that I haven't kept up with your pathetic, little group."


"Malfoy, everything in our group is perfectly fine so just drop it." She replied irritably.

"I know that's not true. After the remark you just made about Weasel, I can't help but be curious now." he said shrugging.

She shook her head, and then her eyes traveled down to the parchment he'd been writing on.

He only had one sentence written.

"Malfoy, you've only done one sentence? This assignment is supposed to be a page long! Don't tell me that you're having trouble on something so simple!" Hermione gasped in disbelief.

"I'm not having trouble! And for your information I would have had all of my homework done a couple of hours ago but you have been distracting me!" Draco snapped as he covered his parchment with his hand.

"Not the whole time." She replied.

"Well most of it." He grumbled. "And if I get a bad grade on this I will blame it on you!" He added.

She sighed then closed her book and stood up. "Well, I'm off to bed." she mumbled.

"Why are you telling me? It's not like I care." he snapped rolling his eyes.

She just shrugged and then walked away.

"Stupid Mudblood!" he snapped at her.

Hermione smirked and stopped in front of the stairs.

"I heard that...Drakie!" She replied nastily.

"Why you!" he snapped jumping to his feet but she was up the stairs and opening her bedroom door before he could make it to the bottom of the staircase.

Draco glared at her as he watched her disappear into her room.

Hermione smiled as she plopped onto her bed. That will teach that ferret to mess with me. She thought as she snuggled under her warm covers.

Draco sighed then walked back over to the couch and sat down.

How am I supposed to get this work done? I don't even know what else to write. I suppose I could demand that the Mudblood help me but no...I don't want to sink as low as to ask her. He thought, staring down at the parchment.

[Liz-Miia Parker]

Hhahaahaaa, nad on nii koomikud ;D ;D ;D

[Lissandra Sylvania]

Chapter 6- Problems in Potions Class

The next morning Hermione woke up feeling rather tired.

Her first night dealing with Draco was quite frustrating and exhausting.

She yawned and stretched a moment, then rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

Her hair messily flopped into her face as she stumbled out of bed. As she got dressed, she hoped that Draco had already left. The last thing she wanted was to deal with the annoying Slytherin this early in the morning.

She grabbed her brush and began to smoothen out her hair. It was tangly and she winced as the bristles pulled the strands apart.

After grooming herself rather quickly, she opened her door slowly and peeked out.
There was no sign of Draco. Maybe she was in luck; maybe he'd already left. She could only hope that as she reached down and grabbed her bag.

She slowly descended the stairs to the common room. Glancing back up, she saw no trace that the Head Boy was there and breathed a sigh of relief. Unfortunately, it was too soon, for as she was crossing the common room, she heard a noise.

"Oh no." She mumbled as she stopped. The noise was of someone snoring. And of course that someone could only be one person. Draco Malfoy.

Hermione walked over towards the couch and looked down to see the Slytherin lying on his back. He was still in his school uniform and his arms were folded across his chest.

Should I wake him up? she wondered.

She knew that he'd never wake her up but she hated the thought of leaving without being courtious enough to let him know it was the next morning. So, quietly she walked around to the front of the couch. She looked to see that he still hadn't finished his homework and rolled her eyes.

Typical. He's only got one paragraph done. I knew he wouldn't finish his essay. She thought. Then she smiled to herself. It's a good thing that I redid it for him the right way.

She then looked back at him. He was sleeping rather contently. She blinked and then leaned down getting a better look at him. His pale features were relaxed. There was no trace of a scowl or smirk of any kind on his face.

For a brief moment, Hermione forgot about his cruel,arrogant, taunting personality and looked at him in awe.

He looks so cute like this. she thought smiling faintly.

Then she shook her head. Cute? Wait! Did I just call Malfoy, cute?

Indeed she had. She didn't know why but she was suddenly fascinated by the blonde and so slowly she slumped down on her knees to get a better look at him.

If only he wasn't so mean and nasty to me. She thought, gazing at him for what seemed like the longest time. Then she noticed that she was wasting time.

Quickly, she stood back up. With a loud sigh she leaned down tapping his shoulder lightly.

"Malfoy?" She mumbled softly. He didn't respond. "Malfoy, come on we're going to be late." She said a little louder this time. Still he continued to snore.

She rolled her eyes and sighed. "Wake up, I don't have time for this." she snapped grabbing his arm and pulling on it.

He didn't budge.

"Get up! We don't have very long until class starts and I want to go eat breakfast!" She snapped feeling the rumbling in her stomach.

But try as she might, she could not get the Slytherin to wake up.

Finally, feeling frustrated, she shook her head. "Fine Malfoy!" She shouted as he continued to sleep.

"I'm leaving." She grumbled impatiently. And then, she flung her bag over her shoulder. Well, I tried. She thought.

Then she rushed out of the portrait door and down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

---
"Morning Hermione." Harry greeted her.

"Morning Harry." She replied as she sat down between Harry and Ron. Ginny was on the other side of Harry.

"So, how did your night go?" Ginny asked curiously.

"It was alright." She replied noticing the curious frowns now crossing the faces of the three.
She decided not to say anything else about her and Draco's night. It's none of their business anyway. she thought bitterly as she grabbed some food. She had only taken a few bites when Harry spoke.


"Come on, we'd better get to the dungeons. Potions with the Slytherins, you know?” He said hesitantly.

Hermione nodded, realizing she wasn't going to be able to finish her breakfast.

Quickly, she got up taking a quick look around the Great Hall, wondering if Draco had ever shown up.

He hadn't and she knew that he must still be sleeping.

She shook her head and sighed. Well, I tried to wake him up.

Then she pushed the thoughts of him into the back of her mind as she left the Great Hall.

Harry and Ron, were already in class and seated when Hermione slowly walked in. She looked around but saw no sign of Draco there either.

That lazy ferret, still sleeping. Well I made an attempt to wake him up. she thought as she sat down and pulled out two pieces of parchment.

She looked down at the first one and grinned. I think this will be good enough. she thought looking it over.

Then she looked around to make sure no one was looking and uncovered the second parchment. She smiled softly at the name on it.

Draco Malfoy.

At least his homework got finished...even if I was the one who did it. I couldn't stand the rubbish that he was writing and I knew that my version of it would make more sense. She thought as she carried the two pieces of parchment up to Snape's desk.

Professor Snape raised a brow as he watched her put the two pieces of parchment down on his desk.

"Miss Granger, I only assigned one parchment on Antidotes, why did you have to go and make it two?" He muttered coldly.

"Oh I didn't sir." She replied noting the annoyed expression on his face. "The second one is Malfoy's. He wanted me to turn it in for him." She said lowering her voice.

However, Harry; who was walking towards the front to hand in his homework, raised a curious brow as he caught part of what Hermione had said to Snape.

"Is that so, Miss Granger?" Snape raised a brow, suspiciously. "Just why did he trust you to do such a thing? And by the way, where is he?"

She cringed at the number of questions but answered them straightforwardly. "Sir, he put a hex on his homework to make sure that I turned it in and as for his whereabouts...I really don't know."

After giving her a harsh look he nodded slightly. "Very well. Return to your seat, Miss Granger." He muttered.

She nodded and did just that, not even noticing Harry, who was giving her a strange look as she passed him.

She simply sat down and pulled out a blank piece of parchment as Snape began to write the ingredients for the day's potion on the blackboard.

--
Hermione was almost finished with her potion when the classroom door flung open and Draco came rushing inside.

Professor Snape shook his head glaring coldly at the new arrival.

"Well Mr. Malfoy, I'm pleased that you could take the time to join us today." Snape said sarcastically as he frowned at the Slytherin.

Draco heard whispering and snickering behind him and frowned darkly. "Perhaps you will get to class earlier next time if I take, shall we say... ten points...from you?" the Professor said coldly.

"Sorry sir." Draco muttered lowering his head.

"Don't let this be a habit, Mr. Malfoy." Snape replied. "Now take your seat."

Draco glared and then sat down in the only seat available; the one right beside Hermione.

"The rest of you continue with what you were doing." Snape hissed to the class.

Then he turned to write something down on the blackboard.


Draco leaned over and firmly tapped Hermione. "Psst Granger!" he whispered.

She glanced to him curiously.

"Why did you let me sleep in?" He demanded, keeping his voice low.
Hermione’s eyes narrowed at him.

"Well I tried to wake you up but you kept on sleeping. What else was I supposed to do?" She whispered back.

"You obviously didn't try hard enough." He protested.

"Excuse me? I'm not the one who stayed up all night." she replied sternly.

"I was trying to get my d**n homework done, Granger." Draco replied. "But thanks to you not only did I not finish it, but you let me almost miss class!" He said slightly speaking just above a whisper.

She was about to reply when...

*Crash*

Hermione and Draco turned to see Seamus Finnigan covered in black soot, his ingredients that lay before him were smoldering with black smoke,resting on broken glass.

Hermione gave him a pitiful look, but Draco just chuckled and smirked.

Seamus coughed a moment then chuckled nervously. "Uh I um added the ingredients, just not in the right order, I guess." He said as Snape frowned at him in disgust.

"That's ten points from you Mr. Finnigan for disrupting the class and destroying school supplies." Snape hissed grimly.

Seamus nodded and looked down in embarassment.

"Honestly, I don't even know how you got into Gryffindor; let alone this school being as clumsy and pathetic as you are." Snape said harshly.

The Slytherins let out a few snickers, including Draco. Hermione just shook her head in disgust.

Harry glared hatefully at Snape, angry that he'd be so harsh on his friend over a simple accident like that. But he dared not say a word as he knew Snape was just itching to take more points away from Gryffindor.

"I'm sorry, Sir." Seamus managed to squeak.

Snape rolled his eyes and then walked towards the door. "It seems I need to grab a few more ingredients as a certain one of our Gryffindors here can't seem to keep from blowing his up. I shall return momentarily." and with that, he stepped out of the room.


As soon as he was gone Draco took the opportunity to insult Seamus. "Well Finnigan, it looks as though you've gotten better at blowing things up. I'm impressed, you seem to be able to make a fool out of yourself more and more each year!" He sneered menacingly.

"Shove off, Malfoy!" Harry snapped coldly.

"Oh? Taking up for your housemate are you, Potter? Why am I'm not surprised?" Draco retorted with a scowl.

Then he snorted and turned now glaring at Hermione, who was slowly stirring her potion.

"And as for you, Granger, you should have woke me up!" He growled.

"Excuse me?" She snapped back as she shot him a cold look. "Since when did I become your keeper?" She asked, oblivious to Harry and Ron who were now eavsdropping on their conversation.

"Well because you're beneath me and because I said so!" Draco drawled. "And besides," He added. "it's your fault that I'm going to get in trouble for not having my homework done!"

"Oh will you shut up!" She hissed at him. "Look, for your information I've already turned in your homework for you."

"What are you talking about?" He scoffed.

She then sighed and lowered her voice. "Don't worry, Malfoy. I saw your homework earlier and...well...finished it for you." She added hesitantly.

"You...what?" Draco gasped.

"She did what?" Ron whispered to Harry who just shook his head in disgust as he looked to his red headed friend.

"Actually, I started it all over and made it better. What you wrote made absolutely no sense what so ever, so I redid it the right way." She said confidently.

"What!" Draco demanded.

"Calm down, I'm sure that you'll get a good grade." she replied coolly.

"Well...let me see it." He replied with an uneasy frown.

"I can't. I told you that I already turned it in." Hermione snapped.

"Argh! You did what? I didn't tell you to do it and...Argh! How dare you...you...filthy Mudblood!" he snarled.

Hermione quickly looked at him coldly. Then suddenly a sly smile slowly crept across her face.

Draco suddenly gasped as he realized exactly what she was going to do.

He bit his bottom lip fiercly. Then he shook his head at her mouthing the word 'No' with a dangerous glare.

She just smiled at him sweetly. "I was just trying to help you, Drakie!" she said loud enough to grab the attention of the whole room.

Draco cringed as he looked around the classroom. All eyes were on him.
The Gryffindors suddenly all burst into fits of laughter while the Slytherins looked confused.

Hermione smirked at the embarassed blonde Slytherin that was now beet red in the face.
Then suddenly his shocked expression turned to rage.

"That's it!" He snarled as he jumped up out of his seat.

She jumped up at the same time.

The laughter quickly ceased as the room watched the two preparing to fight.

"I'm going to make you pay for that, Granger!" Draco snarled, reaching for his wand.

"Just try it, Malfoy!" Hermione snapped as her hand was already on her own wand.

Harry and Ron blinked rapidly at the scene.

"We should help her, Harry." Ron mumbled as he slowly pulled out his wand.

Harry nodded and took out his as well.

The rest of the class sat silently as they watched Draco and Hermione staring each other down.

"Don't worry Hermione, we'll help you." Ron said boldly as he and Harry stood up.

"Oh, so little Miss Granger here has to have back up. She can't face me on her own, can she?" Draco drawled smirking at Ron and Harry.

Hermione frowned as she turned slightly to her two Gryffindor friends. "Harry, Ron Sit! I can handle this on my own!" She snapped at them.


Draco raised a brow slightly impressed at her ability to take charge, but wasn't about to compliment her on it-at least not directly to her.

Instead he smirked at Harry and Ron.

"That's right, sit down like Granger's good little pets and let her see if she's tough enough to face me on her own!" He sneered.

"I can definitely face you on my own!" She hissed at him.

"Fine then, take out your wand. Let's see if you can back up that statement!" Draco replied bitterly as he drew his wand.

Hermione was about to take hers out when the door opened and Snape slowly made his way back in. He was carrying a few stacked boxes.

Hermione and Draco quickly sat down, neither one wanted to risk getting into trouble. The blonde Slytherin quickly tucked his wand away.

Harry raised a brow as he glanced over and saw Draco leaning towards Hermione.

"We’ll finish this later." Draco muttered so as only Hermione could hear him.

Hermione leaned over and whispered in his ear, "Oh we'll finish this alright, Malfoy. You just wait.”

Just then the bell rang and everyone jumped up.

"I'll see you later, Granger." Draco sneered at her as he got up and stalked out.

Hermione simply shrugged as she gathered her things together.

[Lissandra Sylvania]

Chapter 7- Cooling down and a Whisper in the Air

"That was brilliant, Hermione!” Ron said as they left the dungeons. "It was little out of the ordinary for you, but absolutely brilliant none the less. I liked the way that you stood your ground against that annoying git!"

"Thank you, Ron." Hermione replied proudly beaming.

"It was brilliant, I agree. But Hermione, you need to be just a little more careful about losing your temper in class. Snape could have caught you and taken every single point from Gryffindor." Harry chimed in.

"Oh I know, but I couldn't stand the way that Malfoy was behaving in there; especially making fun of Seamus." she replied.

"Speaking of Seamus; that was rotten the way Snape belittled him in class. The poor guy was just trying to make the potion that was on the board." Ron added glumly.

"I know." Harry mumbled. "But you know Snape. He always has to ridicule us Gryffindors.”

He then looked to Hermione, who was staring at the ground as they walked along.


"Hermione, towards the end of class I noticed that you and Malfoy were talking.”

Hermione looked to Harry who had spoken and raised a brow. He stared at her a moment and then sighed.

“ You might want to be careful about what you were doing in class. People may start talking." He said slightly frowning.
"What do you mean, Harry?" She asked curiously.

"Well when you and Malfoy were whispering to each other it...kind of looked like you two were flirting." Harry said, looking away and sounding slightly annoyed.

Hermione laughed slightly at the almost jealous look on his face. He was thinking that I was flirting with Malfoy? She thought. But then suddenly her eyes widened and she smiled. Wait a minute...does this mean that Harry is turning his attention to me? And if so...if he thinks that I want Malfoy he might be starting to like me .She smiled widely. I wonder.

"Really, Harry." She scoffed after pulling herself from her thoughts. "Malfoy and I had just had a little confrontation and he was saying that our fight wasn't over. And I was agreeing as I plan to finish it later." She stated confidently.


"Really?" Harry asked, with uncertainty.


She rolled her eyes as an annoyed look crossed her face. "This is Draco Malfoy we're talking about here! You seriously think I would flirt with him?" She replied sharply.

"I..uh...err...you're right, I'm sorry.” Harry replied breathing a sigh of relief.


Hermione smiled as she noticed the relieved look on Harry's face.


After dinner that evening

Hermione slowly walked from the Great Hall and began making her way down the corridor. Her mind was fixed on Harry’s earlier reaction. She had noticed that subtle flicker of what looked like jealousy in his piercing, green eyes. The tone of his voice had changed for a brief moment as he had made his comment about her earlier conversations with Draco. It made her feel something; perhaps it was hope. The hope that Harry would come forth with his true feelings.

And then before she knew it, she was standing outside of the Head Students Dorm. She spoke the password to the ever patient phoenix and then made her way into the Head's common room. However, as she was making her way through the common room; something caught her eye.


She looked over and her jaw dropped, seeing Pansy Parkinson dancing on the small table in front of the couch, in nothing but her bra and panties.


What in the world? Hermione wondered as she stood there a moment, watching the pathetic girl.

Then suddenly she looked up and saw a very amused blonde Slytherin standing at the top of the stairs hooting and clapping.
"That’s a good girl, Pansy! Okay, now bark like a dog!" Draco shouted down to her.

Hermione's face scrunched up as she looked over at Pansy, who obeyed him instantly.


"Arf arf!" Pansy barked. "How's that Drakie? Are you ready to take me up to your room yet?" She asked, almost begging.


"Not yet, you haven't put me in the mood!" He shouted back. "Keep barking!"

Pansy groaned and started barking again.


Draco grinned. This is too much fun. I can't believe father wants me to marry this stupid girl. But at least she will do anything I tell her to. He thought. Then he sighed. Of course if I wanted to marry a slave, I'd pick a d**n house elf. What I really want is... His thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a loud angry voice.

"Malfoy! What the hell is going on in here?" Hermione shrieked glaring up at him.
Draco looked down, just now noticing that she was there and waved. "Hey there, Granger, you're just in time. Now strip down and go follow Pansy's lead!" He ordered sarcastically.
"Yeah, right!" She snarled up at him. "Keep dreaming snake boy!"
"Aww come on, I'm just having some fun here." He bragged as he nonchalantly walked down the stairs. "Besides, good entertainment is so hard to find these days." He added, gesturing to the half naked girl who was looking quite embarrassed now.


"I see. Well, that's all fine and dandy Malfoy, but could you take it to your bedroom?" Hermione asked rolling her eyes.

"You know, you should try learning from Pansy here, Granger." Draco chuckled as he walked over to her. "At least she's obedient."


"Uh Drakie...I'm getting c-cold...can we please go up to your room now?" Pansy whined, as she shivered.


"Silence Pansy!" he growled. Then with a mock frown he shook his head at her. "You know, I just couldn't get into the mood tonight, so you'll just have to come back and try again in a few days." He added, with an evil grin.
Hermione looked at the girl oddly and then at Draco who looked quite pleased with himself.
"You may get dressed and go now Pansy." He said arrogantly. The half naked girl nodded hesitantly and scrambled to get her clothes on.


"You see, Granger. This is how a girl should behave in my presence." he bragged flashing his trademark smirk at her.
Hermione stepped aside as Pansy quickly rushed past her. She noted the embarrassed look on the girl's pug face as she ran out the portrait door.


"As you saw, Pansy is one of the many girls who adores and obeys me." He said arrogantly.


"Well thankfully I'm not one of those bimbos. I have more intelligence than to degrade myself like that!" Hermione retorted sharply.

"Whatever." Draco chuckled then he walked over to the couch.


Hermione sighed and then thought about Potions class, when he'd acted like a real jerk and the two had almost gotten into a fight. He'd told her that he had planned on continuing it later and she had agreed to it. And here they were now, alone where they could actually pick up where they left off from class.

She slowly looked over to see him gathering his things up off the floor. "So, about Potion's class..." She began slowly.
"What about it?" He asked raising a brow as he looked to her briefly.
"Our fight, remember?" She replied.
"Yeah, I remember." he snorted as he stood up, holding a pile of books. He spun around on his heel and walked over to her.
She took a step back warily. "Is it on or off?" She asked, sliding her hand down to grasp her wand.
"You're certainly acting anxious. Do you really want me to embarass you that badly?" He asked, shifting the books to his other arm so that he had a free hand to draw his wand.
"I'm not afraid to fight you." She snapped.
Draco sighed. "You know, I thought you would be a little more respectful to me now that Potter and Weasel aren't around. Those two are certainly bad influences on you."
"Just answer the question, Malfoy."

"Why, Granger? Do you really want to fight me that badly?" He sneered arrogantly.


She wanted to retort with a challenging comment but in all honesty she didn't want to fight with him again. She was too tired and she had other things on her mind. So instead of coming back with a taunting insult, she simply just shrugged.
"No Malfoy, I was just asking a simple question, that's all." She said calmly, now softening her voice.
He looked at her raising a brow, as he took a moment to think.
"The answer is obvious, isn't it?" He finally replied.
She looked at him wide-eyed.

He grinned at the confused expression on her face. It was priceless and he was quite proud of himself. "You should thank me for calling it off as I am feeling very generous. I mean since you were obedient enough to do my homework and turn it in, I decided to forget about our little fight and spare you the embarrassment of being defeated by me."


Typical response from Malfoy. She thought but she simply nodded her head. "Alright." She said.

"But I warn you Granger," His voice now a cold drawl. "If my homework gets a bad mark, you'll pay!"
"That’s fair enough." She said calmly.


He nodded slightly to her, and then started up the stairs to his room. She watched him a moment and then looked to the floor. She recalled the night before how he'd caught her off guard and jumped on her and held her down.

That was a little unnerving as he's never been that close to me before. She thought. But then suddenly thoughts of Harry's reaction when he'd accused her of almost flirting with Draco, popped into her head and she smiled slightly.

Harry was almost acting jealous. That must mean that he’s got feelings for me. Now all I need to do is to make him come out and confess them. But, how? She wondered.

And then she sighed as her eyes darted up the stairs watching the Slytherin who was now walking into his room.

She waited until he closed the door before she walked up the stairs. However, as she reached the top, she glanced at the Slytherin’s room and found herself walking towards it. Something was bugging her about him and she wanted to know the real reason why he had called a truce.

It just didn’t seem normal for a Malfoy to call off anything, especially when it came to going against blood traitors and muggleborn. Hermione’s curiosity was eating at her as she gazed upon the door that led to the blonde’s room.



Then before she could stop herself; her hand was rising, her fingers were curling and she was knocking on the Slytherin’s door. She heard movement and gasped; pulling her hand back quickly as she realized what she was doing.

The door opened, and Draco was now staring at her with a raised brow. The look of confusion was clearly etched on his pale features.

“What do you want?” he snapped; sounding rather annoyed.

Hermione couldn’t speak. “I-I um-“ She was at a loss for words. She was sure she’d know what to say when confronting him, but now that she was looking the blonde in the face, she couldn’t get the words to come out.

“Well, are you just going to stand there gawking at me or do you have something intelligent to say?” He asked as he folded his arms and leaned slightly against his door frame.

She knew she had to say something. Anything. So, she took a deep breath and finally spoke.

“Um Malfoy, I was just wondering if-I mean I wanted to ask you if you-that is if-“

Draco chuckled as he watched the brunette before him trying to form a sentence.

“What’s so funny?” She snapped, suddenly feeling nervous.

“You are.” He replied. “I expected you to start on one of your know-it-all anecdotes, yet you can’t even make a complete sentence. Maybe it’s because that brown mop on your head is hindering the flow of blood to your brain.”

She was about to let him have a piece of her mind, when he slowly reached out and curled his fingers around a strand of her hair that had been dangling loosely over her left eye. She swallowed, quickly giving him an odd look as he leaned over.
But Draco paid her no mind as he casually tucked the strand behind her ear allowing it to merge with the rest of the flow of her hair.

She gawked at him and then cleared her throat as he pulled back, putting distance between them once more.

“Just what was the meaning of-“ She began but was interrupted by him.

“You really should learn how to groom and present yourself properly; especially in a man’s presence.” Draco commented.

“Excuse me?” She snapped as she put her hands on her hips.

“No, I mean a Malfoy’s presence.” He corrected, watching her eyes narrow at him.

“You think your family name is going to impress me?” She remarked coldly.

“It should.” He snorted. “Now, just what did you want to say or are you going to become a babbling idiot again?” He drawled.

Hermione rolled her eyes. The reason she’d knocked was to ask him a question; a rather stupid one, now that she thought about it. Why does it matter what the reason for his truce was? He made one and I think I should leave it at that. She thought.

Then suddenly images of Harry and Ginny from the train reappeared in her mind. There they were kissing and giggling; rubbing it all in her face. She began to feel an uneasiness churning within her body.

“Granger!” Draco snapped impatiently.

“What?” She snapped back; shaking away the images in her head.

“Tell me what you wanted, or else I’ll slam this door in your face!” He grumbled.

“I wanted to ask you-“ She began, but suddenly she had forgotten what she was going to say.

“Then ask me!” He growled once again impatiently.

“I-I-“

“You what?”

“I-I don’t remember now. Look, just forget it. It’s nothing!” She finally snapped quickly.

“Fine, then get lost before you contaminate my room.” He sneered.

She was about to retort when he turned, ducked into his room, and slammed the door.

That didn’t go so well. Hermione thought with a heavy sigh as she turned and slowly trudged to her own room. She entered it and flopped on her bed; hugging her pillow tightly. Tears formed in her brown eyes as she remembered how cozy Harry and Ginny had acted on the train and in the carriage on their way to Hogwarts.

She sniffled and then closed her eyes tightly to keep herself from letting the river of tears flow out. If only I could have been able to tell him first. These feelings; I’ve had them for Harry for a while now and because of my own fears, I lost my chance to tell him. This made Hermione hurt even more; causing her eyes to sting and pain to radiate in her chest.

What am I going to do? She thought. And then she picked up the book that she had been reading since the summer. She opened it slowly, feeling her fingers tingle as she did so. Then a strange feeling washed over her.

Hermione…

The brunette gasped as she heard her name whispered in the air. At first, she thought it was only her imagination.

But then she heard it again.

Hermione Granger…

Hermione swallowed and then in a shaky tone, she replied.

“Y-Yes, this is m-me. Who’s there?”

There was a pause and then the voice spoke in a soft, feminine tone.

Hermione, you are troubled. Let me help you, dear.

“H-Help me?” Hermione stammered.


He who is blonde

Shall hold the key

To unlock his heart

Adore the enemy.

Hermione blinked rapidly at the peculiar riddle that the voice had just spoken.

“Adore the enemy?” She asked out loud. Then she nodded slowly, as she began to decipher the rest of the riddle.

“Hmm…he who is blonde. That’s easy. It’s Malfoy.” Hermione chuckled and then rubbed her head. “Shall hold the key.”

At first, her brows furrowed in confusion. “He who is blonde, shall hold the key. What key?” She muttered as she closed the book that she’d been holding.

She then listened for the voice to speak again, but the room had fallen silent .

She sighed and then slowly stood up and recited the riddle over and over again. “He who is blonde, shall hold the key. To unlock his heart, adore the enemy.”

“To unlock his heart, adore the enemy?” She scoffed. “That makes absolutely no sense.”

And then she thought about the idea that she’d had earlier and gasped.

“Now, I get it!” She announced to her empty room. She started to pace as the riddle began to make sense.

“He who is blonde- That’s Malfoy. Shall hold the key-which means that he would be a key person that I would need to make my idea work. To unlock his heart- means to get Harry to confess his feelings! And to adore the enemy- it means that I need to pretend to have an interest in Malfoy. So if I do go on with my idea, then Harry and I will end up being together, like we should be!”

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief but then as she changed into her pajamas and pulled her covers back, she couldn’t help but wonder about that female voice that had spoken. Surely, Harry and Ron would find it suspicious, as did she. But at the same time, it had helped give her an idea.

“It’s helping me, so it can’t be that bad, can it?” She found herself questioning herself aloud. The she yawned and crawled into her warm, inviting bed. She lay her head down on her pillow and closed her eyes. Within moments, Hermione had drifted off to sleep.

[Liz-Miia Parker]

Siis ta teeskleb koguaeg...et armunud ja lõpus armub päriselt nah, comoooonnn krt nad nii sobivad kokku ;D

[Lissandra Sylvania]

Asjad on veel päris süütud, kuid varsti need muutuvad!
In this chapter: Hermione is determined to go through with her plan, but will it work or will it backfire?

Chapter 8-Notice Me!


The next morning, Hermione opened her eyes to greet the new day. At first she was drowsy and a little incoherent but after rubbing her eyes a few moments, the events of the night before came back to her.

Last night was a bit confusing. She thought as she stepped out of bed and stumbled over to her wardrobe to get her clothes for the day. She then looked to see that the book she’d been reading was lying closed on the floor beside her bed. She then recalled the voice that had spoken to her. It had almost seemed like a dream, yet the riddle the voice had spoken still rang clearly in the brunette’s head.

“He who is blonde, shall hold the key. To unlock his heart, adore the enemy.” She mumbled as she got dressed. “That voice was so comforting and motivating. Maybe I really can be with Harry.” She said with a slight smile crossing her face.

Sliding her shoes on, Hermione hurriedly brushed her hair and then grabbed her bag. I really hope this works. She thought as she opened her bedroom door slowly. Then suddenly she felt very nervous and closed it back. But I’m not sure what to do. I don’t know how to go about this. Where do I start? How do I start? She was already beginning to doubt the success of her idea. She then bit her lip and thought about the voice. She wondered if it would speak to her again.

“Hello?” She asked rather softly.

There was nothing but dead air and Hermione shook her head. “Maybe it was all a dream.” She tried to tell herself. “Maybe I’ve gone mental over this whole thing.”

Have confidence, my dear. Have confidence.

Hermione nearly lost her balance as the voice spoke to her.

“Please can you help me?” Hermione replied quickly. “I don’t know what to do or how to even begin to carry out this idea.”

Just then, the book on the floor began to move. And as Hermione watched; it slid over and stopped at her feet.

She reached down and picked it up. It made her hands tingle at its touch.

“Is there something in here that can help me?” She asked out loud, hoping for a response.

However, now the air was blanketed in silence, and the voice seemed to have disappeared.

Hermione sighed and then slowly opened the tattered book in her hands.

Surprisingly enough, the first page that she saw astonished her.

“The will of the soul and the plotting of the mind; you must allow the energies to aid them. Your heart aches for something or someone and you don’t know what to do or where to start. Take comfort for there is help within. To get what one wants, one must step outside of their comfort zone and allow their strongest desires to come true by any means. Allow no one to interfere for your desires and wants should always come first. Now close your eyes and pour your emotions, feelings, wants, needs, and desires into this book for you shall find the answer you seek within.” Hermione took a deep breath and then nodded slowly as the words began to sink in. This book is so relaxing; it’s like it knows me and it wants to help me. She thought with a dazed smile. Then slowly she closed her eyes and held the book tightly in her hands. She began to take slow, deep breaths as she felt her whole body tingle with a warm, comforting feeling.

Soothing voices began to whisper all around her and she felt as if she were in a whirlpool of peaceful bliss. She then saw beautiful colors, experienced beautiful smells and heard beautiful, hypnotic singing.

She could feel her body almost floating and sighed in awe. Everything was so perfect and in the midst of it all, she heard the voice of Harry Potter confessing his love for her. “I know you can do this, Hermione. I know you can make me see that I love you. If you follow through with your plan, it will make me open my eyes and see you, the way you want me to. I’m in love with you, Hermione; I just need you to make me see it.”

Hermione wanted to melt and her heart fluttered more than ever as she heard him. “I’ll go through with this plan, Harry and then you’ll confess your feelings to me and I will be able to confess mine to you. We’ve been through so much and I just want to be with you no matter what I have to do.” She said softly.



And then suddenly there was a loud whoosh and Hermione’s eyes flew wide open.

She gasped slightly as she looked around to see that she was still standing in her room holding the black book tightly against her chest.



She then realized that she needed to get moving to class. Now filled with a strong determination, Hermione flung open her bedroom door and smiled. "Today is just the beginning." She muttered under her breath.


Draco groggily opened his door in time to see Hermione rushing across the common room and out the portrait door.


"It looks like the mudblood is in a big hurry this morning. She’s probably off to snog a book or two." he snorted watching her rush out. Then he yawned and went back into his room to get dressed.



Hermione strolled merrily down the corridor to the Great Hall. She stopped at the entrance as she saw Harry sitting at the Gryffindor table by himself. Ginny and Ron were nowhere in sight. This made her smile more as she walked over to him. "Good morning, Harry." She said happily as she sat down beside him.
He smiled back at her. "Morning, Hermione." He said warmly.
For a moment she just stared at him dreamily. He raised a brow at her and chuckled. "Uh...are you okay, Hermione?" He asked her sounding a bit uncomfortable by her stare.
"Oh...yeah I was just um...thinking." She replied.
Oh I want to kiss him right now, while Ginny isn't here. I just...I want to so badly. She thought, slowly leaning towards him.
"Hey where's Ron and Ginny?" He quickly asked looking around.
"They're probably sleeping in." She replied quickly.
Harry nodded with a chuckle.
"So..." Hermione whispered as she once again started to lean forward to kiss Harry.


"Good Morning Harry!" Ginny suddenly squealed as she and Ron came rushing up to the table.
Hermione quickly pulled back as Ginny rushed over and kissed Harry firmly on the lips.
Hermione's eyes narrowed with pure hatred at the red headed girl.
"Morning , Ginny, Ron. I didn't think you two would make it." Harry said, now trying to catch his breath from the amazing kiss that Ginny had just given him.
"Sorry 'bout that." Ron said as he wasted no time stuffing a muffin in his mouth. "Bom I omerslept."
"You overslept? But Ron I woke you up an hour ago." Harry chuckled.
"He was busy writing a love letter to a certain girl." Ginny giggled.
Hermione glared at the three of them. They seemed to be so interested in talking to each other that they didn't say a word to her. They didn't even notice her!
d**n you. Hermione thought glaring daggers at Ginny who was chatting and laughing along with Harry and Ron. She's trying to take my place. She's trying to be the one that they all go to now. She's...Her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a cold drawling voice.


"Well well, well, look what we have here." It was Draco.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" Harry snapped.
"Just passing through and thought I would say hello." The Slytherin chuckled. Then he grinned at Ginny. "So Potter, I see you've resorted to dating Weasley's poor, and filthy little sister."
"You leave her alone." Harry and Ron both warned slowly standing up.
"Oh sit down, you two." Ginny scolded them. They reluctantly nodded and did just that.
What? Hermione gasped as she watched them obey Ginny. No, she's doing it again! She's trying to take control over the situation and...
"And as for you Malfoy, you should just leave!" Ginny snarled at him.

No! Hermione's eyes flashed with anger as she watched Ginny confronting Malfoy. I'm the one who used to do that. It's my job to get rid of Malfoy! Mine! she thought, trying to control herself. But then she thought of the plan she'd made. Of course, I need to be flirting with Malfoy or something...I need to do something but what? Just then Draco's voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Think you're so brave don't you, Weaselette? Perhaps I should take pity on you and buy you some manners!" Draco sneered at the red headed girl.
Hermione laughed silently at his comment.
"That's it, Malfoy!" Ginny snapped jumping up angrily. Harry and Ron smirked as they watched her confront him.
Draco winced slightly as he watched the red headed girl raising her hand preparing to slap him.
Hermione suddenly frowned and her eyes flashed with rage as she realized what was about to happen.
NO! That's it! This little pregnant dog is not taking the privilege of slapping Malfoy, away from me too! I am the only who gets to slap him! She thought.
Then as the red headed girl drew her hand back Hermione jumped up and grabbed Draco's hand. Quickly, she pulled him behind her as Ginny's hand flew forward.
*SMACK!!*
Hermione staggered back against Draco's chest as Ginny's hand connected with the left side of her face.
"Hermione?" Ginny gasped and her eyes widened at what she'd just done.
Draco's eyes too widened in disbelief at what had just taken place. He stood there staring in confusion.
"Hermione...I" Ginny began as she started towards her.
"Get away from me!" Hermione hissed at her, as she put a hand over her red stinging cheek.
"I...I didn't mean to..." Ginny whimpered as she backed away.
Harry and Ron's mouths were open in shock. The look of disbelief played upon their faces.
Hermione looked up to see the students around her staring at her. She continued to rub her cheek and then slowly turned around only to be face to face with Draco.
"I...Granger..." he began as he looked at the red handprint on her cheek.
"You know something Malfoy, you have some nerve! How dare you!" She screamed at him. Then she turned and ran out of the Great Hall.
Unable to stop himself, Draco turned and rushed out after her.
He caught up with her moments later.
"Granger!" he called. However she pretended to ignore him.
"d**n it, Granger!" he snarled reaching out and grabbing her arm.
He spun her around to face him.
"What do you want?" She hissed at him.
"I want to know what just happened back there! You pulled me back and took Weaselette's slap. What the hell was that all about?" he demanded.
Her eyes narrowed at him. "It's all your fault!" she snapped as she jerked her arm out of his grasp.
"My fault? What the bloody hell are you talking about? You are the one who jumped in front of me! I didn't tell you to do it!" He snapped back.
"Oh well at least you noticed that!" She replied bitterly. "You didn't even notice me before that though, did you?" Oh no, this wasn't the plan that I'd made. Not even close. she thought.
He studied her a moment. "What are you going on about?" He asked coldly.
"You have some nerve!" She said now poking him in the chest with her finger. "You noticed Ginny...you insulted Ginny!..." she screamed at him. She felt true jealousy and she had no idea why. She was so upset that tears had formed in her eyes.
He stumbled back a couple of steps eyeing her with an uneasy look. "Yeah...so?" he replied raising a brow.
"So,... why didn't you... insult me!" She demanded on the verge of crying.
"Well..I...that is..." he began but she cut him off quickly.
"I'll tell you why Because you didn't notice that I was even there! That's why!" She yelled. "And it's all because of Ginny! She was there and you noticed her! You ignored me but had no problem insulting her!"
Draco blinked at Hermione. Could she be pissed off at me because I insulted Weaselette and not her? He wondered. Then after a moment he chuckled lightly as he walked back up to her. "Wait a minute...let me get this straight..." he began trying to contain his laughter. "You...you're all pissed off because I didn't insult you?" he asked.
She suddenly looked uneasy as his grin became wider. "Well yes...um no...I mean well..." she stumbled over her words.
"I see." he replied, his face slightly red from stifling in his laughter. "I never thought I'd see the day that you would be offended by me not insulting you."
"Well I am! And...so... why didn't you insult me?" She demanded. "I want to know!"
He rolled his eyes. "Well...I decided that I wouldn't pick on you for once and spare you the..."
"It's because you think Ginny is so much better than me!" she snapped quickly cutting him off.
"What?" he asked looking confused. "I think you're losing it, Granger." he replied sharply.
"See there! You called me Granger instead of some foul name! I knew it!" she snapped becoming enraged once more.
"Oh will you stop it!" He growled now irritated. "Look, you can drop the dramatics!" He yelled.
"See there you go again! not once did you even insult me! How dare you!" She hissed.
His eyes narrowed and he shook his head. "You have lost your mind!" he shouted, completely losing his temper.
"You despicable ferret! You're just as bad as Harry and Ron, you won't even insult me because you'd rather insult Ginny!" she snarled.
"Alright fine! That's it!" he snarled as he got right in her face. "You want me to notice you! I will! You want me to insult you? Fine! I will, you disgusting, know-it-all, school obsessed, pathetic, filthy, dirty, little, Mudblood!"
She looked at him stunned, her eyes wide.
"There, I insulted you! You happy now!" he snapped as he turned and stormed off.
Yes. Hermione thought as she stood watching him go and slowly a faint smile crossed her lips. Then she gasped at herself and shook her head. What's gotten into me? she thought.


"What the bloody hell has gotten into Granger?" Draco snarled loudly as he stormed into the boy's bathroom.
He walked over to the sink and turned on the water and washed his hands. "First she pulled me back and took Weaselette's slap for me and just now she was mad that I didn't insult her." He then washed his face and pulled his comb out. "I wasn't going to today. I was actually going to focus my attention on Weaselette and Potter for a change but then Granger had to open her big mouth and insult me!" He mumbled as he ran the comb through his flawless, blonde hair. He paused to check himself out in the mirror a moment. Then he went back to his verble conversation with himself. "If I didn't know better, I would think that Granger missed my insults because when I finally did insult her, she seemed almost...relieved?" He mumbled as he put his comb away. Satisfied with his appearance, he turned and strut out of the bathroom.

Hermione brushed her hair over her shoulder as she headed down the corridors towards the dungeons. That was way off from the plan. I can't believe I lost it like that! She mentally scolded herself. Then she sighed. But at least Malfoy finally insulted me. She didn't know why but she felt relieved about that. Now, I need to focus on the plan. I have to get Harry to confess his love to me and I have to somehow catch Malfoy's attention.
Then just as she turned the corner, she bumped right into the blonde Slytherin.
He let out an irritated growl and then seeing it was her, he glared at her coldly as he picked himself up off the floor.
"Watch where you're going." he snapped, brushing his robes off.
She stared at him.
He glared back at her.

I need to act now. I need to get his attention. Hermione thought. Then just as Draco was about to walk away, she jumped in front of him.
"Get out of my way, Granger." He warned. "I've had enough of you, today!"

"Malfoy, I..." She began but then she saw Harry and Ron out of the corner of her eye. They were walking towards them.

Do something! Act now! Harry's coming! Her mind screamed at her.
Quickly, pretending she didn't see the two approaching; she reached out and grabbed Draco's hand, shocking both him and the two Gryffindors that were approaching.

"Granger, what the hell do you think you're doing?" Draco demanded with a confused, uneasy expression on his face.

"Uh...I...I just want to let you know that I really appreciate the...insults... you gave me earlier, Malfoy. I just want to say... Thank you." She said in the sweetest tone that she could muster.

"Uh...er...you're...welcomed?" he replied in more of a question with a confused expression.

She then smiled, let go of his hand and waved to him as she turned and strolled into the girl's bathroom nearby.

"What the hell?" Draco mumbled as he looked down at the hand that she'd grabbed.

"Malfoy, what the hell was that all about?" Harry demanded as he and Ron came stomping up.
"I don't know, Potter. Do you think I'm the Mudblood's keeper?" Draco growled as he spun around and quickly walked away.

[Lissandra Sylvania]

In this Chapter: Hermione gets Harry alone to proceed with her plan of getting him to confess his feelings, but was it a good or bad idea?

Chapter 9-False Confessions and A Heated Argument

"I'm telling you Harry, something is really wrong with Hermione. You saw the way she acted just now with Malfoy!" Ron muttered as they walked along.

"I know and I don't like it one bit! I'm sure that Malfoy has something to do with this though!" Harry snapped as he stopped in mid stride.

"But he seemed just as surprised by her behavior as we were." Ron pointed out as he too stopped. Then his face twisted into a confused frown.

Harry noticed his friend's expression and quirked a brow. "What's wrong, Ron?" He asked in a concerned tone.

"I'm really worried about her." came his friend's uneasy reply.

Harry blinked as the red head continued.

"Hermione has been more...uh...out of sorts lately." Ron stated. "I first noticed it on the train, when you and Ginny were all lovey-dovey. From that point on she's been kind of distant."

"Yeah I've noticed that." said the dark haired young man. "But what could have made her become distant?" he asked.

"Maybe you broke a promise or something." Ron suggested. "You know how Hermione is."

Just then Harry groaned and slapped his forehead. "Oh no! I did break a promise." He replied.

"Huh?" asked his friend.

"I made a promise to write her over the summer and I never did. I guess after me and Ginny got together, I didn't think about anything else." Harry groaned.

Ron quirked a brow then shook his head slowly. "You got that right." he mumbled in almost a whisper. Then he cleared his throat and sighed deeply.

"To be honest mate, even though you broke that particular promise; I really don't think that's what's wrong with her." He added hesitantly.

"Well I can't think of anything else. I mean nothing's really changed except for the fact that I'm dating Ginny now." exclaimed the dark haired young man.

"Did you stop to think that maybe that could be the problem?" Ron gestured.

Harry's brows furrowed. "But why would Hermione be upset over that?" he asked.

"Did you ever stop to think that maybe she's jealous." His friend replied rather sharply.

"Jealous?" Harry inquired.

"Of course, I mean I have to admit that when you and my sister started dating, I wasn't exactly thrilled either." Ron grumbled.

Harry's eyes suddenly grew wide. "Wait, if she is jealous of me being with Ginny then are you saying that Hermione has feelings for me?" he gasped incredulously.

"No, no no!" Ron snapped rolling his eyes. "You're getting the wrong idea here!"

Harry looked confused.

"Look, it's not that she wants to be with you, it's that you have someone and she doesn't. That meaning, she's lonely!" Ron emphasized.

"Ohhh." replied Harry as he nodded slowly. "I understand now." He added. Then he blinked, "But Ron, how do you know that she's lonely?"

The red head growled in frustration. "Because it's quite obvious by her actions. And she has that empty, lonely look in her eyes. I know how she feels because I'm lonely too!"

"Oh." replied Harry.

"And," Ron continued a bit more irritably, "it doesn't help that you and Ginny had to be all lovey dovey and smoochy smoochy all bloody summer! Do you have any idea how that made me feel?"

Harry cringed as all of his friend's frustrations from over the summer came pouring out.

"It was hard enough seeing my sister start dating. And even more so seeing her date my best friend! Then on top of that, I had to endure every bloody day of seeing you two kiss, and snuggle and make out! Why the bloody hell do you think I was so distant? In case you haven't noticed, I haven't got a girlfriend."

"Well for Merlin's sake Ron, then go out and get a girlfriend!" Harry stressed in a irritated tone. "I've been suggesting that all summer."

"I...I can't." muttered the red head now lowering his voice.

"Why not?" barked Harry.

"Well because... there aren't any girls around here." Ron answered hesitantly.

"You used that lame excuse over the summer, Ron and at that time you were right." snapped the dark haired Gryffindor. "But you can't say that now because we're back at Hogwarts now and there are tons of girl here!" Harry gestured his arms around.

"Yeah but the one I want doesn't even notice me." the red head mumbled.

"Huh you mean..." Harry blinked. Then he cracked a surprised smile. "Still?" he added.

Ron nodded slowly.

"Then that's perfect!" Harry announced. "You're lonely. She's lonely. Go for it!"

"I...I can't yet. I'm still trying to get up the nerve to well...even say something. I tried writing her a letter this morning but Ginny kept looking over my shoulder and teasing me!" replied the red head. "Besides," he added, "It's pretty hard to confess certain feelings to a girl, especially when she only sees you as a friend."

"Well you're going to have to get the guts to ask her out sooner or later." Harry declared. "Because if you wait too long, another guy might come along and snatch her up and you might miss your chance for good."

"I know but admitting the way I feel is easier said than done." Ron retorted.

Hermione entered Snape's class and slowly trudged over to her seat.

Draco sat quietly, glancing curiously at the girl who had just entered. He was still replaying the events from breakfast in his mind.

What's going on with her? First she takes a slap for me, then she gets upset because I didn't insult her and when I finally did; she thanked me for it. I don't get it! He thought chewing his tongue fiercely.

Hermione sat with her elbows up on her desk; her chin cupped and resting in the palm of her hands. How can I actually make this plan work? I want to make Harry come out and tell me how he feels about me, but he may feel too guilty to because he's with Ginny. That's why I have to make him so jealous that he'll explode and suddenly just confess his feelings without worrying about her reaction. I just know he feels the same way about me, he just needs to feel a little wave of jealousy to make him express it. And that's where Malfoy comes in. If Harry sees me flirting with that ferret then he's sure to confess. She then shot a quick glance to the blonde Slytherin who was now leaning back in his chair with his eyes closed. I think that I've caught Malfoy's attention now and maybe I can make him think that I like flirting with him, but only in front of Harry. If all goes according to plan, then it won't take long for Harry to confess. She sighed dreamily as she thought about how it would all play out.



She's looking at me. I can feel it. thought Draco as he hesitantly opened his stormy grey eyes. He slowly straightened up and stretched. Then, pretending to be observing the class, he glanced around the room. His eyes landed briefly on the bushy haired brunette for a moment. She seemed to be staring off into space as her eyes were gazing dreamily towards the ceiling. Draco's nose crinkled slightly as he smirked at her. Granger looks to be off in la-la land. I wonder what that Mudblood’s thinking about. he mentally drawled.

Moments later, Harry and Ron walked in. "Should we talk to her now?" Ron whispered. Harry just shook his head.

"Not yet." He whispered back.

Then he and Ron sat down a couple of seats away from Hermione.

"She looks like she's dazed anyway." Harry added, noting her dreamy gaze.

Ron nodded slowly with a sigh.



Hearing the familiar voice of his nemesis, Draco broke his stare from Hermione and greeted Harry and Ron with his usual trademark smirk.

Harry returned the greeting with his normal bitter glare as Ron just rolled his eyes.



Draco narrowed his eyes at the two and then shifted his gaze back to the daydreaming girl. She was still sitting the same way and her eyes were still fixed on that same place on the ceiling. Just what has gotten into her? He found himself wondering.



~*~ Daydream~*~

The wind blew softly through Hermione's elegant brown curls, allowing them to dance across her soft, gentle face. She was standing alone in a green grassy meadow filled with beautiful flowers of all sorts of colors. Upon her slightly toned body she wore a long light blue dress, trimmed with white lace and embellished with tiny colorful gemstones. Then suddenly she heard someone step up behind her. She turned slowly, gracefully; her gorgeous blue dress following her fluid movement, to see a young man standing there, neatly dressed in a black tuxedo. His dark hair was neatly combed back and his green emerald eyes sparkled warmly. Hermione was in awe as she realized that she was standing face to face with Harry Potter. They were staring into each other's eyes. He then reached down and took her hand and kissed it lightly. She smiled sweetly as he slowly lifted his head and straightened back up to meet her gaze once more.

"Hermione, I'm so glad you helped me break away from Ginny. I have always wanted to be with you." He said as he slowly placed one of his hands on her waist.

"So, you're not mad that I was flirting with Malfoy?" She replied with sparkling eyes.

"No, because if you hadn't of done that, then I wouldn't have gotten the guts to confess my true feelings for you. You made me think that I was losing you to Malfoy and I got so jealous that I just had to come out and confess how I felt about you. Thank you, Hermione. By doing that, you made me realize that we belong together."

"Oh Harry..." She began as she felt tears welling up in her eyes.

He smiled warmly. "We're going to be together forever." He said as he leaned forward and kissed her lips lightly.

~*~End dream~*~

Just then Hermione was snapped out of her daydream by a sudden tap on her shoulder.

She blinked rapidly a couple times and then turned to see Ron leaning over her desk.

"Hermione, are you okay?" He asked curiously.

"I'm fine Ron, I was just thinking that's all." She replied, blowing him off.

He frowned slightly and then turned and went back to his seat.

Draco took the opportunity to make a crack at the red head.

"Well Weasel, looks like you've gone and pissed off your mudblood girlfriend." He drawled.

Ron was about to get up and hit Draco when Harry grabbed his friend's arm. "Ron, calm down." He said sternly.

"Bloody bastard." mumbled the red head as he slumped back in his seat.



That was such a good dream. Hermione thought to herself with a dreamy sigh. She was about to go back into it when all of a sudden she got a very uneasy feeling. And then she felt eyes upon her. She blinked, slowly turning her gaze towards the blonde Slytherin. He was indeed staring at her. Instinctively, her expression became cold and she glared at him.

He flashed her his trademark smirk in return and mouthed the word 'Mudblood.'

She was about to mouth something nasty back at him when suddenly she remembered her daydream. In it Harry had thanked her for flirting with Draco and had mentioned that by following through with her plan, she'd brought them together. Quickly, she looked down at her desk. If I really want that dream to come true I have to do the unthinkable. She thought to herself. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed Draco was still smirking at her in his usual cold manner. She quickly shifted her gaze back to her desk. Okay Hermione, this is it. You can do this. She mentally coaxed herself, taking a deep breath.

And so after a moment, she lifted her head and turned towards the blonde Slytherin, allowing her soft brown eyes to fall upon him.

Then slowly, very slowly a faint smile crept across her lips and she mouthed the words, 'thank you' to him.

Draco's smirk faded as a confused frown appeared in its place. What the bloody hell? She's thanking me again! he thought as he quirked a brow.

Of course Draco wasn't the only one who'd noticed Hermione's odd behavior. Harry and Ron had been watching her and had observed her actions towards the Slytherin.

"I can't believe this! She's actually flirting with that git!" Harry growled coldly.

Ron however seemed calmer as though he'd been expecting it. "I'm not surprised, Harry. I mean I kind of expected her to start trying to get the attention of some guy sooner or later." He sighed.

"But Malfoy is not just some guy! He...he...well he's Malfoy for crying out loud!" Harry emphasized sharply. He then noted the calmness in Ron's voice and frowned. "And just why are you so calm? Earlier I had to hold you back from pummeling that git! And now you're just sitting there like nothing's wrong."

"I'm not all that worried because Malfoy despises Hermione so she can flirt with him all she wants." replied the red head coolly.

"Ron, have you lost your mind? Hermione has no business flirting with him! For Merlin's sake, why are you so d**n calm? You should be trying to beat that git senseless! Where's that hot-headed temper of yours?" Harry spat angrily.

"Look mate, just settle down." replied Ron a bit more sternly. "I told you that I'm not worried about her flirting with him. The reasons being number one, he despises her and we never have to worry about those two getting together. And number two, Hermione doesn't really like him, she's just trying to make herself feel better. Don't you remember what I told you about her feeling lonely earlier?"

Harry blinked then nodded slowly. "Yeah." he replied impatiently.

"Well this is just her way of dealing with it. Plus she's trying to get back at you." Ron exclaimed.

"You mean she's doing this to piss me off on purpose!" Harry growled in disbelief.

"Of course she is, Harry. And that's why I'm just blowing it off." replied the red head.

"Well, I'm not going to just blow it off. I am going to talk to her!" snapped the dark haired young man as he stood up.



Snape hadn't shown up yet and it was already ten minutes into the class.

It seemed that Potions was going to be a free class today which suited everyone just fine.

This especially made Harry glad because he'd be able to have a long talk with Hermione.

He adjusted his glasses as he approached her desk.

She was still gazing at Draco, who was glaring coldly back at her.

"Ahem... Hermione?" He said slowly.

She slowly turned to see him almost sitting on top of her desk.

"Yes, Harry?" she replied.

Draco quirked a curious brow as he saw Harry approach Hermione's desk. I wonder what wonder boy is talking to the mudblood about. He thought as he tried to listen in without being obvious.



"Hermione...we need to talk about something." came Harry's voice in a hesitant tone.

She blinked and nodded. "Oh? About what?" She replied curiously.

"Well, we need to talk about us." He replied as he gently placed his hand on top of hers.

"Us?" She gasped as she felt the warmth of his hand against her skin. Does this mean he's about to confess his feelings to me right now? She wondered hopefully.

Us? Draco asked, quirking a brow as he heard what Harry had said. Is Potter trying to hit on Granger while he's with Weaselette? He seemed rather amused. But then he frowned as he noticed Harry's hand resting on Hermione's. d**n Potter. He thought as he looked away silently grinding his teeth. He didn't know why but seeing that made him felt rather annoyed.

"Yes, I want to talk about our friendship." Harry replied taking his hand off of hers.

She let out a silent yet disappointed sigh. Oh great, he just wants to talk about our friendship. she thought as her face fell.

Harry tilted his head at the now hurt expression that had appeared on her face. "Hermione, what's wrong?" He asked gently.

Hermione slowly looked to up into his warm green eyes. "Nothing, I'm fine." she said, trying to hide her shaky voice.

But he wasn't buying it and as he saw the sadness in her eyes, he knew that something was bothering his friend.

She then remembered her plan and looked over at Draco, who now had a confused expression on his face as his cold, grey eyes glared back at her.

"Hermione, don't look at him." Harry snapped sharply. "Look, after this class we need to have a talk. Let's go out to the Quidditch Pitch." He suggested.

Hearing this, a faint smile crossed her lips and she nodded slowly. Inside, she felt like cheering. Harry wants me skip next class with him! she thought happily. But then her smile faded again as he continued. "As a friend, I'm worried about you. And I think you need some time out of the classroom to get some fresh air."

"Oh...okay." She replied quietly.

Just then there were a series of gasps and Harry and Hermione turned to see Snape slinking in. Immediately, the professor's eyes darted to the dark haired young man who was leaning on Hermione's desk.

"Mr. Potter, you are out of your seat." Snape hissed with a smirk that matched the one that Draco was now wearing.

"Sorry sir." Harry mumbled as he hurried back to his seat.

"That will be ten points from you, Mr. Potter."

Hermione sighed and then looked down at her desk thinking. Getting Harry to confess his feelings for me is going to be harder than I thought.

"I'm ready to hand back the essays that you did over the summer." Snape hissed with a dark frown as he picked up the stack of graded parchments and waved them in a disappointed manner. "And I must say that I expected more than just two students to receive a passing grade." He added in a more angry tone. He then paced slowly in front of the class. "Most of these essays were sloppy, ridiculous, and barely legible. It looks to me like some of you," His eyes narrowed at Ron. "didn't bother to do any research on the subject what-so-ever." His eyes then shifted coldly to Harry. "And it looks as though the majority here extended their essays with unnecessarily long adjectives that had nothing to do with the assignment itself."

He paused as he scowled at the class. "There are only two essays in this stack that received a passing grade. The rest of these do not look like they were done over the summer. Instead, they look like they were done the night or even morning right before class."

Hearing Snape say this, Draco suddenly shot a death glare at Hermione.

"Mr. Malfoy..." Snape hissed. "Stand up."

Draco cringed. d**n it, Snape must know that my work wasn't done over the summer. Granger screwed it up! I should have known she would. I'll get her!

"I'll get you for this, Granger!" He warned in a dangerous whisper, his cold grey eyes flashing with anger; as he slowly stood up and faced the professor.

Harry and Ron snickered.

Draco scowled at them and then looked back to Snape. The Potion's Master looked rather annoyed now and his eyes narrowed as they fell on Hermione.

"Miss Granger." he hissed as though he had a bad taste in his mouth. "Stand up." he ordered.

She nodded and stood up without hesitation.

Harry and Ron suddenly frowned and gulped as they watched her stand up.

"Uh oh, looks like Snape is going to pick on poor Hermione." Ron whispered.

Harry nodded coldly.

"I want everyone to take a good look at these two students." Snape announced.

Draco gulped silently and Hermione bit her bottom lip nervously.

"These are the only two students that deserve to be in this class!" the professor shouted.

Upon hearing this, Draco and Hermione relaxed a little.

"They actually took the initiative to research this assignment thoroughly. They used proper terminology, complete sentences and gave a crisp, clear description." Snape went on and on, making the rest of the class shift uneasily in their seats.

Realizing that he had nothing to worry about now, Draco straightened up more and then sported his arrogant smirk as he held his head high.

Hermione just stood there in the same manner, allowing herself to breathe a small sigh of relief.

"So, I've decided that everyone with the exception of Mr. Malfoy and Miss Granger, shall rewrite their essays. But instead of one I expect to see a ten page essay from each of you, on my desk tomorrow at the beginning of class!" Snape stated firmly.

Harry and Ron along with everyone else groaned loudly.

Draco smirked proudly as he watched Harry and Ron's faces fall into almost excruciating expressions. Hahaha! Potter and Weasel have to do a ten page essay! He thought laughing to himself.

Then Snape gestured for Draco and Hermione to sit down and they did just that.

"Now, since we don't have a lot of time to create a potion today, I am going to write down the notes for the one we'll be doing tomorrow. We have exactly ten minutes until this class is over, so write quickly." he snapped as he began to write on the blackboard.

Hermione immediately took out a clean piece of parchment and started copying the notes as the professor wrote them. Draco too took out a clean piece of parchment, but he wasn't taking notes, instead he was writing something else.

Hermione was right in sync with Snape's writing when suddenly she felt something hit her arm. She stopped writing and saw that a small piece of folded parchment had landed on the side of her desk. She grabbed it quickly before anyone saw. Luckily, Harry and Ron were busy taking notes and didn't notice. Slowly, she opened it.

Granger,

What's gotten into you? And what the hell was all of that about at breakfast? I'm not going to stop bugging you until you give me some answers!

Draco Malfoy.

She slowly looked over to see the blonde Slytherin glaring at her. Well at least part of my plan worked. She thought. I've succeeded in getting Malfoy's attention. Now comes the harder part; arranging a situation to make Harry think that I'm after Malfoy. And then she remembered that she was to meet Harry out at the Quidditch Pitch after class. Maybe I should tell Malfoy to come to the Quidditch Pitch. That way, I could pretend to coo all over him, and that will make Harry so jealous that he'll come right out and confess his feelings.

Then she picked up her quill and wrote something at the bottom of the parchment, folded it, and quickly flung it back at Draco who snatched it out of the air.

He hastily opened it and read it.

Malfoy,

Please come to the Quidditch Pitch after this class. You'll find out then.

Hermione Granger

He glanced over at her and then quirked his brow.

She gave him a pleading look.

He squinted his eyes at her a moment and then slowly nodded.



And then, the bell rang. Hermione practically leaped out of her seat.

"Ready?" Harry mumbled as he walked up beside her.

She nodded slowly.

"Come on then, let's go." he muttered taking her hand into his. She smiled and curled her fingers around his as he led her towards the door.

Draco; seeing this, slammed his book shut and quickly stood up. I wonder what those two are up to? He thought as he pushed his way through the students.

Then as he stepped out of the classroom he saw Harry leading Hermione down the corridor.

She quickly looked back at him and motioned with her head for him to follow. He eyed her suspiciously but then remembered her note from class.

I wonder what this is all about. He thought to himself as he hesitantly started to follow after them.

Harry and Hermione stopped when they got to the Quidditch Pitch.

"I'm really going to miss this place." He said, quickly letting go of her hand.

She nodded and sighed. "I will too...I can't believe this is our last year here at Hogwarts." She said, looking at the ground.

He nodded. "Yeah, we've got a lot of memories here." He replied.

Then after a moment, he turned to her, his green eyes sparkling in the sunlight. "Hermione...I brought you out here to talk to you about something." He began slowly.

She tilted her head and shrugged. "Okay, I'm here." She replied trying to sound cheerful.

"Look, you don't have to pretend to be in a happy mood around me. I know there's something wrong." admitted the dark haired young man. "And I have a pretty good idea of what it is, but I want to hear it from you first." he stated in a warm tone.

She swallowed nervously.

"Hermione...it's just you and me now, no one else is here. So, please tell me what's wrong with you lately." he stressed with concern.

"Nothing." She said rather quickly as she turned away from him and faced back towards the castle. She slapped her hands over her face, pretending to cry.

Harry sighed deeply. "Okay, I can see that you need a few minutes. If you need to cry it out then go ahead. I'll just stand over here." he mumbled as he took a few steps away from her.

But in all reality, Hermione wasn't really crying. No, she was actually watching to see if Draco was going to show up. Malfoy looked like he was going to follow us. Oh please let him come. she found herself thinking. However after a good five minutes there was still no sign of the blonde Slytherin. And she worried that he wasn't coming.

"Look, I'll understand." Harry coaxed gently as he walked back over to her and put his hand on her shoulder. "Hermione will you please turn around and look at me." He asked.

Not seeing any indication that Draco was going to show up, she frowned slightly and slowly turned back to look at Harry, faking a sniffle as she did so.

I should have known that Malfoy wouldn't come. Well I guess I will just have to try to convince Harry that I like that git without him being here. How will I do that though? Do I just come out and say it or do I hint about it? She wasn't sure how to approach the subject so for the moment, she decided not to even mention Draco.

Of course the Slytherin himself was standing only a few yards away, out of sight. He smirked as he saw Harry and Hermione standing in the grass talking. Quickly, and quietly, he crept closer and silkily snuck behind the green and silver banner that hung low from the watchtower just a few yards away from the two Gryffindors. A dark, mischievous smile crossed his pale, pointy face. I know Granger wanted me to come out here for some reason. But with Potter being here I am sure she was planning a trick of some sort. Well, I'm too smart to fall for that. He then leaned forward to get a better look at them. Instead of letting them know I'm here, I think I will just listen to their conversation and find out what they're up to. He decided.

"Are you still upset about me not writing you over the summer?" Harry asked bluntly.

Hermione blinked then slowly shook her head. "No." she replied in a cold tone. "I know now why you didn't."

"Well then what's wrong with you lately?" He replied. "Why have you become so distant?"

Hermione just crossed her arms. "I have my reasons for being distant." She snapped, irritated that he was trying to analyze her.

"Oh yeah?" He snapped as his tone turned bitter. "Well what's your reason for acting all sweet to Malfoy all of a sudden?" He growled.

Draco blinked and listened intently. He didn't know why but he wanted to know her answer to that question as well.

"Well, we're both Heads this year so I was just trying to be nice to him is all." she replied, trying to keep her voice from cracking as she pretended to blow it off.

"Hermione, I know better than that." Harry said sternly. "You don't just jump up in front of a guy that you hate and take a slap for him." He snapped, “And you certainly don't just walk up to a guy, grab his hand and politely thank him for insulting you!"

Draco looked down at the hand that she'd grabbed earlier and rolled his eyes. Granger's losing it. He mentally scoffed.

"Well, I..." She began but he cut her off.

"I'm not blind. I saw you flirting with Malfoy in Potions and I even heard that you did his homework!" He snapped at her.

"Harry, I had a perfectly, rational reason for doing it." She stated firmly.

"How Hermione?" he gasped. "How can you have a perfectly, rational reason? You jumped in front of him and took Ginny's slap for him this morning! You grabbed his hand and thanked him for insulting you! You can't stand here and tell me that you had a rational reason for doing all of that!" He yelled, causing her to take a step back.

She noticed the angry look on his face. And she blinked as she thought she heard the slightest sound of jealousy in his voice. It's working. The plan is working. she thought.

Oh this is too perfect. Now he surely will confess his love for me and dump that little pregnant dog! she thought. I just have to push him a little more. She said to herself.

Then choosing her next words quickly, she blurted out, "Ginny had no right to slap him!"

Draco quirked a brow at her statement.

"Yes she did!" Harry snarled. "He was insulting her and she had every right to slap that sorry git!" He replied coldly.

"Well she deserved to be insulted!" The words came flying out of her mouth before she could stop them.

Harry frowned at her outburst. "What?" he snapped.

Hermione gasped and covered her mouth. Oh no, I wasn't supposed to say that! I don't want Harry knowing that I'm trying to break him and Ginny up. I want to make him be the one to cause their breakup! By showing my hatred for Ginny, I'm afraid that I've made Harry suspicious now. She thought to herself.

"I think I know what's going on here." Harry snapped coldly as he crossed his arms tightly across his chest. His green emerald eyes glaring into Hermione's brown ones.

This is getting interesting. Draco thought as he watched the two Gryffindors face off. He was quite interested by their argument and wanted to hear more. But Harry's next question was something that the blonde Slytherin was not prepared for.

"Tell me, Hermione, do you actually like Malfoy now?" Harry asked sharply.

As Harry asked this, Draco's eyes narrowed and darted to the bushy-haired brunette.

Should I actually go on with the plan and say that I actually do like Malfoy or should I just confess my true feelings for Harry right now? She thought. But then she studied the dark haired Gryffindor's expression and knew that it was best to go with the first choice. So taking a deep breath she tried to figure out just exactly what she was going to say.

"Harry, I..." She began but he cut her off.

"It's not a hard question, Hermione." He growled.

She cringed as his eyes flashed dangerously. He looked like he was going to losing his temper.

For a moment she found herself unable to speak. But then suddenly, images of Harry and Ginny flirting on the train flashed in her mind. The way they were all over each other. Kissing. Hugging. Holding hands. Flaunting their relationship right in front of her with her on the verge of tears. And just then, for a brief moment, a dark hateful feeling washed over her as she looked into Harry's eyes. I'm going to make him pay! she thought clenching her teeth.

"Hermione!" Harry snapped, jolting her out of her thoughts.

"What?" she hissed coldly.

"d**n it Hermione! Answer me!" Harry snarled now grabbing her wrist tightly. "Answer me! Do you like Malfoy?"

Say yes! Her mind screamed. Tell him you do like Malfoy! Make him jealous! Make him confess!

"Hermione..." Harry growled impatiently.

"Y...Yes!" she screamed loudly at him causing him to jump back. "Yes I do! I like Draco Malfoy! I like him a lot! There, are you happy!" she hissed, jerking her wrist out of his grip.

Draco's eyes widened as he heard this. She...likes me? Granger...likes...me? He wasn't sure how to react to this.

"Are you completely crazy, Hermione!" Harry yelled, even more angry than before. "You actually like that Death Eater? That Voldemort follower?"

Draco scowled hatefully at Harry's words and stood clenching both fists tightly. I want to go out there and beat Potter senseless for saying things like that! He thought then he shook his head. No Draco, now is not the time to attack. Stay put no matter what and listen in. Maybe Potter will spill some secrets. Just stay put! His mind coaxed him. He took a few deep breaths as he began to settle down, but he still scowled with hatred at the Boy-Who-Lived.

Hermione shuttered as Harry began pacing in front of her mumbling things that she couldn't quite understand. She couldn't help but feel uncomfortable now as she watched him. He wasn't someone she wanted to become enemies with as she knew his power was strong. And she knew of no one else that would stand a chance against him. And then her nerves began to get to her. I know Harry's jealous but he's really scaring me now. I'm almost afraid this might be going too far. She thought.

"You can't like that git!" He finally snapped as he stopped pacing and glared at her.

"Why not?" she snapped.

"Because he's on the opposite side of ours, that's why! In case you've forgotten he is our enemy!" Harry stressed. "And even if he wasn't, he is no good for you!"

"Says who?" She snapped bitterly.

"Says me!" Harry snarled. "You'd better get over this little crush that you have on him right now!" He demanded.

"And why should I?"

"Because there is a better guy for you, in there; sitting in class right now wondering where we are!" Harry retorted. "Ron really likes you!"

Hermione scowled at this."Harry, we have been through this a million times! I don't like Ron in that way!" She snapped firmly. "So for the last time just drop it! I'm sick and tired of hearing it!"
"Well he likes you!" Harry retorted ignoring the rest of her rant.

"So?" She replied coldly.

"So? Is that all you can say? Look, at least Ron cares about you, Hermione." he said now circling her slowly his expression growing darker. "Malfoy; on the other hand, doesn't give a d**n about you! He's our enemy! And in case you forgot, he hates you with a passion! He'd sooner turn you over to Voldemort than protect you!"

"Look Harry...I..." she began but he refused to listen as he continued on.

"I never thought I'd see the day that you'd suddenly lose your mind and develop a crush on that good for nothing bastard! You disgust me, Hermione!" He snarled.

She bit her lip and looked down. Real tears were now welling up in her eyes and her chest was hurting. She slapped her hands over her face and turned away from the Boy-Who-Lived.

Draco shook his head scowling at both of them, still confused by Hermione's confession of liking him. How is that possible? I thought she was just messing around, trying to trick me. He said to himself. Then he ran a hand through his blonde hair slowly. Confusion played upon his pale face.

"I thought you had better sense than to like that obnoxious git. He's nothing but a soulless, heartless, cold, evil, upcoming Death Eater!" Harry shouted at the bushy-haired brunette.

"Stop it!" She snapped.

"He doesn't have a conscience, Hermione!" Harry continued on ignoring her protest. "He doesn't care or feel anything! His blood is ice cold! He's a Slytherin, and a bloody coward when it comes down to it."

Draco glared hatefully at Harry and was about to jump out of his hiding place and attack him when Hermione's bitter voice broke in.

"Stop it, Harry! Stop insulting Draco!" She screamed, feeling real anger now. She hadn't meant to say that. She hadn't meant to even defend Draco, yet here she was doing just that. Her only rational thought was that she'd said it in the heat of her anger.

Draco gasped as he heard her use his first name. It felt strange to him. But he didn't have time to really dwell on it because Harry's angry voice broke his thoughts.

"Oh so it's Draco now, is it?" Harry spat angrily. "Let me guess you have a rational explanation for that too huh?" he mocked.

She cringed as his green eyes became menacing. "I...I can explain..." She began but he quickly cut her off.

"Explain what?" Harry snarled grabbing her wrist again. "You mean the fact that you like Malfoy enough to accept his insults as compliments? That you'll take a slap for him? Even do his homework for him?" Harry sneered as he tightened his grip on her.

"Ow! Let go of me, Harry!" she cried, trying to pull away from him.

"You can't even trust him! He's not the type of person who helps others. He'd never stick up for you like Ron and I have over these years. He would never comfort you, hug you and tell you that everything would be alright!" Harry then rubbed his temple then tried to speak more calmly as he once again tried to get through to Hermione.

"Hermione, Malfoy is the same guy who hurt your feelings back in second year. He was the one who walked up to you and called you a Mudblood! Don't you remember? Had I known what it meant at the time, I would have hexed that git right then and there! Ron tried to help you. He tried to stick up for you but his spell backfired!" Harry said firmly. "At Hagrid's I finally found out what that term meant and it made me angry! I couldn't believe that Malfoy would say a cruel thing like that to you! Ron and I were up with you all that night, remember? We all stayed down in the common room. You cried all night and we were there to comfort you!" He said, starting to sound like his old self again.

Draco couldn't help but feel uneasy as he remembered that time. He had no idea that he'd upset her so badly, but he wasn't really sure that he regretted it either.

"Well...it was my own fault." Hermione said out of the blue.

"What?" Harry gasped not prepared for that kind of response.

What? Draco thought, also not prepared to hear her say that.

"What do you mean it was your fault?" Harry demanded.

"Well, I shouldn't have jumped into your argument with him. It really wasn't any of my business what was going on with you guys. And I was wrong to have insulted Draco like that." She stated regretfully.

"What! Are you actually listening to yourself? You must be insane!" He snapped. "You're telling me that you're blaming yourself for what he did! Merlin, Hermione! Stop it! That stupid git isn't worth taking any blame over!"

"Yes he is and...well...I had no right insulting him like that and maybe...I should apologize to him..." She mumbled.

"WHAT!" Harry spouted. "Why would you have to apologize? You'll never hear an apology from him!"

Apologize? Draco thought then he shook his head. No, I've got nothing to apologize for! She's right. She is the one who jumped into mine and Potter's conversation when she had no business to so she deserved my insults!

"He doesn't need to apologize." She replied desperately trying to switch the subject back around; which made Harry seethe with more anger.

"Well...fine then! If you care so much about him then why didn't you just tell him to come join us huh? We could all have a nice little party right out here at the Quidditch Pitch!" Harry sneered almost in a sing-song tone; his words dripping of sarcasm.

"For your information I did invite him out here!" She retorted bitterly causing his eyes to narrow. "In fact, I wrote him a note in class and told him that I wanted him to come out here!" She added with a slight smirk.

"Oh?" Harry bit his bottom lip furiously. "So you're siding with the enemy now huh?" Then he looked around and smirked. "Well, he's not here, is he? It looks as though you wrote him that note for nothing because he didn't show up. I'm not surprised really because he's nothing but a bloody coward."

Once more, Draco was about to jump out of his hiding spot and attack. But before he could, Hermione rushed forward and pushed Harry to the ground.

The blonde Slytherin gasped as his stormy, grey eyes widened in shock at her behavior.

"I said stop insulting him!" she hissed as Harry glared up at her. "I've had enough of this!" She spat throwing her hands in the air wildly. "I've had enough of you trying to hook me up with Ron! I've had enough of these stupid lectures! Draco's not a coward, Harry Potter! You are!" She yelled glaring at the young man on the ground.

Oh this is too funny! Draco thought as he stifled a chuckle. Potter's own mudblood friend called him a coward. Hahaha I can't wait to see Potter break down and cry like a baby.

But Harry was nowhere near crying. Instead, he picked himself up off the ground and stalked towards Hermione.

"How dare you call me a coward!" He was now seething with rage as he raised his hand threateningly.

Hermione's eyes slowly widened in horror, as the situation was escalating far more than she thought it would.

And then suddenly...

**SMACK!**

Hermione felt his hand forcefully collide across the side of her face and she let out a faint cry as she crumbled to the ground.

[Liz-Miia Parker]

Ermm, olgu.