Hello out there!

Well, here is the next instalment. You'll have to wait for the next chapter for the story to kick off, but I thought this was important groundwork to establish.

Thank you to all my reviewers!

This chapter is dedicated to Josie's corner, without which the world would miss out on a lot.

Hermione never had been, and never would be, a slut. In fact, Hermione was about as far from a slut as you could get, except perhaps Arnold the Pygmy Puff. Even their hair was similar – annoyingly fluffy.

Indeed, there were many things Hermione was not. She was not good at sports. She was not good at making friends. She was not good at explaining to certain red-haired boys how she felt. And most of all, Hermione was not good at not being good at things.

It was this last trait that excited her competitive spirit. A spirit that did not give in easily. Especially not in the face of such an academic, and indeed philosophical, rival, such as Draco Malfoy. In all senses of the word, the two were enemies.

Hermione needed some relief from her life, trailing around after Ron and Harry, and studying, because she couldn't think of anything else to do.

Being with Draco was like playing 'who will be the first to wimp out of touching the trunk of the Womping Willow?'. There was no way on earth that Hermione would ever give in to Draco Malfoy. That is, she would not let Malfoy beat her in any test, and nor would she let Malfoy win 'the game'.

Draco was, and always had been, something of a self-satisfied stuck-up player. He expected girls to fall for him, and they did. Sometimes he would reciprocate, and sometimes he wouldn't. Draco had not been brought up to love.

As a small boy he had had the misfortune of having a very warm heart. Being quick-witted, it had not taken long for him to realise that this trait left him open only to hurt. His mother, father, and Aunt Bella had taught him well, and by the time he arrived at Hogwarts he had learnt to hide his true feelings behind a cold, impassive mask.

Dumbledore was right about Draco – he was not made to maim and murder like the rest of his family.

But it is our choices that show who we really are, far more than our abilities. Dumbledore was right about that too.

Draco was angry. He felt powerless. He wanted glory, respect. He wanted to be treated as a man, not a petulant child.

Draco did not like to loose. For almost six months, he channelled his anger into the only two things that he could. The first was his plot to kill Dumbledore. The second was 'the game'.

There you go. I bet you're wondering what exactly the game entails, are you not?

Don't worry – you'll get some story next. I promise!