My first Dramione! Woot!

Harry stared contemplatively into the fire of the common room, as he let his thoughts drift to the events of the last six months.

Things had changed since the war. People had changed. Hogwarts had changed. The restoration of their school had taken quite some time, even though they received help from most of the students and their parents. Still, they managed to pull through, and in three weeks, it looked as though not so much as a fist fight had taken place there.

Then, there was the problem of the re-enrollment of students. Most parents hadn't wanted to put their kids back, fearing for their safety, or emotional trauma, or whatever. Harry didn't really know.

Actual classes had started five and a half months ago. On second thought, make that five months. It had taken them two whole weeks to give them new timetables and coordinate the students, since most of them had left.

The house that had retained the most students was, obviously, Gryffindor, with almost three quarters of the previous number. They were followed by Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff, with approximately half of the usual student population each. Slytherin, on the other hand, had retained only four students from the seventh year - Draco Malfoy, Blaise Zabini, Pansy Parkinson and Daphne Greengrass.

To the horror of ALL of the Gryffindors, Professor McGonagall (their new headmistress) had insisted that the Slytherins were to take the extra beds in the Gryffindor dorms, since the Slytherin dungeons had been damaged beyond repair. Within the first two days of their combined lifestyle, two kids ended up in the Hospital wing, seven in detention, and they had managed to set fire to three beds. After a long, severe lecture from McGonagall, they finally came to a grudging accord. No more hexing each other or their possessions, no more Weasely Wizard Wheezes in each others food, no dueling in the common room. It went pretty smoothly after that.

Until they realized that, because of their uneven numbers, they would now be sharing every class with the Slytherins.

Harry had been surprised to find that Hermione of all people, seemed to be making the best of it. She was now good friends with all the Slytherins, and was the only one who prevented them from being tormented. She was especially chummy with Draco, something neither he nor Ron had liked very much - they always thought she sat too close to him when she helped with his homework, or that she held his hands for a bit too long when she showed him the exact way to stir the cauldron. Harry had absolutely no idea when this rapport had been established between the two of them.

Oh wait, maybe he did.

It had been just another normal day in the Gryffindor common room - witches were playing with their pygmy puffs, wizards tossed fanged frisbees around. Some were doing homework, some were chatting around the fireplace. An exasperated Harry Potter lounged around on the couch as he watched his best friends quarrel.

Again.

"What do you see in her Ron?" demanded Hermione, as she stood in front of him, with her hands placed on her hips.

"I don't see what the problem is, Hermione," he drawled, "I like her, she likes me. What's got your knickers in a bunch?"

Hermoine's nostrils flared. Harry winced - one of these days he would sit down and give him a good long lecture on tact. Especially when it came to Hermione.

"What's got my knickers in a bunch," she spat, showing evident distaste in his choice of words, "is that the only reason Lav Lav is snogging you, is because you are friends with Harry! She just wants the attention!"

He stood up from is seat next to Harry, glaring down at Hermione. "Are you saying that she would have no other reason to date me?"

"No, I - "

"Well Hermione," he said, scowling," I don't think any bloke in their right mind would snog someone whose best friend was a bloody piece of parchment."

"Ron!" snapped Harry. By this time, the entire common room was looking at them - Slytherins and Gryffindors alike.

"Is that how you feel?" she asked, her voice quivering. Ron widened his eyes.

"Hermione, I didn't - "

"Save it Ron," she choked, barging her way out of the common room.

"You idiot!" cried Harry, as he ran out to follow her.

Ron followed him without a word, for once feeling like he deserved the insult.

Hermione wiped the tears from her eyes as she stumbled through the maze of dark corridors. She hadn't ever bothered to light her wand, it would have simply made it easier for Harry and Ron to find her. And that was the last thing she wanted right now. She just wished to be alone.

She soon reached her destination, the large painting of a bowl of fruit, to the left of the Hufflepuff basement. She raised a hand to the painting, gently tickling the green pear. She watched as the fruit squirmed and laughed, before turning into a green doorknob. She turned the handle, quietly letting herself into the kitchens.

As soon as she was inside, she slumped against the door, letting fresh tears spring into her eyes. How could Ron say something like that? How could he?

"Is Miss Hermione alright ?" came a timid voice. She looked up, only to find herself staring into the large green eyes of a house elf. Tilly. She had made it a point to learn all their names by her third year there.

"Yes, I'm fine," she mumbled, pulling her knees up to her chest and hugging her legs, "I just want to be alone right now, Tilly. Thanks for asking."

Tilly nodded. "If Miss Hermione would like to be alone, there is a cozy bench near the fireplace, and Tilly could bring Miss Hermione a blanket and some food."

She smiled a the little elf. "I would like that very much," she said, standing up, as she dusted her pants.

"What are you doing here?" asked the cold, emotionless voice from behind Hermione.

She cringed. She remembered thinking that Harry and Ron were the last people she wanted to see then . She took it back. He was the last person she wanted to see.

"I could very well ask you the same question, Malfoy," she replied, trying to sound haughty. Quite a task, when one has been crying for the past twenty minutes.

"I come here every night. This is my spot," he said. Hermione was surprised . He had never struck her as the kind of guy that needed a thinking spot.

"Well," she said, for argument's sake, " I don't see your name on it."

He coughed slightly, and gestured to the bench. She stared incredulously at him, before noticing 'Draco was here.' scrawled in spiky handwriting over the head of the seat.

"That doesn't necessarily mean you own this particular spot. It merely implies your presence here at a certain point of time."

He rolled his eyes at her. "Are we really going to argue about this?"

She huffed, "I guess not."

She heard him sigh in relief as he plonked down next to her. Hermione turned to glance at him. He wasn't in his usual dark robes, not like she had expected him to be, especially at 11 p.m., but seeing him in such casual clothes surprised her. He was wearing a black T-shirt and grey shorts. His usually tidy platinum blonde hair had been teased into spikes. Despite his rather unorthodox attire, she had to admit that he looked pretty good. She shook her head suddenly. What was she thinking?

There was a white stick poking out of his mouth. Her eyes widened slightly. Was he smoking? No, wait, that wasn't a cigarette... It was a lollipop. Harry and Ron would have a field day with this.

"You've been crying," he noted, staring at her reddened eyes.

"Your observance has never ceased to astound me Malfoy," she said dryly.

He grinned lazily. "Why thank you Granger. So what happened?"

She hesitated. "What makes you think anything happened?"

"The alternative would be to assume you were crying for fun."

"That isn't too far-fetched now, is it?"

His grey eyes bored holes into her head. "Don't insult my intelligence Granger."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

"So why are you crying?" he persisted. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"Not that I care or anything," he added quickly.

Hermione snorted. "Don't worry Malfoy, I wouldn't have doubted your apathetic nature for the world."

He seemed to take that as a compliment. "Glad to hear it. But seriously, why are you crying?"

"Take a guess Malfoy," she said, "Heck, I'm feeling generous - take two."

"Someone died?" he offered, almost immediately, taking the lollipop out of his mouth.

She scoffed. "If some one had died, I wouldn't - "

Draco shoved his lollipop into her mouth, in the hope of shutting her up. She glared at him, before tasting the cherry flavor on her tongue. Strange, she had always pegged him to be the liquorice type. For some reason, the unhygienic implications of his actions didn't worry her.

"Yes or no, Granger?" he asked, not bothering to retrieve his candy.

"No."

He stroked his chin as he gazed into the fireplace. She assumed he must have taken the 'two guesses' thing seriously. He looked back at her.

"Weaselbee said something, didn't he?"

She stared at him surprise etched on her face. "How did you-"

He waved his hand dismissively, cutting her off. "Do not doubt the unlimited knowledge of the Malfoy."

She snorted. She remembered a time when Draco was less jovial, and couldn't talk to her without tossing an insult in there somewhere. Of course, that had all changed after the war. He was quiet when he returned, less obnoxious, more withdrawn. He talked to Blaise Zabini , no one else. That was until a few fifth year wizards had walked past him, snickering the word 'Death-eater' . Hermione couldn't help herself. The moment she heard them say it, she confunded them into thinking they were American girls. That was the first smile she saw light up Draco's face in a long, long time. It was followed by more, each time she saw him, the corners of his lips would quirk upwards in a smug grin, acknowledging her presence. He went back to his usual, taunting self after that- except, to her surprise, he never called her Mudblood since.

"Oi, Granger, don't zone out on me," he said sharply, shaking her by the shoulders, "I'm not going to be the one that drags your sorry backside to St. Mungo's , you hear me?"

Hermione snapped out of her reverie.

"Yeah," she grinned sheepishly, "Sorry about that."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Back to the topic at hand. What did Weaselbee say?"

"He... um..." she mumbled, unsure of whether she wanted to talk about this to Draco, who happened to be waiting for her to finish her sentence.

He stared at her, waiting, before groaning, "Granger? Sometime in this millennium, please?"

"He said no one in their right mind would want to date me because, he said and I quote, 'my best friend was a bloody piece of parchment'," she said in a rush, closing her eyes as she waited for the laughter to come.

It didn't.

Instead she felt his body go rigid beside her, his fingers curl into fists.

"Uh...Malfoy?" she asked tentatively, "I guess I'm not the only one who zones out now and then, huh?"

"Right," he muttered, after a few moments of silence. He soon extracted himself from his own reverie, before asking, "So what was the topic of discussion when this particular dialogue came up?"

Hermione would have liked to tell him the entire story, how Ron abandoned her for Lavender the moment school reopened, how he claimed that nothing had happened between them, how Harry hadn't taken her side at all (he hadn't taken Ron's side either, but to her, that was besides the point). But Draco being...well, Draco, would have probably interrupted before she even got half way through. So, she limited her answer to one word.

"Lavender."

Draco looked confused for a second, before realization dawned upon his handsome features. "Lavender Brown?"

Hermione nodded.

"That ugly cow?"

She covered her mouth with her hand, stifling a giggle.

"I don't think she's ugly, Malfoy," she said, though only Merlin knew why.

"You're right," agreed Draco solemnly, "She's very ugly."

Hermione couldn't help it - she burst into giggles. He smiled, her laughter was so infectious that she soon had him chuckling as well. Draco was a man of many surprises, Hermione realized. She had expected to do nothing more that wallow in self pity that night . She hadn't been expecting a smile, especially one that was brought about by Malfoy. Yet here she was, sitting with the blonde boy, as she wiped a happy tear from her eye.

"I feel guilty," Hermione mumbled, leaning against Draco. He stiffened slightly, before allowing himself to relax.

"Why?" he asked, as he wondered whether her actions were purely platonic or not.

"I'm making fun of a fellow Gryffindor. With the help of a Slytherin."

She lifted her head from his shoulder - she didn't notice his mild disappointment - and glared at him accusingly, "You're a bad influence."

His eyes widened, portraying the image of a innocent bystander.

"Me?"

She nodded, grinning.

He sighed, sagging in defeat. "Alright Granger, I'll admit she doesn't look absolutely ugly. But one thing's for sure- she can't hold a candle to you when it comes to beauty."

She stared at him, visibly startled, as a blush colored her cheeks. Hermione wasn't used to compliments. A compliment from the Draco Malfoy was, completely unexpected. Wow. Was he drunk?

"Thanks, Draco," she mumbled.

"Hey, don't get all blushy-blushy on me, got it?" he said, considerably embarrassed that she had used his first name, "It wasn't a compliment. I was stating a fact."

"So, would you like to state any more facts?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at him, trying to forget that he had just called her blushy-blushy . Geez. That wasn't even a real word. He rolled his eyes at her.

"Don't beg for compliments, Granger, it really puts people off."

"They aren't compliments," she pointed out, "They're facts."

"Good point," he mused. "Well?" she demanded. He leaned back , draping his arm over the top of the bench.

"You see, Granger," he drawled, "It just doesn't seem fair that I'm the only one handing out tidbits of information here. So we'll make a deal. A fact for a fact."

"Can I start?" she asked, surprising him. He nodded cautiously. Merlin only knew what this girl had bottled up in her mind all these years.

"You are an obnoxious little brat," she said bluntly. He placed a hand over his heart.

"You wound me Granger," he moaned.

"Your turn," she said, ignoring his little charade. He rolled his eyes, deciding to save the 'broken heart' act for other girls- girls that weren't Hermione anyway.

He stroked his chin, he seemed to do that a lot lately, before finally answering.

"You should keep your nose out of those books of yours when you're walking," he said. She turned red as she remembered how she had fallen down the stairs while reading a Charms book, in their second year. Malfoy had broken her fall. Not willingly, of course. She had landed on him.

"You should stop sneaking out of the dorm everyday after curfew," she retorted. He muttered something about a 'Goody-Two-Shoes'. She slugged him in the arm.

"You should be less violent," he grumbled.

"You should learn to do your own homework," she said, the threatening tone in her voice evident.

"You should hex the living daylights out of Weaselbee the next time he says something," he said, gazing at her intently, "You're smart and funny and gorgeous, and you don't deserve that."

She stared at him, praying that he couldn't see her face, which was now the color of a beetroot.

"Well...um...you should - " she tucked an awry lock of hair behind her ear, "You should socialize with people more. They think you're cold and emotionless, they just don't realize that you're one of the sweetest guys I have - I mean, they could ever hope to meet."

She stared into the heart of the fire. She could feel his eyes on her, those beautiful grey eyes, looking through a window in her head, right into her mind.

"Granger," he finally said, after the minutes of silence had elapsed, "Give me my lollipop."

She handed the candy to him, confusion written all over her face.

"It's getting in the way," he muttered, almost to himself, as he made it levitate before them.

"Getting in the way of what?" she asked, right before he pressed his lips against hers. Hermione widened her eyes . She was kissing Malfoy. She was kissing Malfoy. And up till now, she hadn't realized what she'd been missing.

He placed a hand on her waist, pulling her closer until their bodies were pressed against each other. He ran his fingers through her hair, angling his head so he could kiss her better. Hermione was putty in his arms right now. He was an amazing kisser. She had been kissed before, but the experience had never been so... euphoric.

She wrapped her arms around his neck as she kissed him harder. He returned the kisses passionately, his mouth working magic over hers. Merlin, why hadn't she done this before?

Her cheeks were flushed and her breathing was ragged when they finally broke apart. Draco's chest heaved as he pressed his forehead against hers. She couldn't help but notice that his ruffled hair, his disheveled clothes made him more tantalizing than ever. All she wanted was to snog him all over again.

"Who knew," he breathed, as he grinned smugly at her, "Man, I should have done this sooner." He pressed his lips against her neck, causing her to smile slightly.

"Harry..." she mumbled, as he continued to lightly kiss her neck, "would have killed you."

"Would have been worth it," he replied, crushing his lips against hers once more. This was even better than the first one - hot, heavy and out of control. It seemed like eternity when he finally pulled away. He nuzzled her neck and she threaded her fingers through his hair as there sat there in a comfortable silence.

"I think..." he mumbled, after a while, "I should get back to the dorm. Are you coming with me?"

"No," she finally decided, " Harry will probably be looking for me . If he sees me with you - "

"I get it," he said, grinning as he slowly untangled himself from her, "Wouldn't want Potter to have a hissy fit now, would we?"

She smiled at him as he plucked the lollipop out of the air and handed it to her.

"See you later, Hermione," he said, pressing his lips to her forehead before he slipped out of the kitchen. Hermione leaned back on the bench as she sucked on her lollipop, a tranquil smile on her face.

"Hermione!" called a familiar voice, with a edge of urgency. Harry.

"Where are you?" the second, panicky voice yelled. Ron.

"Here." she called, grinning as her two best friends burst into the room. Ron widened his eyes slightly. He had expected a tear-streaked face, red puffy eyes. Instead she was sitting there, her cheeks flushed, a bright smile on her face.

"Let's go Harry," she said, taking his hand as she lead them out of the kitchen.

"Hey, Hermione," called Ron, confusion tinging his voice, "Who gave you the lollipop ?"

She threw her head back and laughed, feeling a tingling sensation play across her lips.

"No-one, Weaselbee, no one at all."

Thanks for reading! Please review!