Okay, so I wanted to do something about the relationship between Malfoy and Hermione, and this was inspired by reading lots of brilliant stories on fanfiction sites. I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 1 :

The year had just begun, as the autumn air graced the open windows of the classrooms. Hermione was trying to finish packing her already stuffed bookbag, a burgundy satchel. Her first class of the day was Potions, which while she hated the teacher, she did enjoy the subject.

"Good lord, Hermione, how many books do you need?" Ron asked her, sidling up next to her and taking out a few of the textbooks and eyeing the covers curiously.

"You can never have too many books, Ron," said Hermione, pulling the books from his hand and adding them to the pile. She struggled with the clasp.

"True, Hermione, but you can just as easily have a broken back. Do you need to be a walking library?" Harry moved to the other side of her, pulling a few books out.

"Oh all right," she pulled the top few out and clasped the satchel. "Now hurry up, we need to go."

The three of them made their way to the dungeons, where they met with the other Gryffindors, and created the boundary lines of a sure war zone. The Slytherins were on the other side, and the two houses wasted no time with pleasantries, just moved on to the insults.

Draco Malfoy was the supposed leader of the pack, standing at the front, and trading insults with the beloved Harry Potter.

"How lovely, Potter, it's been six years and you still cannot rid yourself of the scum, can you?" He eyed Ron and Hermione to make it obvious who he was targeting.

"You death eati-" started Harry, but Hermione grabbed his arm.

"Well, Malfoy, seeing as you hang with the lowest of the low, living with the filthiest slime there is, and being one yourself, I hardly think you're in a position to judge, are you?" Hermione said, contempt cutting though her voice. The rest of the Gryffindors laughed openly at this comparison.

"Does the Mudblood ever shut up?"

The Gryffindors roared, and Ron started to lunge, but Hermione pushed him back. At that second was when Snape opened the door, staring at them with unrivaled hatred.

"Ten points from Gryffindor," Snape said softly, his voice dripping with annoyance. Hermione immediately let go of Ron, and the Gryffindors retreated.

"Get inside. I should not have to ask you again," Snape said and swept into the room. The students went inside, almost fighting their way to the door.

"Please turn to page two-hundred and fifteen. The potion as well as the list of ingredients will be there. But today we have a change, you shall be in lab groups."

Harry, Ron and Hermione instinctively looked at each other. Snape caught the action. "I'm afraid our Golden Trio may have to spend a little time apart, as you see, I'm assigning the groups due to my better judgement or your lack thereof."

Malfoy and his marionettes laughed at this. Snape smirked. Hermione groaned inwardly.

"So it seems we have Finnigan, Longbottom and - " he consulted the list. "Goyle."

Hermione heard them groan, but they got up and into their group. Well at least it wasn't terrible, they had a fellow Gryffindor and Goyle could be compared to a lump of coal without any trouble.

It was Ron who snapped her out of her reverie, by saying; "Ooh, that's tough luck."

"What?"

"He assigned your group. You're with Malfoy, that airhead Pansy and that other slytherin girl, what's-her-name, Laura something."

"What?!"

Harry and Ron both gave her pitiful looks.

"You have got to be kidding me," groaned Hermione. She shot a glance at Malfoy, who was at his desk, leaning back on the back chair legs, wearing a triumphant smirk. Pansy was sitting next to him whispering excitedly in his ear, while the Laura girl had just pulled up.

Hermione sighed and picked up her books.

Malfoy looked up and saw her sitting down. His face twisted unpleasantly.

"What are you doing here, Mudblood?"

Hermione intaked sharply then gave an angelic smile. "Well, you see, Malfoy, I have the pleasure of being in your group."

"Mudblood."

"Malfoy."

"Is that really the best you could come up with?"

"Honestly Malfoy, you're so universally recognized as a hurtful moron, that just your name can be taken as an insult."

Malfoy relaxed in his chair once again, leaning back and surveying Hermione, with a rather amused expression on his face. "Rather feisty, are we?"

Hermione gave him a look of satire sweetness. She then sat down and proceeded to take out her textbook. She opened it to page 215. "Reviraphoser Potion," she said, reading the page. "Once drunk will allow the user to live in a shell of themselves, let their body go through the day while their self may be in it's own reverie."

"I don't get it," said Pansy.

"Maybe it's like walking around in a dream, just going through the motions of the day without your heart being in it," said the Laura girl thoughtfully and Hermione looked at her in surprise.

"That's what I was thinking," she said. They looked at each other. "What's your name?"

"Laurie Payne," she said, and stuck out her hand. Hermione shook it. "I transferred here from another school this year."

Hermione nodded at Laurie. "Nice to meet you."

Malfoy stood up abruptly. "Okay, I'm going to go get the ingredients. Try not to fight over me while I'm gone. I'm directing this at New Girl and Pansy, but if the Mudblood tries to join, I'll just let you know that that's disgusting."

And he stalked off.

Hermione, who was sipping water, choked.

Pansy sighed. "Draco is so cute, isn't he?"

Hermione choked again, though this time of laughter. Laurie, who had sufficed it with a "no" eyed her, looking amused and confused.

"Malfoy - cute? A puppy is cute. A sweet boy is cute. Hell, even a gargoyle is cute if you compare it to Malfoy."

Laurie chuckled. Pansy stared at Hermione with a look of utter disapproval. Malfoy came back, his arms full of ingredients. He stared at the scene, Hermione doubled over with laughter, Laurie looking amused and Pansy looking extremely annoyed.

"Wha..?"

Hermione looked at Malfoy again, and chuckled again, before sitting down. "Okay, so Malfoy, can you put the ingredients on the table, and I think first we need to crush the Lithovian Moon Tree bark to get the juice," she began instructing them.

Malfoy shot her an exceedingly dirty look. "I do not take orders from Mudbloods."

"What about a Mudblood who's trying to save your grade? We have less than half an hour left and we haven't even started."

Laurie came over and started crushing the tree bark. "If we just work together, guys, we can make up for lost time. Now just swallow your pride and start."

They began to work. Malfoy seemed bored, so he started his insult game again. "Good god, Mudblood, how do you still manage to stay so ugly? You're sixteen."

"Congratulations, Malfoy. You can count the years"

"Shut your stupid mouth, Mudblood."

"Go to hell, you carnivorous psychopath."

Malfoy stood up and grabbed her wrists. "What did you just call me?"

Hermione matched his look with one of the same stature, and pulled her wrists from his grasp. She was a lot stronger than she looked. "I thought you were supposed to be smart."

"Ooh, look, the Mudblood can think."

"Lovely, the Pureblood can come up with a haphazard insult."

"Would you two stop it?"

Laurie stepped in at that time, pushing them apart. "Look, we have ten minutes left. We just need to add the ingredients in the order. Your fighting can't cost the rest of us our grade."

"I can be just as civil as he can, not a bit more." said Hermione defiantly.

"I was brought up learning how to be civilized. I don't know what they teach in muggle homes, but in mine, we were brought up to be sophisticated."

"Okay!" said Laurie, before Hermione could retort. "You can get your sophisticated self to please do some work. We're running out of time!"

Grudgingly the two stopped and started to add the ingredients to the cauldron. Hermione worked quickly. Malfoy matched her speed, reading it briskly.

Subconsciously, it became a race. Who could get the potion done, in the least time. As Malfoy turned to pick up the arrowroot to add next, his sharp turn bumped Hermione, and the bottle of Mantisal slime she held, which was to be carefully measured, dumped its contents into the clear waters of the cauldron. The water immediately turned a flamboyant red. The now pus-like water started bubbling violently.

The group stared at their cauldron in increased horror. "What did you do, you idiot Mudblood?" raged Malfoy. Hermione was about to answer when Snape sidled up, took one look at the cauldron, and waved his wand. The contents of the cauldron vanished.

"You ignorant girl, what were you trying to do, blow up the class? Do you have a death wish?"

"Malfoy was the one who bumped into me!"

"So? I was just turning to get arrowroot. You measured over an open flame!" said Malfoy, his eyes flashing.

"No, I didn't, you pushed me towards it. It's your fault you turned so sharply. What is this, a race?" The two continued to argue.

Snape waved his wand, silencing both of them. "Both of you, headmasters office, now."

"What? No-"

"Now."

I think that that's good for a type of "getting to know the characters". This is my first time writing fanfiction! I would love reviews!

Best, Bluebell