DISCLAIMER: Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, Harry Potter, etc; its world, and other characters © JK Rowling. I am not making any money from this fanfiction, and wrote it purely for free entertainment. And because my shipper feels came back in a sudden rush.

A/N: The premise and 'romance' of this ff (slow route) is actually for one of my short stories/comics, but oh well. Guess it'll be a D/H ff now hahahaha

chapter 2

Hermione didn't see nor hear anything about Malfoy until their double Potions class two days later. He looked worse for the wear, with dark circles on his eyes, his hair unkempt, and his necktie lopsided. Ron had openly laughed at the surly Slytherin, and Crabbe and Goyle didn't hesitate to threaten him with bodily harm.

"Ten points from Gryffindor for instigating a friction between houses," Professor Snape walked in between the two parties.

With heavy feet, the Gryffindors filed in the room along with the smug Slytherins.

"They're always the ones starting a fight," Ron whispered harshly once they've chosen a desk at the back of the room. "Dumbledore should really look into how unfair Snape is."

"Your essays," Professor Snape waved several sheafs of parchment in the air and began returning them to their owners. "Appalling, as usual. With all your loud proclamations of grandeur and prancing about as if you own the place, one would assume the Gryffindors have the intelligence backing all that confidence up."

Hermione did her best to keep on a neutral expression instead of joining Harry and Ron's scowls. She had always perfected her assignments and tests in Potions. As much as Snape actively tried to put them all down, Hermione knew he couldn't effectively shame them and their house down to the ground.

"Disappointing," Snape said with disdain as he handed Hermione her paper that he had marked 'A'.

Hermione's expressionless face contorted into fury.

"At least you still got an A," Ron said as he crumpled his paper. "You'd think he always gives D's and T's until you look at Hermione's paper."

Hermione's hand shot up in the air, barely missing Harry's glasses.

Snape ignored her and started with his lecture, but Hermione wasn't ready to give up. She knew her essay on the properties and samples of practical application of mungworms deserved nothing short of an O. Even when her arm was getting numb a few minutes later Hermione refused to back down. Snape was unfair 99% of the time, but he graded objectively on written tests and homework. There was simply no way she could have gotten just an 'A'.

An hour and a half later, Hermione had to march down to Snape's desk to ask about her grade.

"Your research is outdated," Snape answered shortly before returning to cleaning the board and his desk with several flicks of his wand.

There was no way her research could have been that of poor quality. Hermione had access to the same reference books and materials as other students and she had even consulted with both Hagrid and Professor Sprout. So why? Why was Snape suddenly targeting her?

Malfoy wordlessly dropped a small vial of his potion on Snape's table before leaving the dungeon with Crabbe and Goyle. He didn't so much as glance at her, and for a moment Hermione felt sorry for his clearly bedraggled state. Was this the reason why Snape was particularly unforgiving today? His favorite student was having problems and he's empathizing with Malfoy?

"Why are you still here?" Snap looked down at her coldly. "Leave before I deduct more points from Gryffindor for loitering."

"But sir," Hermione tried once more. "My essay—"

"Thirty points from Gryffindor," Snape gritted his teeth. "Now leave before I make sure your house disowns you for bringing your points down to zero."

There were several ways how people would vent out their anger and frustration, but the most popular ones were to engage in either food binges or violence.

Hermione chose both as she viciously forked her dinner while grumbling every insult she could come up with to curse Snape with. At first Harry and Ron were supportive of her move, adding their own colorful choices of words in between chewing their food, but eventually they stopped as they realized that Hermione's rage ran deeper and it would take more than ranting out for her to calm down.

"Uh, Hermione?" Harry tried calling her attention a few minutes later. Most of the students have finished with dinner and were either just hanging out in the Great Hall or have left for someplace else. "Aren't you done eating yet?"

Hermione threw her fork down and grabbed her bag, bumped into the table as she got to her feet and caused the bench to fall back with a loud bang as she tried to leave. Still fuming, she all but threw the bench back up before stomping on her way for the door where her bag swung wildly and hit Malfoy on his leg.

"Watch where you're going," Hermione snapped, and Crabbe and Goyle were quick to answer back with their own glares and knuckle-cracking.

There was a sound of hurried footsteps, and Hermione's anger faded into cold fear as she saw Professor McGonagall walking down from the professors' table towards them. Harry made a move to pull Hermione away to escape any sort of punishment, but Malfoy defeated him and dragged Hermione away with him towards the upper floors. Harry and Ron let out protests, but were forced to stay as Professor McGonagall caught up with them and demanded to know what was going on between the two and Crabbe and Goyle.

Hermione had never thought of Malfoy as having hearing problems as he always seemed to be around, ready to eavesdrop or sneak just to catch her and Harry and Ron off-guard and get them in trouble. But the guy never gave any reaction to her shrieking into his ear or hitting his arm as Hermione desperately tried to be freed from his grasp. Several students stared at them as they passed by in a hurry, and Hermione thought with dread at what the gossip vine would come up with the next morning.

She only stopped threatening hexing off every part of Malfoy's body starting with his head once the guy yanked her inside the library.

What was Malfoy up to now?

Hermione decided to wait until Malfoy finally stopped at the same corner where they had had a weird conversation not too long ago. He pulled out a chair dropped into it, his head resting on one of his hands. Waiting for the guy's explanation but not wanting any more trouble, Hermione remained standing but still facing him.

"You can sit, you know," Malfoy said in mild irritation.

"Tell me why you dragged me all the way here, first," Hermione said.

The guy ran a hand through his hair, the pale strands limp and lifeless by the candlelight. Letting out a sigh, Malfoy got back to his feet.

"I've talked to Snape about your essay," he said. "He said he'll reconsider your grade if you return the paper within this week. I can give it to him for you if you want."

Hermione eyed him with suspicion.

"Why?" She asked. There was no way Malfoy would willingly help her.

"Bloody hell, Granger, can't you just stop distrusting me for once?" Malfoy said. He then stuck out his hand. "Give me your damn paper and I'll hand it back to Snape."

Hermione pushed her bag behind her. "What do you want in exchange?"

"I swear Granger, sometimes you try my patience too much."

"If you haven't been such a pain since our first year at Hogwarts then I wouldn't treat you like this!" Hermione hissed.

"Even Slytherins are capable of change, Granger," Malfoy said. "Now give me your paper or do I have to steal it from you?"

Ten minutes later, Harry and Ron ambushed her in the common room and kept a spot for themselves near the fireplace.

"What did the bastard do?" Ron asked. "I swear I'll smash his face so hard—"

"He asked for my Potions paper," Hermione answered.

Her two best friends stared at her, and Hermione nodded empathically. She then explained what had happened in the library, and in the end both Harry and Ron were just as confused as her.

"Definitely suspicious," Ron broke the silence a few minutes later. "What the hell's playing at?"

Harry looked thoughtful for a moment, but then paled and shook his head vigorously, as if convincing himself that what he had thought of was downright impossible.

"What?" Ron asked as he rested his elbows on his knees.

Hermione was curious as well. What was Harry thinking?

"Aah, well, it's ridiculous, really," Harry said, avoiding Hermione's gaze.

"Harry, we've just had a long conversation about the impossible thing that had happened," Hermione said. "What is it?"

"Well…" Harry scratched his head. "What if— What if— he…"

"What?" Hermione snapped, her patience wearing thin.

"W-What if he likes you?" Harry finally said.

Hermione and Ron gaped, and then shook their heads simultaneously.

"Harry, I think you need some sleep," Hermione said as she patted his shoulder.

"Somebody probably slipped something in his drink," Ron nodded sagely.

"He asked her to go with him on the next Hogsmeade trip," Harry reasoned. "He never attempted to threaten her with blackmail, and he even went to appeal to Snape regarding Hermione's grade. With how much he looks stressed out, it's the only other possible explanation."

"Unless his father's making him do something for You-Know-Who," Hermione said.

The three shared dark looks.

The following morning, people gave Hermione curious looks as she went down with Harry and Ron to the Great Hall for breakfast. Whatever gossip that had spread, she just hoped it didn't cause people to attack her. Rita Skeeter was an easy target as she was just one person, but Hermione couldn't possible be able to concentrate on her schooling while keeping an eye out for each and every person who would cause any harm to her, whether physically or verbally.

She was contemplating just abandoning her toast and going on ahead to their Defense Against the Dark Arts class when a screech owl landed beside her plate and stuck out its leg. Harry and Ron looked on with interest as Hermione unwound the string and took the rolled parchment.

"It's your homework!" Ron exclaimed, pulling it closer. "And Snape's marked it 'O'!"

Hermione glanced at the Slytherin table. Malfoy had his back to her, and so she couldn't gauge his reaction or how he was feeling that morning.

"I suppose I have to thank him later…" Hermione muttered.

"We can go with you if you want," Harry said.

"Yeah," Ron nodded. "In case he finally reveals his plans."

Hermione nodded in agreement. Despite Malfoy's words and actions she still didn't trust him, and having Harry and Ron nearby was for the best.

After huddling together and coming up with a plan, Hermione prepared her small note and folded it neatly into two halves. Just as the three of them have planned, they got up from their table as soon as Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle left theirs. The two groups didn't acknowledge each other on the way out of the Great Hall, which was quite a surprise as Malfoy usually had an insult or three headed their way. Malfoy didn't give any indication that he noticed a small piece of paper make its way to the pocket of his robes.

Now all that's left to do was to prepare for their meeting that Saturday.

The library was out of the question as Hermione didn't want to risk Madame Pince banning her from coming back if things got tough between their 'meeting'. Picking an empty classroom was no good, either, as there were few hiding places for Harry and Ron and there were still a lot of school property they could damage—something that Hermione wasn't keen on letting pass by.

So they were left with somewhere on the grounds, and in the end they settled on the old, rickety bridge at the back part of the castle property. Not too many people frequented there, and if a fight broke out they had plenty of places to run for cover at or escape to should a professor arrive.

Care of Magical Creatures class was an uncomfortable period later that afternoon, and Hermione did her best to avoid looking at the direction of Malfoy or his friends. She had no idea whether Malfoy had read her note or not, and she didn't want to see his reaction at the moment.

"Move, Granger," Parkinson walked up next to her. "Or have you gained so much weight you'll need ten people casting levitating charms on you?"

Rolling her eyes, Hemione moved on to the other side of the young golden unicorn she was grooming. There were plenty of other unicorns in the pen, all thanks to Hagrid, but why was Parkinson partnering up with her?

"I thought you were highly intelligent despite being a mud— muggle-born," Parkinson said with a low, though still casual, voice.

Hermione kept quiet. She rarely let Parkinson's and her fellow bullies' insults get to her, and she wasn't going to start now.

And there she was, thinking that perhaps Parkinson would start being a tad more civil after what happened at Hogsmeade and before their Potions class a few days ago.

"If you're worried about getting bullied for going out with Draco, don't," Parkinson continued. "We're not going to treat you like a damn princess," Parkinson spat the last word in disgust. "But people close to Draco respect any decision me makes, no matter how absurd they may be. Just remember to not let it get to your head."

Hermione stared at Parkinson in shock, who looked back at her with an irritated expression.

"What are you looking at?" She said.

Hermione dodged behind the unicorn's head and resumed brushing its mane. Was Parkinson seriously reassuring her? Or was it another effort to catch her and Harry and Ron off-guard?

Hermione frowned. It was getting more and more ridiculous to hold on to the notion that Malfoy was planning something against them, but she just couldn't shake off the years of distrust she had concerning Malfoy and his friends.

"We're not pitch black through and through, Granger," Parkinson said. "We may hate Gryffindors, but we're also people capable of considering exceptions and going through some changes. And Draco… well, he started being a damn fool longer than you think."

Parkinson threw her brush in a bucket and picked it up. She gave Hermione a hard look as she walked over to her side.

"If you decide to not give him a chance, don't worry," she said. "As much as I'd want to hex you in support of my friend, I won't. Just don't piss me off. Same goes for Crabbe and Goyle and even Blaise."

And with that, she left.

Come Saturday morning, as Hermione stood alone near one end of the bridge, thoughts of her conversation with Parkinson kept disrupting her mental review of all the hexes and charms she knew. Harry and Ron, on the other hand, were hidden nearby, ready to assist should Hermione need help.

When Hermione had shared what had happened during Care of Magical Creatures class with Harry and Ron, even Ron was starting to get convinced that maybe— maybe— Malfoy really was just asking her out because he liked her. They then decided that the appointed meeting couldn't come fast enough, just so everything would finally be over.

"Getting tired of the library, Granger?" Came Malfoy's drawl. He still looked like he needed more sleep, though he wasn't as bad as yesterday.

"Thought I needed the fresh air," Hermione said. It wasn't a complete lie as she was mostly indoors the whole schoolweek, and Malfoy only shrugged his shoulders in response and turned to look somewhere else.

"Why did you call me out here?" He asked.

Hermione glanced behind Malfoy. Crabbe and Goyle weren't anywhere as far as she could tell, but Malfoy could have easily had them hide somewhere.

"Thank you for helping me get a proper grade," Hermione said. "Snape seemed determined to insist that I only deserve an 'A'."

"He's just being unreasonable, as always," Malfoy said.

Another silence came between them, and Malfoy rubbed the back of his neck.

"If that's all," he said. "Then—"

"Wait," Hermione stepped forward. If Malfoy wouldn't answer her truthfully, then maybe she could try forcing it out of him with the help of some spells she had just reviewed.

Malfoy looked at her sideways.

"What is it?" He said, his tone tired, as if he already knew what Hermione was about to ask.

"Why did you do it?" Hermione asked, and Malfoy let out another heavy sigh.

"Again, Granger?" He said.

Hermione clenched her fists. She'd have to try a different questioning route.

"You don't look alright," she said. "You've been highly stressed these past few days. If you're having problems, helping out one of the people you hate the most should be the least of your concern."

"I don't hate—" Malfoy turned to her fully. "Look, I did it for no other reason than just to help you. That's all. I'm not expecting any compensation, and I have no plans on using it against you."

He let out an irritated sigh and turned to leave. Hermione knew what she was about to do could very well be her downfall, but Malfoy had helped her twice already, and with the guy seemingly suffering from something it was only polite to offer the same courtesy.

She grabbed him by the sleeve of his shirt when he didn't stop walking despite her calls.

"I don't know if I could be much of any use, being a Gryffindor and all," Hermione said as she stood before Malfoy. "But… But if there's something I could do to help with your problem, then you can ask me."

Malfoy looked at her quietly, and then let out a small laugh.

"Granger," he said as he stepped back. "You sure you want put that offer on the table?"

Hermione's fists tightened. She was getting closer. Either Malfoy would reveal his true plan, or he truly was capable of being a decent human being once in a while. She didn't want to dwell on the possibility that he honestly liked her. That was ridiculous. He had never shown any interest and there was no reason for him to feel that way towards her.

"Depends on what you ask for, of course," Hermione replied.

"Then you're useless," Malfoy waved her away with one hand and sidestepped her.

She quickly blocked his way. "Try me."

"Trust me, you'd refuse to do it in less than a second," Malfoy said. "Hell, you've already rejected me once."

Hermione's frown deepened. Was he talking about the Hogsmeade trip?

"Why did you ask me to go out with you?" Hermione said. "If you give me a good reaason, then I'll go along for one day. But one day only!"

Malfoy looked back at her unbelievingly, then let out a short laugh.

"Granger, you really haven't been asked out by anyone else after that Bulgarian's Yule Ball invitation, have you?"

"Can you shut up about that?" Hermione said hotly. "And what's that got to do with anything, anyway?"

"I simply want to go out on a date with you," Malfoy said. "I'm not asking you to be my girlfriend, not immediately. I just thought maybe, just maybe, we could work."

Recalling her conversation with Parkinson about people changing and Slytherins not being 'evil' throughout, Hermione finally understood what was going on.

Draco Malfoy was the son of Lucius Malfoy, one of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's most prominent followers. With the dark times coming closer and closer, Malfoy and his friends must have felt that they'd rather fight against You-Know-Who and his Death Eaters rather than take part in their campaign of terrorism and genocide. With prejudice and distrust strongly against them, Malfoy most likely thought that the easiest way to get on Dumbledor's side was to be friends— or at least be civil— with people outside of their House and their pureblood peerage.

"I see," Hermione finally started to relax. "Malfoy, I don't know what inspired it, but I admit I'm impressed by your willingness to befriend someone who you've treated as an enemy since first year. Alright, we can hang out for a day."

Malfoy stared at her once more, and leaned on the railing for support as his shoulders slumped.

"Granger, people are always blabbing on about how you're the smartest witch of our time," Malfoy said. "But you… You're actually a lot slower than you think."

And then he left.

Miffed at another insult against her intelligence, Hermione walked back to where Harry and Ron had been hiding. They were both pale and still in a state of half shock, and Hermione gave them an impatient 'What?' as she tapped her foot on the stone floor.

"You don't really think he actually wants to go out on a genuine date, do you?" Hermione said incredulously.

"Hermione, if that guy isn't depressed about his family situation or his future," Harry said.

"It's gotta be love-life-related," Ron blanched.

Harry scratched his head.

"What now, Hermione?" He asked.

Hermione refused to think that she was slow in any sort of way. It wasn't her fault that she didn't trust Malfoy's words on the surface, and who could blame her for thinking he was only out for extending a hand for friendship, using a 'date' as an excuse since she's a girl? Dark times were fast approaching, and if someone related to the dark side of the war was genuinely converting then she was all for it.

She found Malfoy on his way down to the dungeons. Wasting no time, she yanked him by his collar and pulled him all the way to the library. It was now her turn to take an uncomfortable seat and Malfoy's turn to remain standing.

Hermione let out a small cough to break the silence between them. She really didn't get to plan anything as she hurried back to the castle, her mind occupied with her ranting, and now she had no idea how to start a conversation. Should she tell him that sure, she'd go on a real date with the guy, or should she ask why of all people did Malfoy decide to ask her out?

It was very much obvious that Harry and Ron didn't like the idea of Hermione going out with Draco. However, considering what had happened during the past few days, the two told Hermione that whatever answer she came up would be supported by them. They just made her promise to not do any PDA while they were around.

As for her answer…

"I was going to ask you out for the Yule Ball," Malfoy spoke up. "But that Bulgarian got to you first and… well, I couldn't decide fast enough if I should take the risk or not."

Hermione stared at Malfoy, who now had taken a seat near her. There was a slight tinge of red on his cheeks, but Hermione figured it was just her brain playing tricks on her.

"As for when I started considering it, it was sometime late in third year, I guess," he continued. "That punch shook up my brain a tad too much, seems like," he smirked. "Then spent the following years swinging back and forth from denial to extreme interest. If you're gonna ask me for more specifics, you're pushing your luck."

He then let out a short sigh. He did that a lot these past few days, Hermione noticed.

"Now what?" He asked.

Hermione leaned back on her seat.

"Then let's try it," she replied. "Let's see if we can be friends first, and then decide from there."

She didn't think it was possible, but after recovering from shock, Malfoy slipped on a seemingly genuine smile along with a relieved sigh.

"A-And we don't have to wait until the next Hogsmeade trip," Hermione continued. "We can start trying to be friends now."

"Alright," Malfoy said as he stuck out his hand. "Sounds like a good plan."

Hermione shook hands with him, and finally she felt safe enough to smile back at the guy. She may have been at odds with Malfoy since their first year at Hogwarts, but she decided that perhaps it wouldn't be too bad to at least try to be friends.

"Can't wait to see Professor Snape find out," she smirked.

"Too late for that," Draco said as he leaned back on his seat as well. "Why do you think he gave you that low grade?"

"Typical," Hermione scoffed. "He's the Head of Slytherin House, so I guess that's no surprise."

"Actually," Malfoy said, rubbing his hand uncomfortably. "He did it because he found out about your first rejection."

"O-Oh, I see," Hermione said, dreading whatever mother-in-law-ish actions the Potions master would do in the future. "So, uh…"

Hermione fiddled with the side seam of her pants. She had just agreed on being friends with Malfoy with a conscious effort to maybe get together with him, but indeed she hadn't really been asked out by anyone else apart from Viktor Krum. It definitely would have been easier if a Hogsmeade weekend was coming up, but as it is she didn't really know what to do. Her grumbling stomach wasn't helping.

"Want to walk through the gardens?" Malfoy suggested.

"Uh," Hermione said. "Can we grab some food first? I kinda skipped breakfast."

Malfoy let out a smirk as he got to his feet.

"Good idea," he said. "Might as well let everyone know as soon as possible to not bother with you."

"I'm not eating at the Slytherin table," Hermione pushed her seat back to the table.

"Granger, you want your future boyfriend to get castrated at the Gryffindor table?"

"Got your confidence back, I see," Hermione commented dryly.

"Maybe my godfather could arrange a special table for us," Malfoy started walking.

"Don't you dare," Hermione gritted.

END

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