Basketcase

Basketcase

"Nobody ever mentions that the weather can make or break your day...."

--Oasis, Hello.

Chapter One: A Long Day

The wake seemed to be a start of a beautiful day, on this frosty January morning. After Hermione had yawned and stretched from her rather restful and peaceful sleep, she untangled herself from the downy and heavy covers needed for the cold winters here at Hogwarts, and then she swung her legs over and walked slowly to her window. From the start of this year, she had taken to getting up after her slumber and walking over to her window, pushing aside the crimson curtains that hid it from her view. She always needed to take a peek outside, and she thought of it as a forecast for the day. She knew it was silly, but she needn't tell anyone why she did it, so it was really not a problem at all.

There were a countless number of days when heavy storm clouds hovered overhead, when the sky was gloomy and dark, and she thought of it as a day when nothing special occurred; just a normal day. It would just be one of those days when she knew cheerfulness would be at the stationary, Malfoy's taunts and rude remarks at their usual biting tone, and the classes uneventful. Most of the time, she was right. Though she wouldn't let it get to her head as anything special, she came to rely on her foretelling of the days, just from a long peek outside her window. But not once had she mentioned such a thing to Harry, Ron, or even Ginny; she could not have them make fun of her or laugh at her silly predictions. After already being labeled as Hogwarts' top bookworm (sometimes flattering, sometimes not), and an uptight goody two shoes that would grow up just to be the spitting image of Professor McGonagall, she didn't think she could stand another name. Like, to her predictions of the shallowness of a certain number of her peers, 'Hermione-the-bookworm-who-can-tell-how-the-day-will-go-from-the-weather.' Or being compared to the loony Sibyll Trelawney--that was Hermione's greatest fear that she was afraid would arise if such a thing got out. Sooner or later, they might as well be asking her how many kids they will have in the future, or if some rich Wizard will wed them.

Hermione sighed, the edges of her mouth quirking into a faint smile, despite her thoughts. Her hand lay on the scarlet, silky fabric of the curtain, as she looked out.

It was a stunning morning, today, despite the gloom. There was light snowfall softly raining from the pale overcast sky, and below there were several inches of pure, unsoiled and almost blinding white snow. Hermione let out another sigh. Why, it almost looked inviting, and it seemed to be pleading for her to take a bit of a stroll outside, when classes ended.

Sure, she had seen mornings like this before, but she had always been a busy person and had not paid much attention to it. During the summer, she had received an owl notifying her that she been appointed Head Girl, therefore being handed a number of responsibilities in addition to her usual studies and schoolwork, not to mention her daily visits to the Library. On the first couple of weeks, it was rather hectic and she was almost so close to losing her control, what with the meetings, activities, planning, studying, and so forth. Though she had been utterly thrilled to be Head Girl, she only realized what hard work it would be, if Dumbledore were to really go through with his supposed plans. At the first meeting on the first day of their return from summer break, Dumbledore had announced all sorts of things to them, including one that there would be more dances and fun activities added into the past traditions. And that whole lot and more, of course, had to be planned by the Heads and Prefects.

Hermione knew how much Dumbledore and the Professors counted on them, so she tried her best to do just as they expected and worked even harder to go beyond. This, of course, took more planning and even more work, and that earned her a few scornful looks from the Prefects, who, of course, had to work with her plans and even had to cancel their own plans on occasion. Oh, and not to forget, her insane determination had also earned more than enough foul and rude comments from the Head Boy, which, surprisingly and not-so-surprisingly at the same time, was the one and only Draco Malfoy, for which reason she didn't think she could live if there were more than one of him. One is more than enough, she thought.

Hermione knew that he disliked her and her friends, and the whole Gryffindor house along with them. He had spent most of his time here to insult and bark at them, sending a few hexes every now and then when he was feeling special, and to make her feel like the lowest human being in the world. Of course, though she hated to admit it and would never to anyone's face, he had succeeded a fair amount of times, and she had also retaliated (which sometimes she was proud of, and sometimes she was ashamed, because she had always believed in being kind even to enemies) and wished that he was dead more than a handful amount of times.

Hermione shook her head, lost in her thoughts. That wasn't very nice, she said to herself, mentally. But of course, he deserved more than he got, so she thought that she should be excused for her actions.

But there were times when she would look at him and couldn't help but wonder and ask herself why. She knew his father was nothing less of a bastard, but she didn't know why Draco himself seemed to be living up to the image of his father. She couldn't read minds, although sometimes she wished to, so she never knew why Draco acted so cruelly to her and Ron, and most especially Harry. But she knew there had to be a reason--there was always a reason. Of course, she analyzed his behavior and replayed the past scenarios in her mind, trying to come up with a conclusion for his certain reason for acting such a git.

Surprisingly, she came up with quite a number. One was that he probably had a bad childhood, which was not so out of the question when his father was Lucius Malfoy, but Hermione got the feeling that there was more than that to the whole picture. She couldn't picture Lucius abusing Draco in anyway, though one would think so right away... Lucius was classy and though he was a Death Eater, if he did abuse Draco, it would not be something daily or of usual manner. Maybe Draco had been hexed or cursed a few times by his father, and knowing that would be surprising, but then maybe she would suddenly understand Draco at least a bit, and then maybe her heart would also soften for him....

A picture of Draco being cursed or hexed by his father flashed in her mind, and Hermione, unknowingly, cringed.

Even the foulest human being on Earth didn't deserve that sort of treatment.

'Even Malfoy?' a voice inside her head squeaked. Hermione sighed again, looking out the window and at the snow.

'Yes, even Malfoy,' she told herself, wearily. Thinking of Draco Malfoy was hard on her mind, and she knew trying to understand him was going to be even harder... but she had hoped, this year, since he was Head Boy, that they'd come to some sort of agreement. She didn't expect anything near a friendship, but at least something to a term where they acted at least civil towards each other, not shouting insults or fighting their rage and urge to hex the other.

'But of course,' she said to herself, 'Malfoy would never act of the same civility to a Mudblood.' Too early to get angry with him for the blasted word and name-calling, she smiled one last time at the scene before her, and then turned around to start her preparation for the day.

ooooooooooooooo

In the Great Hall, it seemed as if the volume of the chatter and laughter was rather high at the usual scale, as Hermione walked in. She looked around, spotting Harry and Ron at the table, as she started walking towards them. She sat down in between Harry and Ron, with Ginny beaming at her in the seat across from hers.

"Morning, Hermione," Ginny greeted. "You have a good snooze?" Harry flashed her a smile, and Ron greeted her with a mouthful of egg, at which Hermione shot him a look of disgust for.

"Yeah," Hermione replied, reached over for an apple. Her goblet filled itself with pumpkin juice, as she looked up at Ginny. "How about you? Didn't stay up too late with Seamus, did you?" Hermioned grinned at Ginny, and Ginny blushed.

"No," she said. "We just did the studying bit and talked. Besides," Ginny shot Ron a look. "Ron was there. It wasn't like we could do anything before Ron would drag Seamus away from me." Ron snorted at this, hearing her comment, and Hermione laughed softly, shaking her head at the sibling situation that she heard of at least three times a week.

"Ginny, I told you I needed answers for our Potions assignment, and Dean was also in the common room, and God knows he's cleaned his act up and at least pays attention every now and then."

"Whereas," Hermione said to Ron, "you don't." Ron nodded, rolling his eyes.

"In other matters; Hermione, where were you last night? Not in the library, I hope," Ron remarked dryly. "Of course, it wouldn't be such a surprise if you were. I swear, sometimes I think you would marry the place if you could." Hermione glared at him, swallowing as the refreshing and juicy bits of apple slid down her throat.

"I," she said sternly, "was tired last night, so I went to bed early. I told Harry," she said, biting into her apple again. "But I guess he'd have informed you very politely if you'd have asked, which you didn't, because you assumed right away." Ron sighed.

"Bed, Library, same difference," he said. Hermione rolled her eyes, as Harry gave her a reassuring smile.

"Hermione," Harry said to her. "Last night, Dumbledore was looking for you." Hermione swallowed, furrowing her eyebrows.

"He was?" she said, trying to remember if she had missed a meeting. She frantically searched in her mind, trying to recall if there was supposed to be a meeting or if he had asked to talk with her after classes.

'Dumbledore?' she asked herself. 'We had a meeting with the Prefects last week... maybe, maybe something had come up and they had decided to have a meeting....' Hermione clenched her jaw in thought. 'No... Malfoy would've knocked on my door to try and wake me.... He saw me come in; he had been in the common room, reading....'

"Hermione? Hermione?" Hermione was suddenly aware of the voice calling for her attention. She was thrown off her train of thought, as she mentally shook herself and turned to Harry. He had a bemused expression on his face.

"Dreadfully sorry, Harry," Hermione apologized, still trying to shake her mind of her thoughts. She sighed. "I was trying to remember if there was supposed to be a meeting that I had forgotten.".

"Well, he came to me, asking for you. I told him that you had already gone up to bed, so he just bid me goodnight and that he would just speak with you today."

"Did he say what exactly he had to talk to me about?" she asked, concerned. Harry shook his head. Hermione sighed again, biting her lip.

'What if it was important?' she asked herself. 'What if it was something really important, and he needed me to do something? And I was in bed, sleeping!' Hermione mentally smacked herself on the forehead. After that, she caught herself. 'Okay, no... no, stop. If it was important, really, really important, Dumbledore would have come in and asked Malfoy to wake me up....' Hermione felt slightly better at this. She sighed again, shaking her head to clear her anxieties. She bit into her apple, staring into space; unaware of the looks Harry and Ginny were sending her.

'Merlin, I'm going insane...' she thought. 'Maybe Malfoy was right. Maybe being Head Girl is finally going to send me off to St. Mungo's. I'm terribly paranoid and worry far too easily. By the end of this year, I won't be surprised if I've finally cracked and gotten myself sent off to the loony bin. Of course, no one else would be surprised, either.'

Hermione frowned at this, as she bit into her apple again, chewing slowly. Ginny sent her a worried look and then shrugged, before turning to smile at Seamus.

Harry ended her endless stupor by shaking her, and then announced that the meal was over and pointed out that everyone was now filing out of the Great Hall. Hermione thanked Harry, feeling her face heat up from embarrassment, before she stood up and grabbed her book bag. Ginny was talking with her as they were walking in the corridor, before Hermione remembered that she had left her Transfiguration book on the table. She halted in her steps, as Ginny turned to look at her, curious as to why she'd stopped.

"I forgot my Transfiguration book!" she called out to her, as people passed her and sent curious looks. Ginny nodded, and told Hermione that she'd just go on to her class. Hermione nodded, and then turned, but let out a surprised shriek as she bumped into something solid, her face colliding with something warm for a quick second.

She fell back, landing on the smooth and hard floor. Hermione's eyes were shut tightly; shoots of pain rocketing up her body.

"Ow," she groaned aloud. "Bloody floor," she said. Suddenly, she heard snickering, and her eyes flew open. She was surprised to see, none other than Draco Malfoy, standing before her. She was even more surprised to see that he was alone.... She looked around, bewildered, curious to why it had quieted so suddenly.

She groaned inwardly. She was going to be late. Everyone had already gone to their classes.

"Malfoy?" she said, staring up at him. He had an amused expression on his face, smirking down at her.

"Aww, Granger? On the floor? Always knew you were meant for scrubbing the filth off of it. Thinking of considering the job? I think you're well equipped and suited for it," he drawled. Hermione scowled at him, her eyes flashing.

"Malfoy, I don't have time for your bloody insults, today, okay? As you can see," she motioned around the empty corridor, "we are late and therefore we will have points deducted from our houses, and if McGonagall is feeling extra special, she'll give us detention." Draco snorted, and rolled his eyes.

"Get up, Granger. As much as I like seeing you on the floor, considering the saying 'filth belongs with filth,' I don't want you staring up at me like that." Hermione shot him a dangerous look, but did just as he said. She dusted off her robes, and looked up at him defiantly. It was only now that she noticed how tall he had grown.

'Had he always been this tall?' she wondered to herself, drifting away from the current situation. 'He's taller than Harry and Ron....'

"Merlin, stop daydreaming about me and listen. That's disgusting. As if I'd ever give you the time of day," she heard him say, impatiently. She shook her head mentally, cursing at herself and Malfoy.

"I was not daydreaming about you," she hissed. "Malfoy, though you insist on trying to convince yourself that every member of the female population in the school is bloody in love with you, I suggest you take a trip back to reality and shrink your ego." Malfoy glowered at her.

"Granger, I'd rather die than ever thinking that you're in love with me. Of course, it's flattering and I see why, but I only consider Purebloods. I'd never disgrace myself by ever allowing a Mudblood in the line." Hermione's deep brown eyes glittered maliciously, as she gripped her wand tightly in the pocket of her robe.

"I'd never fall in love with you, you evil, despicable, rude, horrid, loathsome, pompous, disgusting excuse of a Wizard, you wanker," she hissed, between clenched teeth. Draco's eyes darkened noticeably, now turning into a dark gray, like tainted steel.

"That's amusing, Mudblood. But don't you ever, ever, call me a disgusting excuse of a Wizard, without looking in the mirror first," he hissed. Hermione was taken aback, his words stinging her conscience. Her eyes blazed brighter. "Don't you ever, you filthy Mudblood," Draco repeated dangerously, his eyes flickering with anger. Hermione noticed how close he was now, barely an inch from her body, as she was staring up at him. She could feel heat starting to emanate from her body, her anger bubbling. Her jaw was clenched tightly and she could feel her nails digging into the skin of her palm.

Just then, in the middle of their staring contest on trying to see who would intimidate who and back down, they heard footsteps and a voice.

"Mister Malfoy? Miss Granger? Might I ask what you're doing out here in the hall when the rest of your peers are in class?" Hermione's eyes widened as she came into realization, recognizing the voice. She broke off her gaze with Draco as she looked behind him and cringed noticeably. Draco raised an eyebrow at her, but smirked, knowing how much she hated to taint her perfect reputation.

They heard the footsteps get louder and near them, until Dumbledore was soon before them, looking at the two curiously. Draco put an impassive and the usual look on his face, as if he seemed bored.

Dumbledore raised an eyebrow at the sight of both of them, standing so close. Hermione and Draco seemed to notice this, and took a step back at the same time. Draco cleared his throat.

"I was only notifying her of our meeting after our classes today, Professor," Draco drawled. Hermione's eyes widened at him, and then narrowed into slits.

'He was attacking me with insults!' she wanted to scream. 'Send him away in a small wooden crate and throw him in the ocean! Make him die and rot there until someone finds him drifting ashore across the world!'

However, she decided to play along. She didn't want to ruin everything when Dumbledore seemed convinced.

"Very well, then," Dumbledore said. Dumbledore looked at Hermione through his half-moon glasses, sending her a knowing look that made her feel ashamed.

"You are late to your classes, but no matter, since it is of Head business. Inform your professor of your reason, and you should be excused of any point deduction or detention. However, Mister Malfoy, I suggest that if you have to inform Miss Granger of anything in the future, to do it before or immediately after class. Another tardy like this... it seems sort of suspicious if it happens more than once, doesn't it?" Hermione blushed and lowered her eyes, wanting to cower away.

Draco shot the Headmaster a glare, disgusted with his little remark.

"Mister Malfoy," Draco wiped the look off of his face as Dumbledore turned to him. "Head to your class, and Miss Granger will be there shortly." Draco nodded, and brushed past Hermione, but not before she saw the look he shot her. Hermione inwardly swore at him.

"Now, Miss Granger," Dumbledore said, turning to her. "I saw that this book was left in the Great Hall after the meal, and I looked over it to see that it was yours. I was aware that you needed this book for your class, so I decided to return it to you." Hermione raised her eyes and saw that Dumbledore was handing her the Transfiguration book that she had left behind. She took it from him, politely.

"Thank you, Professor," she said weakly, still clearly quite embarrassed. "I apologize for... my tardiness, and I assure you that it won't happen again." Dumbledore smiled.

"I have no doubt, Miss Granger. You are clearly very hardworking and an exemplary student here at Hogwarts. I don't think one simple tardy will change any of that, by far. Now, head on to your class. Do as I told Mister Malfoy, and your Professor will excuse you from any unfair punishment." Hermione nodded, and bid him good day, before turning and heading down the corridor.

She closed her eyes tightly, cursing at Malfoy for his damn ego and bastard behavior.

'But he saved you from further humiliation,' a voice inside her mind said. 'You know you couldn't have made up a believable excuse at that moment. You were scared and shocked out of your knickers. You should be thanking him. Without him, both of you would be having detention. Together."

Hermione sighed, frustrated and angry.

'He's a git and no, I'm never going to thank him for anything! He's made my life hell, and now, I can assure you it's going to be ten times as worse! Now shut up about him before I clearly go insane!'

Hermione entered the classroom, and got even angrier at the gasps of surprise from her 'late' entrance. Even McGonagall herself was shocked, but Hermione explained and she nodded, excusing her to her seat. She took a seat next to Harry and Ron, who were both giving her curious looks, which she ignored, due to her mood.

Without thinking, she looked over at Draco, who was watching her. He was smirking and seemed to know that would infuriate her more, which it did, as she glowered at him and quickly turned away.

"Bloody Malfoy," she muttered to herself, as she hastily took out her parchments and quill, and then opened her book to the assigned page.

ooooooooooooo

After Transfiguration, as they were heading towards their next class, Harry and Ron asked Hermione if that really was her reason for being late. In return, Hermione glowered at them and hurried past. Noticing her mood and that it was best for her not to be messed with, they decided not to talk to her until she had calmed down.

When classes had finally ended for the day, Hermione had finally collected her anger and annoyance, and composed herself to look unruffled, even though everywhere she went, Malfoy seemed to be there also, smirking at her.

Hermione excused herself from Harry, Ron and Ginny, saying that she had to look up a few things in the Library. This, of course, was not true, and she was just escaping from the tortures of Malfoy and these damned school halls to a room where she could clear her thoughts in the silence and the comforting sight of books, and she would most likely be alone, with the exception of Madam Pince and a few wandering students. But as she slipped past the crowd and down the empty corridor towards the Library, she wasn't aware of Draco's eyes following her as he, too, made his way to the Library.

Hermione sighed in relief, a smile caressing her lips, as she walked through the doors and was met with a refreshing silence. She looked around, feeling her heart slowly being unburdened and her thoughts' shrieking voices start to tone down and fade.

She headed down the aisles of the books, aware that besides Madam Pince and herself; there was a bewildered looking first year Hufflepuff boy, staring up at a shelf. Hermione raised an eyebrow, and then looked around, before heading towards the lonely student.

"You look a bit confused," she said gently. "Do you need help with finding a book? I certainly would love to help." The boy looked up at her fearfully, and she looked down at him kindly.

"P-p-potions," he whispered, shakily. "P-p-professor Snape spoke to me today, during class, and told me that he was going to f-fail me if I don't do this assignment. I lost my Potions book and I need to borrow one from the Library until my mum purchases another one and owls it to me." Hermione eyed him suspiciously, noticing the way he looked down when he told her that he had lost his book. However, she nodded and looked up at the shelf.

"You're in the right place," she said reassuringly, "and that's saying an awful lot; this Library's a bit baffling, and a Potions book is always tough to find." The boy smiled up at her, and she smiled back, before reached over at deep hunter green spine, with silver words that labeled 'Potions, Version 1'. She flipped through it quickly, making sure that it wasn't damaged. She handed it to him, smiling.

"Here," she said. "This should get you through those torturous classes for now," she smiled. The boy beamed, as he took it from her.

"Thank you," he said to her, and she just laughed kindly.

"It's no problem." But as she watched the boy look over the book excitedly, she raised an eyebrow.

"You didn't lose your book, did you?" she asked softly. The boy froze, but looked up at her with solemn eyes and shook his head. Hermione nodded, giving him a sympathetic look.

'He reminds me of Neville,' she thought to herself.

"Do you remember who stole it from you?" she asked, soothingly. "I'm Head Girl... I can get him to give it back to you." The boy sighed.

"Well, he was in Slyther--...." The boy halted his words as his eyes widened, looking past Hermione. Hermione raised an eyebrow, concerned and worried.

"Slytherin?" she asked.

Suddenly, the boy shook his head frantically.

"No, I must be mistaken," the boy quickly said. "He wasn't in Slytherin at all. Thanks again for the book!" he squeaked, before he hurried past Hermione. Hermione stared at the place where the boy had stood, baffled.

She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, trying to figure out why the boy had just lied to her so quickly like that.

He seemed so... frightened.

"Oh my, was that the boy Crabbe had gotten his new Potions book from?"

Hermione jumped, surprised. She turned around, and groaned silently at who stood before her, arms folded and leaning against the bookcase.

Draco Malfoy was smirking at her, his loose blonde hair covering part of his eyes, his Slytherin class ring winking at her. Hermione glared at him.

"Well, well, Granger..." he was looking at her oddly, and Hermione felt something suddenly creep inside of her. She shuddered mentally. "Helping lost souls in the Library? Aww... how noble. You know, your gallantry might earn you a few points, despite your filthy blood. No one in their right mind would have handled that ridiculous boy like you did." Hermione chose to ignore his remark, and looked up at him boldly.

"Did you say Crabbe was the one who stole that boy's book?" Hermione asked sternly, as she narrowed her eyes at him. Draco rolled his eyes, and then yawned, raising his hand.

"Oh, did I? I don't seem to remember."

"Don't toy with me, Malfoy," she said, stepping closer to him. "Stealing is wrong, and your fool Crabbe should know better than doing that. And to a first year!" she exclaimed. "He's got no morals at all, does he? I'm giving him detention for this."

"Granger," he locked eyes with her, "first of all, I don't care if stealing is wrong, or if it's the bloody righteous thing to do!" he mocked enthusiasm, raising his hands, which irked Hermione tremendously. "And I suggest you not bother to explain any of your ridiculous morals to Crabbe, because the only brain cells he has is used to remember his name. Just hand him the bloody detention and get on with your life. Believe me, your lectures aren't going to go anywhere with that elephant, and if you don't, then go ahead and try. You'll only be wasting your time."

"Well, I thank you for the useful information, Malfoy," she remarked sarcastically. "Now, if you excuse me, I've had enough of you for one day, and I need to head over and find Crabbe." She walked past him, but froze when she suddenly felt something on her arm. Draco twisted her around, and nothing less than surprise sparked inside her.

"Did you not listen to a bloody word I said, out there in the damn corridor?" he said to her, irritated. Hermione felt a knot in her throat, as she looked into his steely eyes, aware of the contact he was now having with her. She felt as if his hand was burning through the fabric of her robe, as she suddenly felt heat radiating on her arm. She swallowed hard, feeling her heart leaping, before she shook herself and gathered her wits.

"I heard you," she said angrily, jerking her arm away. "A job scrubbing the floors! Really, Malfoy! I thought you could come up with something better than that!" Her momentary shock was now dominated by anger, as she pushed away the questions of the odd sensations that had flared inside her when he had grabbed her arm.

"No, Granger, not that, " he drawled. "And I could come up with more insults to throw at you, but then, seeing each other wouldn't be so fun anymore, would it? I'd be all out of things to say to you. And Malfoys don't use clichéd and old name-calling."

"Funny," she snorted. " 'Mudblood' has been overused since second year. In fact, most of your vocabulary has been. Huh," she saidcocking her head to the side and tonguing her cheek. "The irony, right?"

"Very amusing," he said. "But for 'Mudblood' there's a very special exception. That is your name, isn't it?" Draco was amused to see Hermione's eyes suddenly dim dangerously from his simple comment. Draco felt his mouth twist into his infamous smirk.

"Malfoy," she said warningly, her eyes flickering with fury, "stay away from me." She stepped away from him, glowering, before she turned on her heel and walked towards the doors. But as she heard him call out to her again, she froze and sighed dejectedly, her shoulders slouching noticeably.

Draco smiled, taking absolute joy in ruining her day.

"Didn't you hear, Granger? Dumbledore wants to meet with us right after the last of our classes. I'm sure I told you; after all, that's why we were tardy."

Hermione felt her heart fall to the pit of her stomach.

"Bloody hell," she muttered to herself.

oooooooooooooo

They were walking in the now empty corridor, for all the students had gone up to their common rooms or their dormitories. Hermione was walking ahead of Draco, and she would try to look in the corner of her eye to see him without turning around, but could never see him. She felt odd, hearing his clicking footsteps behind her and feeling his eyes on her... it made the hair on the back of her neck rise.

She had thought that Malfoy would insist on walking in front of her, because of his so-called superiority and 'pure' blood, and the fact that he thought he was better than everyone, most especially her, but surprisingly, he hadn't made a move to walk past her at all and lead the way.

Hermione crinkled her forehead.

'Wait. Where are we going?' she thought, as she suddenly stopped when she realized they had passed Dumbledore's office.

Just then, she felt Draco bump into her, obviously not watching her as she thought he had been. She heard him swear, as she stepped back and turned to him.

"Aren't we supposed to be heading for Dumbledore's office?" she asked him. "We passed it minutes ago."

"Bloody hell, Granger," he said, irritably. "I was informing you of our little trip a moment ago, but it seemed you were more intent on concentrating to remember how to walk with two feet." Hermione sighed, remembering how she had been lost in her thoughts. Again.

'I've got to learn not to do that when I'm around someone,' she scolded herself. 'I could've walked straight into a wall and therefore, give Malfoy more reason to poke fun at me.'

"Sorry, Malfoy. I've had a really long day, okay? I think everyone's allowed to zone out once in a while." Hermione wanted to smack herself on the forehead, but resisted the urge, for reason that Malfoy was standing right in front of her.

Draco had an eyebrow raised at her, looking slightly disturbed by her apology. He had never heard or expected her to ever apologize to him for anything. It threw him off-guard and left him standing in front of her, silent, with an odd expression on his face that she had never seen before.

Draco watched as she closed her eyes for a moment and bit her lip, and he managed to smirk, knowing from her actions that she had never really intended on apologizing to him. Draco shook his head, realizing just how truly out of her mind she was.

"A really, really, long day," he heard her whisper to herself, and he snickered. As if she had expected just that from him, she shook her head, her brown locks swinging and whipping across her face gently. She sighed again, and this time opened her eyes, and Draco was surprised to see the look of weariness and exhaustion show on her face, and very noticeably in her usually bright or ablaze fiery brown eyes. Draco felt an unfamiliar feeling seep out from his heart, as he found that he could not look away from her.

He found himself feeling a soothing wave that slowly swept through his body, but he also felt something overcome his throat. Like a sudden twisting and dryness; a knot forming and tying over itself.

Draco Malfoy actually felt... worried, for her.

"Granger," he managed to say, but he found that it was unfeasible to utter anything else.

"No more insults, please," she said, her tiredness showing through her voice. "I just want to know if we're going to Dumbledore's office, or if we're to head somewhere else to meet him. I wasn't paying attention before." Draco noticed that she didn't repeat her apology, as he quickly tried to shepherd his thoughts.

"To the Great Hall," he said, simply. "Dumbledore asked us to meet him there." Draco was disturbed by the fact that he could not tear his eyes away from her deep brown eyes, and he tried to mentally shake himself free from... whatever it was.

Hermione could feel slight and strange shivers start to trace up her spine, as she was suddenly aware of the way he was looking at her. She had never seen him look at her that way before. She wasn't sure she wanted him to, because of the butterflies that had started to ecstatically flutter in her stomach, and the way her heart was skipping one too many beats.

"Oh," she managed to say, before she swallowed hard, trying to extinguish the aridity in her mouth. "Well..." she looked down, feeling weird embers flashing inside her, "we'd better get going." She turned slowly, as if uncertain to turn away from him, before walking ahead to the Great Hall.

Still in slight shock, Draco didn't make a move. His heart seemed to have leapt up to his throat, and his skin suddenly felt warm... too warm. He watched her as she lowered her eyes and then turned slowly, walking away from him.

He stared at the place where she had stood, trying to understand the odd feelings and sensations, not to mention the peculiar trance he had been....

Finally, he shook himself from his thoughts and realized that Hermione was a good distance away from him. He swallowed and ran a hand through his hair unconsciously, before looking at the now empty corridor before him, then heading on.

He pushed the thoughts of her out of his mind, as he turned and walked faster, knowing that they were already late. He was glad for her absence, since he didn't think he could stand being so close to her again. His mind was buzzing with such volume and he could feel fingers start to jab him from inside.

"Damn," he muttered to himself, and started to jog.

oooooooooooooooooo

Draco slowed into a paced walk, as he reached the Great Hall's doors. He grasped the handle and opened the door, slipping inside and letting the door slam behind him. He had an unreadable expression on his face as he walked in, silent, and saw that he had come only seconds after Hermione had, as she was only beginning to sit down. He took a seat across from her, looking at Dumbledore firmly and trying to avoid any eye contact with her.

"Sorry to have kept you waiting, Professor," he heard Hermione say. Dumbledore smiled kindly at her, and Draco rolled his eyes. Her Little Miss Perfect act was getting far too old.

"Now, Miss Granger, Mister Malfoy," Dumbledore said. "I was reading the Daily Prophet about three mornings ago, and I came up with an idea...." His sapphire eyes danced behind his spectacles. "Of course, you two would have to go about setting up the process and making it work, but I think it would bring some excitement to Hogwarts...."