A/N: Well, when you read this I've probably just finished posting Stop Calling Me Malfoy. So, to celebrate the end and thank all of my reviewers, I have started another Dramione fic. This one will be a little slower, although it's hard to predict where my pen will take me, but it will be fun anyway!

This fan fic was inspired by the fan fic Hand In Hand, by Procrastinator-starting2moro, and (kind of) by Linked, by Philyra912.

Anyway, I know that this first chapter is rushed and not written beautiful, but I needed to drive straight into the plot. Stick with me! And I am aware that some characters are OOC, like Hermione with her swearing, but she's just upset, and kind of lonely. And another warning, there is major swearing. Well, not major, but enough so that I had to rate this teen.

Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Stop asking me.

Magnetic Attraction

Chapter 1: Loathing So Strong

Hermione had once again spent her lunch break in the library, preparing for class. As head girl, she needed to be in control of her grades, that was if she wanted to keep her position. Just the idea of the look on Malfoy's face if she ever got sacked was just too frightening. So she curled up in an alcove and did research on the Charge Switching spell.

The Charge Switching spell was fascinating, and Hermione was able to ignore the rumbling of her stomach with ease. When cast on a pair of magnets, it would reverse their charges, so they would become attracted to each other, or visa versa. It would come up on the NEWTS, she was sure of it, so she reviewed the material repeatedly. They had gone over the concept in Charms the previous day and today they would use it for the first time. She had to be sure she could perform it properly. Not once had she ever met a spell she couldn't do, but this altered the elemental substance of the magnets themselves, and would be much more challenging. What would Malfoy say if she couldn't do it? Stupid ferret would laugh his ass off, and then do it perfectly just to spite her. Oh how she loathed him. Why did he have to be head boy?

The bell rang, signaling the end of lunch. Reluctantly Hermione slid the textbook into her bag and exited the library. She tried to wrestle her hair into a half suitable ponytail, but the frizzy mess wouldn't comply, and she ended up with just a narled elastic band, and very matted hair. What was that straightening spell Lavender used? Hermione drifted off into thought and didn't notice Peeves was following her, carrying a gigantic glass vase. Not one student had the guts to pull the head girl out of her thoughts to warn her of the impending threat that floated above her, mainly because the poltergeist would get his revenge later on.

She turned a corner to enter a short cut hidden behind a tapestry, which would bring her up several stories, when the spirit dropped it. There was no one in the hidden stairway to help her get the large thing off her.

"Peeves, I swear one day I will bloody kill you!" she wailed, but he was long gone, off to celebrate his victory. Feebly, she pounded on the glass, but it didn't break. "Hello? Anybody? Can somebody help me?" The class bell rung. She was late for charms. "Oh bloody fuck!" She pulled out her wand and yelled, "Reducto!" The glass shattered and fell in a circle around her feet. She continued cursing as she ran up the steps and bolted to her lesson.

When she entered the classroom, all eyes turned to her. Hermione Granger wasn't late to class often. It was like the sighting of Lockhart with a frown.

"Sorry I'm late Professor. I got into a run in with Peeves on my way here," she told Professor Flitwick calmly. He nodded placidly.

"No trouble, Ms. Granger. Take a seat." She turned to face Harry and Ron, but Lavender was in her seat. Masking her dismay, she turned to see the only empty seat was next to Malfoy, who was picking at his nails, his blond hair falling across his eyes. Ron and Harry sent her apologetic smiles, but she ignored them as she sat down next to the smirking devil, who ignored her as well. Great, just great. Harry and Ron had forgotten to save her a seat again. Wonderful. The trio was more of a duo these days. Puberty had lead the boys to band together while Hermione sat off to the side. As she spent afternoons in the library, they went on double dates with Ginny and Lavender, whom Ron had gotten back together with. They had forgotten about her a lot lately. Flitwick resumed his lecture but Hermione couldn't concentrate. Malfoy, who found it entertaining to watch her face wrinkle as she thought, noticed. He could see the worry lines crowding her forehead, just as he could see the tension in her posture, and the loneliness in her eyes. He lowered a scrap of parchment onto his knee so no one could notice and jotted down something, before folding the paper into a square. He flicked it into her lap.

It jolted her out of her trance and stared down at it fearfully. Great, now the ferret was trying to talk with her. With a second glance around to see no one was watching, she unfurled the note and skimmed it.

Is that the fifth of the sixth time this week they've forgotten you? Oh, that sadistic bastard. It was enough to know you were loosing your friends, but to have your enemy point it out was just low. She grabbed her quill and responded without thinking, then slid it across the table so it rested in front of his on the desk. He uncurled it nonchalantly, but his eyebrows shot up as he read its contense.

Go to fucking hell you bloody asshole. A sly grin spread across his lips. She crossed her arms defiantly, thinking of ways to kill him without getting sent to Azkaban.

Oh, did I hit a nerve? Who knew mudblood Granger could swear? Hermione glared at him through her bushy hair and didn't reply. That fucking pureblood bastard! Flitwick was now walking around the room with a cardboard box, giving out sets of magnets.

"Since this is such a complicated spell, work with the person next to you and perform the spell together, to heighten your chances of succeeding." He placed two magnets in front of them. Just to focus her anger without giving Malfoy reason to smirk, Hermione glared at them instead. "So just remember the incantation is attractiano reversare." The students around them began to work, but she didn't move. He snickered and prodded the two circular magnets with his wand.

"Attractiano reversare," he drawled, and the two magnets shifted but didn't separate. He growled at them and Hermione stifled a bitter laugh. "Try it with me, mudblood, we need two people." She bristled. "Oh, did I hurt your feelings? Are you gonna swear again?" Stupid sarcastic bastard.

"Attractiano reversare," she hissed at the magnets, but like Malfoy, nothing major happened. She gasped, realizing that it was too hard for her.

"I'm telling you, we need to do it in unison. Maybe then you'll be able to do something as simple as split magnets." With a cool sense of satisfaction, he watched as her eyes became glassy with unshed tears. "I'm sure even Weasel can do this." Fucking asshole with his stupid blond hair.

"Do I need to remind you that you can't do the spell, Malfoy? What would dear old dad say if he found out? But oh, wait! He's dead!" His smirk slid off his face. She did not just go there, stupid mudblood know it all.

"Don't talk about things you don't understand, Granger. Now on the count of three." She sighed and pointed her wand at the magnets. "That is if you can count, Mudblood."

"I have the feeling I'm not the one who should worry, I doubt that math was a subject of discussion at Death Eater meetings." Oh god, I hate you, thought Malfoy, trying to focus his energy on the magnets.

"Well, I did count the number of times Weasel and Golden boy forgot about you, so I do have practice." Oh god, I hate you, thought Hermione. "1… 2… just so you know, this next number is the one we go on."

"Thank you for clearing that up."

"3."

"Attractiano Reversare," they both yelled, and a jet of purple light came out of both their wands. Instead of heading toward the magnets, however, it changed direction halfway there; they headed to each other, creating a beam of light between them. It disappeared quickly, and Malfoy growled in frustration at the untouched magnets.

"Damn it Granger, what did you do?" he asked, turning to face her. She was just as upset. "Well, let's try again and don't sass me when I'm-" he stopped talking as a pull startled him.

"What the fuck is that?" Hermione stammered, gripping the sides of her chair as her body tilted itself over towards him as if he were a magnet. But he couldn't reply, as his chair lurched to the side and tipped over, bringing her down on top of him. He landed on his back, smacking his head on the floor. She struggled to pry herself off him, but her body seemed to decide otherwise.

"Ack, get off me!" he yelped into her hair, trying to push her off, but there seemed to be some sort of magnetic pull between them.

"What do you think I'm trying to do?" she wailed. "Harry! Harry help me!" She gripped the leg of their table and managed to extricate herself from his lap, but he slid toward her as if someone was dragging him by his ankle. "Crap, Professor! Professor!" Malfoy mimicked Hermione and clung to a table leg as Harry, Ron, Professor Flitwick, and most of the class surrounded them.

"Stay calm and touch her leg, Draco," the short man urged, looking bewildered but delighted. Malfoy looked up at him in horror. "Just do it, it should focus the attraction!"

"What attraction? There's no attraction!" Malfoy protested, but the desk he was hanging onto collapsed and the leg broke off, causing him to scramble franticly for something else to hold on to.

"Oh, honestly!" Hermione growled before wrapping her hand around his ankle. The pull subsided, but when Malfoy tried to wrench himself from her grasp, it came back full force until she grabbed it again. "Professor, what on earth happened?" Flitwick shrugged, but couldn't hide his sly smile.

"It seems you have reversed your own magnetic fields! I suppose that you hated each other with such a passion that the spell went to you instead of the magnets! This has never happened before! How remarkable!"

"Excuse me? This isn't remarkable, it's horrible! Reverse it! Reverse it!"

"I don't think I can, you two cast the spell." Malfoy reached over Hermione for his fallen wand and she switched hands to seek her own. They pointed them at each other, both wearing matching grimaces.

"Count of three," Hermione asked, her voice racked with panic.

"Yeah, whatever. 1… 2… 3 Attractiano Reversare!" Nothing happened. There was no jet of purple light or any noticeable change. Malfoy scowled at the teacher, as Hermione hesitantly removed her hand. Bad idea. They both slid toward each other, cloaks getting caught on the wooden floor. He grabbed her hand and it stopped. Hermione winced; she'd gotten a splinter on her leg. "Well, what now?"

"I suppose you two should go see the headmaster, he'll think of something to do." Something about his tone scared her deeply, and was remarkably suspicious. Malfoy seemed to be on the same page.

"So there's nothing you can do?"

"No, but Professor Dumbledore will surely know how to help you. You should go see him, you have proven your ability to perform this spell, so you will not be missing anything."

"We have to walk up there like this?" Hermione hissed, holding up their entwined hands. "You can't be serious!" Flitwick gave her a sheepish grin and nodded. "All right, fine." She stood up and yanked Malfoy up with her, smoothing down her uniform skirt with her free hand. At least he didn't have stick hands like Ron. "I'll see you two at dinner," she told Harry and Ron as she passed them, looking at them for the first time. They were laughing. Wonderful. She stalked out of the room, wondering what she had done to deserve this. Malfoy tottered on behind her, struggling to keep up with her panic-induced speed.

"Wo, chill Granger!" She whirled around, quite a mean feat seeing as they were still holding hands. When he saw her face he struggled to stifle a quiver of fear. Last time he had seen her so angry she had smacked him.

"Chill? You expect me to chill?" she growled, her voice steady. "Did it occur to you that we may be stuck like this for a while? Did it?"

"I've been trying not to think about it," he answered, his voice cool.

"Yeah, well maybe you should. What about NEWTS? What about sleeping? What about bathing for bloody sake?" Her cheeks were burning a vibrant red, and a small stream of tears was glazing her skin. "Who cares if this only last a day? Either way, I would rather this never happened! This is humiliating!" She turned back around and continued marching up the empty corridor. He tugged his hand from hers with some difficulty because of the magnetism and moved it to her shoulder quickly, already punishing himself for what he was about to say.

"Look, don't take this as me being nice because I'm not trying to comfort you, but I'm sure we'll be fine. The crazy old codger will help us out and we can forget this ever happened. And even if we don't get out of this immediately, we'll work it out. I assure you on my honor as a Malfoy and as a pureblood that we will get out of this ASAP." She gave him a half-hearted glare, but sniffed and nodded. "So let's get this over with and go back to loathing each other, ok?" A small laugh escaped from her mouth before she could stop it.

"All right ferret, let's go." He removed his hand from her shoulder and began to walk, but didn't get far before they both stumbled over and landed once again on top of her on the ground. He groaned and found her hand, before pulling him off her. He helped her up reluctantly and they started on their was towards Dumbledore's office once again.

"I am never going to get used to that." Why is he being nice? Hermione thought.

"Hopefully you won't need to." Are we having an actual conversation? Apparently. It felt weird to be holding hands, she realized with a start. Well, sure he was Malfoy, but he had a gentle grip, unlike Ron, and a warm one, unlike Harry. And he was handsome. He was a git, but at least he was hygienic. And he smelled nice. Well, I could have been stuck with someone worse, like Goyle.

"So how long have Potty and Weasel been ignoring you?" Scratch that whole thing.

"Excuse me?"

"I'm just trying to make conversation." She sighed and chewed on the inside of her cheek to prevent herself from telling him where he could stick his conversation.

"Well, make conversation about something that is your business."

"Can I talk about quidditch?"

"No." Stupid Granger and her stupid lack of respect for sports! He stepped aside so she could ascend the flight of steps before him.

"Can I talk about quadpot?" he asked, just to annoy her. It worked. She scrunched up her nose and glared at him.

"No."

"Can I talk about racing brooms?" HE loved watching her get angry. All of her hair got really fuzzy for some reason, and her pupils widened.

"Let's just not talk, ok?"

"Fine." So they walked on in silence, until Malfoy found a new way to annoy her. He swung their clasped hands back and forth as they walked, slowly at first but he gained speed until they made a full circle. Hermione was trying hard not to notice, but was failing miserably.

"Oh would you just stop?" she finally snapped, and he stopped.

"But I'm bored!" he whined, dragging out his last word.

"What are you, two?"

"Maybe my mind, but my body's all man," he responded with a suggestive wink. She swore she felt herself vomit in her mouth and gagged pathetically for several seconds. "It must be killing you that you can't storm off right now."

"You have no idea." They had reached the stone gargoyle, and she added, "Blow pop." It jumped aside and Malfoy followed her onto the stairway.

"What is a Blow pop anyway? It sounds saucy," he observed. She ignored him. Lightly tapping on the door, she wondered why on earth he had been made head boy.

"Come in!" Dumbledore called softly, and she took a deep breath and pushed open the door, Malfoy following along behind her. The elderly man sat behind his desk and watched them sit down in front of him, never letting go of each other's wrists. He said with a twinkle in his eye and a note of amusement in his voice, "Well, this is a surprising turn of events."

"Excuse me?" Malfoy started, a little slow on the uptake.

"Oh no no no Professor. We had an incident in charms. When practicing the Charge Switching spell something odd happened and now our bodies are… for lack of a better word…" she trailed off, beginning to blush.

"Attracted to each other like magnets. Flitwick said you could help us," Malfoy finished for her, absentmindedly stroking Hermione's hand with his fingers. Dumbledore nodded, still smiling.

"Professor Flitwick, Draco," he corrected, watching as Malfoy glared at him. "Well, that is most interesting. Did you try to simply switch the fields back?"

"Of course. Well, what should we do?" He sat in silence, just beaming at them. For once both Hermione and Malfoy wanted to smack him. "Do you have a counter curse or something?"

"I'm afraid there is nothing I can do, Hermione. For the current time I suggest you two deal with this to the best of your ability." She stared at him in shock, unable to voice her opinion. Shit.

"Deal with it to the best of our ability? Are you insane? Do you realize how strong this is?" Shouted Malfoy, raising their hands.

"I assure you, I understand completely. I have faith in you two, and I trust you can handle this with poise in dignity." Malfoy opened his mouth but Hermione started talking before he could.

"Professor, we can't separate! What should we do when we need privacy?"

"I'm sure you two will learn to deal with it accordingly. Now I apologize, but I was on my way to a staff meeting and I must say goodbye." With that he stood up, his blue robed falling gracefully around his frame. Malfoy was livid.

"You can't just leave! What do we do!" he yelled, trembling with anger and shock. But Dumbledore strode over to the door, pulling it open. He turned, his hand on the doorknob and said,

"I'm sure your lesson has ended. I'll see you at dinner," before sweeping out the door. He closed it behind him. Hermione's mouth hung open. The blond next to her stood up and franticly ran both hands through his hair, once again forgetting about their attraction. Almost immediately he was jerked into her lap, and she stared up at him, still stunned. He groaned, grabbed her hand, and stood up.

"What now?" he asked. She had no idea.

A/N: So, like? Hate? Give me feedback! Was Malfoy too nice? I was a little worried about that… Anyway, review and add me to your story alert list. Teaser?

She nodded feebly, eyes still shut. Tentatively, he raised his free and ran a finger over her jaw. She surprised him by leaning into his touch. Yes, Granger is lonely, he realized sadly, pulling his hand away.

Anyway, I'll see you later.

Oh wow, ten pages in word! Final word count: 3446 (long!)