Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Yeah, so, in my profile, I lied. I said I was done writing fanfiction in order to work on my original works. Well... I was. For a while. Until I got some strange story idea and... I couldn't resist, mate. So here it is.

By the by, disregard the ending of the sixth book. Because, well, that made things SO very difficult for the whole Draco/Hermione thing. For me, anyway. So let's just pretend that didn't happen, and we're in the middle of sixth year again, okay? Okay. Also, I haven't read the book since last year, so if I muff up a few things, I don't really need to hear about it. Which translates into there's no specific timeline for this story. I don't care what happened when, and I'm most likely going to make stuff up anyway. Ahh, the beauty of fanfiction.

That being said, slight spoiler for the sixth book.

Hermione Finds a Tutor

Chapter One: Hermione's Assignment

"You want me to do what?" Hermione, standing, asked, eyes wide with disbelief.

"You heard me, Miss Granger. Though, I assure you, it was not my idea. Can you do it or not?" Professor McGonagall asked, losing patience.

"Of course I can't! He hates me! Everybody knows that. How could you even expect me to do that?"

"She's precisely right, Albus. We cannot ask her to do such a thing. Surely you could find another?"

McGonagall, Dumbledore, and Hermione had been in Dumbledore's office. The headmaster requested the meeting with the two in hopes that Hermione would agree to help.

"Albus. If it is as you say, then mightn't we want to find a different way to go about this? Like confinement, mind control, torture, or something nicer like that? Do not submit Miss Granger to such a fate," she stood up next to the young prefect.

"My dear Minerva, you're not underestimating one of the cleverest witches that Hogwarts has ever seen, are you? I would not have asked this of her if I had any doubt in her abilities."

"But, Professor, Malfoy hates me! And if, like you say, he's in league with... with Voldermort, then what's to stop him from killing me?" Hermione could not believe this was happening. She wanted to have faith in Dumbledore, but this time she was certain he'd gone completely mental.

"Trust me, Miss Granger. He is not about to commit a murder. And I strongly believe that, with your help and guidance, he could begin to sever his ties to Voldermort," he argued.

"Can you find no one else to do this?" Hermione begged.

"I want someone whom I can fully trust," Dumbledore popped a lemon drop into his mouth.

"But how am I supposed to befriend Draco Malfoy? He hates me, he hates my family, he hates my friends, he hates my cat-"

"I trust you'll come up with something. You always do."

"Albus, you know that I want to help you however I can. If Mr. Malfoy's objective for the end of this year is to kill you-"

"This is not about me, Minerva. I know what I'm doing. This is about saving that boy from evil. I can sense he does not want to go through with this, but he lacks the confidence it takes to refuse the darkness. He will need help if he is to turn himself around."

"Why should we care about him?" Hermione spat.

"Because," Dumbledore patiently explained, "I do not want to be held accountable for letting such an intelligent wizard become an evil force. Not again," his head drooped and, for the first time during their discussion, he looked old and helpless.

"Albus," McGonagall placed a hand on his shoulder.

Hermione took a deep breath. She did not wish to see Dumbledore looking so weak and broken. "I'll do it," she said. "Well, I'll try, anyway."

"Thank you, Hermione," Dumbledore whispered before dismissing her.

xxxx

Hermione's walk back to the Gryffindor common room was a pleasant one compared to setting a werewolf free among the students. Along the way, she gave three girls detention for walking in front of her too slowly, threatened more than a few first years, and had the pleasure of, quite literally, bumping into Draco Malfoy himself. She pulled her wand from her robes as he dropped his school books.

"Stay the bloody hell OUT of my way or I'll turn you into a newt!" Hermione pointed her wand at him.

If he had a witty comeback, Hermione did not stay long enough to hear it. After her outburst, she quickly turned and continued on her way back to the common room. 'Great going,' she thought to herself. 'We'll be friends in no bloody time at all.'

How could Dumbledore expect her to, after so many years of animosity between them, breech the exterior of Draco Malfoy and make him trust her? She recognized the urgency and seriousness of the situation, of course, but... by what means was she to accomplish this task?

She finally made it to the common room and flopped right into her favorite chair and did some well-deserved pouting. That is, until some very, very unfortunate soul decided to interrupt her.

"Hermio-"

"What!" She snapped and immediately regretted it. Poor Neville stood beside her, his face changing from a look of concern to that of downright horror. "Oh, I'm sorry Neville. I'm just, well, I've had a rough day is all. I didn't mean to take it out on you," she carefully touched his arm in an apologetic way. "Did you need something?"

He relaxed. "I just came over to see if you were okay. You flew in here so fast and when you sat down you didn't start doing your homework. I wanted to know if everything was alright," he prattled on.

"Everything's fine, Neville, thanks for ask-"

"Because, I mean, I'd understand if you were feeling upset," Neville continued. "What with Ron and Lavender together now, and I hear Harry's getting better marks than you in Potions, but, well, you'll be fine."

"Thank you, Neville. Thanks a lot," Hermione, faking a smile, said through clenched teeth. Neville returned to his own homework, and a good thing he did, too. Not only had he caught Hermione in a fiery mood, but he had inadvertently added more wood and stoked that fire. On top of having to convert her worst enemy, her best friends were also getting on her last nerve. It was bad enough Ron was obviously snogging Lavender Brown in a weak attempt to make Hermione jealous and Harry had been more or less cheating to do well in Potions, but did it have to be common knowledge... "Oh!"

And there it was. For once in her life, Hermione was relieved that people were clued into her problems. If her issues circulated the gossip mill among the Gryffindors, maybe they had spread throughout the school. Hermione, in much better spirits, grabbed her bag and headed toward the library. In the corridors, students ducked and dodged in fear as they saw Hermione return, but she didn't mind. Her walk was made that much easier.

She entered the library and, as she expected, found Draco perusing over his school books at a table in the back. Luckily for Hermione, he sat by himself. She took a deep breath before slowly starting toward him. He did not notice her until she sat down across from him.

He looked up and smirked. "Come to turn me into a newt, Granger? If you do, I hope that I'm a literate newt. I have a lot of work to get done before... well, I have a lot to get done." Draco returned his attention to the outspread books.

"I'm sorry," Hermione blushed. "I was, er, upset when I said that."

"Frankly, I was intrigued to see little Miss Perfect a bit frazzled," Draco admitted, setting down his quill. "And I having nothing to do with it," he finished. "What has gotten you so on edge?" His smile mocked her. He knew damn well about her situations with Harry and Ron. Good.

Hermione remained as calm as possible. So far, so good. At least he wasn't insulting her more than normal. She felt confident that they could have a civilized conversation. "I need your help," Hermione blurted out.

Draco tried to hide his surprise at her abruptness by laughing. "Hermione Granger is asking me for help?" His arrogance returned.

"Listen, Malfoy, I'm sure you've heard about-"

"You're not going to ask me to pretend to date you in order to make Weasley jealous, are you?" Draco asked apprehensively.

It was Hermione's turn to laugh. "Hardly anything so manipulative. I need help with something else."

"I'm listening," Draco urged.

"I," Hermione began. "This is really hard for me to say, but... I, er, need help with... Potions."

"Come again?"

Hermione glared at Draco. He had heard her perfectly well. "Potions, Malfoy. I need help. Your help. Although I'm sure the fact that Snape favored you helped with your marks, we both know that you're one of the best Potions students. I would like for you to, well, you know," Hermione played her role very well as she fidgeted in her chair. She would not make eye contact and she acted frustrated.

"Wait a minute," Draco said. He leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes, and put his arms behind his head as a satisfied smile curved his mouth.

"What are you doing?" Hermione asked impatiently.

"Savoring the moment, of course. It's not everyday Miss Know-It-All admits that she needs a tutor. And you're too embarrassed to ask Potter for help? Is he really doing that much better than you?" He opened his cold, grey eyes once again to watch Hermione's reaction.

"Oh, hang it, Malfoy. Will you help me or not?"

Draco thought for a moment. "No," he said simply.

Hermione stood up in a huff. "Fine. I don't know why I came to you, anyway. You probably wouldn't be able to help. I'll bet Harry's marks are even higher than yours."

She turned to leave, not sure what to do if he didn't take the bait.

"Granger, wait. Come back here."

Perfect.

She spun on her heel and stared at him. "Tsk, tsk, Hermione. Desperate? If you're willing to try reverse psychology on me, then you must really be doing poorly in class."

Okay... Not so perfect. Oh well, she might still be able to wing it from here.

"By my standards, yes," Hermione said as if her pride had been wounded.

"Well in that case," Draco started. Here it came. She held her breath. "What's in it for me?"

Hermione honestly hadn't thought about that. She cursed herself for believing, even for a second, that Draco would agree to do anything without reciprocation. She could lose the entire deal right here and now if she didn't think of something quickly.

"Er, what do you want?"

Great response, Hermione. That sounded like a very put-together and well thought out response. He won't be suspicous at all.

A smile played on the corner of Draco's lips. "Nothing you could give me," he looked her up and down and Hermione suddenly felt self-conscious. "Anyway, I'm rather busy."

Oh no, he's going to say no.

"So, if you can do without help tonight, meet me here tomorrow night right after supper. That will give me time to think this over and name my price."

He didn't say no? He didn't say no! Feeling rather optimistic, Hermione thanked Draco. "You're sure you can't help me right now?" She added for effect.

Draco scoffed. "I'm not going to help you until we make a deal. You scratch my back, I scratch your's, and all that."

"Please be reasonable, Malfoy," Hermione said in a noncommital tone before leaving him to sit at the table by himself. She hoped he would be reasonable. She wouldn't be able to refuse. What other choice would she have?

xxxx

A/N: Welp, that's it for the first chapter. I will try to finish this story. It's going to be extremely short if I do, though. Let me know what you think.