What am I doing?

Who am I?

Why?

What is this...

What am I doing?

"What am I doing?" Hermione said out loud, her thoughts bursting to the surface of her mind finally.

Draco just looked at her, kind of freaked out-looking.

Not that she blamed him for that.

"I'm sorry, I was just being a little weird," she said to him, trying to forget whatever the heck had just happened, trying to think that it had never happened. "We really should go to the game, you'll need votes and all that if you want to win."

"Oh... So you saw the note?" Draco questioned her.

"And the glass," she added. "Next time, clean it up yourself. I'm not your maid, you know."

"I'm sorry," he answered. "Hey... I'm apologizing! To you!"

"Is that so strange? Compared to everything else that's happened?"

"No, not really. But it's kind of funny, in a weird way," Draco replied.

"Yes, well, whatever. I'm not the one who has a fear of cats."

"I do not..."

Hermione raised her eyebrows and crossed her arms, staring at him, daring him to finish.

"Okay, I'm a little cat-phobic. So what? At least I'm not some psycho-freak who isn't sure whether or not she's herself half the time!" he blurted out abruptly.

Then he looked up at her.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Hermione. I didn't... This is just so strange! I can't... Isn't this weird?"

"It's fine," she said shortly.

And then she laughed.

It was funny, their whole situation was so funny, wasn't it?

Hermione collapsed on the couch and laughed some more, then sighed.

"I like this," she said.

"What?" Draco looked at her oddly.

"I like how this is, this whole set-up. I don't want it to change. It's crazy- well, not really, anymore- but I don't want you to be replaced. I don't want you to leave. I like you here."

He was still staring at her.

"I'll put in a word with Professor McGonagall, maybe I can convince her to just let you stay on. Or at least for you to... I don't know. Something."

"Really?" Draco managed to say after a few moments.

"Really."

"So we don't have to drag ourselves all the way to the door, down the hall, outside, to the game, just to get in some useless argument about who should have won?" he said, almost excitedly.

"I guess so," Hermione answered with a small smile.

"What do you want to do now, then?" She could tell by the look on his face just what he wanted to do, so she chose the opposite.

"We could drag ourselves all the way outside to take Crookshanks for a walk," she suggested brightly.

"Or we could lock him in your room and throw away the key!" Draco added.

"Or we could lock you in your room and throw away the key."

"You really like that cat, don't you?"

"Of course I do! I just don't see why anybody would be afraid of him! I mean, he's a fluffy little creature of superior cuteness and intellect," Hermione informed him.

"I say he's a fluffy little creature that's plotting to take over the world as soon as we fall asleep," Draco answered persistently.

"I thought that was the Slytherins that were doing that," she joked.

Draco frowned. "They are. But they never get far because they start arguing and fighting with each other... Huh."

"What?"

"If we wanted to take over the world, do you think we could?"

Hermione thought for a minute. "Well, with my and my cat's superior intellect and your... cunningness? Whatever you have. With both, I think it'd go pretty well."

"Okay, so it's settled. We'll not go to the game and instead plot world domination with your cat. Shall I go get us a map?" Draco asked her.

"No... watch this."

"Huh?"

"Just watch."

So he watched as Hermione pointed her wand at the one blank wall in their tower, and it turned into a canvas of swirling colors and lines and letters. After a minute they all settled into a world map.

"Wicked," he breathed.

"I know, right?" Hermione actually grinned. "Okay," she said to the map, "focus on Britain."

The map zoomed in and did what she said.

"Again, wicked."

"Okay, so if we start in Britain, first we'd have to take one of the bigger cities, so, London..." Hermione started to say.

Then Crookshanks appeared from behind the couch, and he went to Hermione. Her eyes lit up when he ignored Draco and rested at her feet in a ball of soft fur.

Draco tried not to take a step back, but he did wish he were invisible to the cat.

And so the two- well, three, I should say- plotted and argued and laughed together, and all was well.

All was well.

Then the golden snitch burst through their window and they both jumped to their feet in alarm.