Hey everyone, Stephanie from One and a Half Slytherins here. This is my first solo fan fiction and I'm looking forward to writing it! I really hope you all love it because i know i do already! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. The amazing J.K. Rowling does. Trust me, I wish i owned it! And now for Chapter one of A Perfectly Imperfect Pair.

A Perfectly Imperfect Pair

Chapter One: Ice Cream and Sugar Quills

The summer between their six and seventh year at Hogwarts had gone by particularly slow for Harry, Ron and Hermione. The same could be said for one brooding Draco Malfoy. His entire summer was spent listening to his father rant on about his disbanding from the Ministry and his suspected acts as a Death Eater.

Though the war that had occurred just shortly near the end of the last school year between most of the students and faculty of Hogwarts and Voldemort had ended indefinitely, there was still tension in the air of the Malfoy Manor that was so thick it could be palpable. Under normal circumstances Draco would have ignored his father completely, but something had come over him lately that had him irritated by the very sound of his father's voice.

One day in late August, shortly before the first term was to start, Mr. Malfoy was going on one of his rants in the middle of the living room.

"It's completely despicable you know. I believe that it's quite unreasonable of the minister to disband me from the Ministry. Complete rubbish considering the reasoning for it. Accusing me of being a Death Eater! I should've done away with him right then," Lucius growled as he paced around the large oval table that sat in the center of the room. Draco, who was lounging quite comfortably in the massive black leather chair reading the materials list he'd received from the school, blatantly said,

"Father you are a Death Eater. I suppose I should say you were a Death Eater considering the Dark Lord is now dead." His father snapped his head furiously toward him and said,

"That will be quite enough from you Draco. I suppose you think that now because your mark has faded you are no longer a Death Eater yourself, hmm?" Draco simply shrugged his shoulders and returned to reading the list. While his father raged on about how being a Death Eater wasn't something you could just do for a while then be done with, Draco was deep in thought.

It was never my choice to become a Death Eater in the first place. I'm right glad to be rid of that stupid mark. All it did was give me grief and itch constantly.

His father still talking in his ear, he stood up and retreated to his bedroom.

. . . .

"Hermione there's no way Malfoy could be a death eater. He's too much of a wuss. Besides, he wasn't even in the fight. Lousy jerk was probably hiding behind his father," Ron bickered to Hermione as they crossed the lawn. She folded her arms in front of her and said,

"That's the point, he wasn't in the fight. He was probably with Voldemort the whole time. You just don't want to believe it because you secretly fancy him." Ron looked horribly offended and rather loudly said,

"I do not fancy him! Malfoy's a right foul git and you know it! Maybe it's you who secretly fancies him!" Hermione blushed hard, her cheeks flaming red, and she smacked Ron's arm with all her might. He yelped and jumped away from her, rubbing his arm and swearing under his breath. Hermione smiled inwardly and put on a signature, Malfoy worthy smirk. After finding Harry and Ginny, they spent most of the night debating the possibility of Draco being a Death Eater, which helped the time go by faster.

The next morning, Errol came with the post, flying straight into the kitchen window as usual. They had all received their materials list from the school. Hermione however, received a bit more information. She tore open her letter and read it aloud to Ginny, who was the only one who seemed vaguely interested.

"Dear Miss Granger, we are pleased to inform you that you have been selected to be Head Girl during your seventh year. As well as yourself, Mr. Draco Malfoy has been selected to take the position of Head Boy. You are both to report to Professor McGonagall at the start of term to be briefed on your duties. Until then, we wish you a wonderful rest of your holiday and look forward to seeing you back at school in September. Sincerely, Head Master Albus Dumbledore." Harry and Ron had both tuned in and were now staring with their mouths gaping at Hermione.

"Malfoy is head boy? There's no way. That slimy git is nowhere close to being head boy material!" Ron said loudly, snatching the letter from Hermione's hands. Harry and Ginny voiced their opinions as well, but Hermione wasn't paying attention. She was too deep in her own thoughts to listen.

How could this happen. His father must have something to do with this. Maybe I'll write Dumbledore and ask what's going on. Or should I write Malfoy instead? This is all so strange.

"...and he can shove his wand right-" Ron shouted, but Hermione cut him off and said,

"Ronald I don't honestly want to know where Malfoy should shove his wand. I think I should write to Dumbledore and find out what's going on. I wonder if Malfoy's gotten the news yet."

"What's going on in here? I could hear you shouting from all the way upstairs!" Mrs. Weasley asked as she entered the kitchen. She sounded annoyed and looked even more so. They held up their letters and she sighed.

"Hermione is head girl this year mum. That's what all the racket was about," Ginny told her. Molly came over and hugged Hermione, congratulating her.

"Yeah, and you'll never guess who's the head boy," Harry added, handing her the letter.

"Draco Malfoy. What a strange decision on Dumbledore's part," she said after reading it. "Looks like you'll all be making a trip to Diagon Alley this week."

"Just us? I figured you would be tagging along as usual mum," Ron said, sounding slightly amazed. His mother glared at him then proceeded to say,

"I'll be busy all week getting ready to ship you lot off to school for the year, so you'll be going by yourselves. I trust that after seventeen years you can manage to keep yourselves in line for a few hours to buy your school materials." They looked between each other and nodded a few times.

"Good. Well, off with you all. Start packing your trunks. Your laundry should be waiting for you in your rooms." The four of them stood up and walked out of the kitchen towards the stairs.

After hours of helping Ron unpack, organize, clean and repack his trunk by hand, Hermione retired to the spare room to go to bed. She thought about the letter and got up, walking over to the desk to pull out a piece of spare parchment and a quill. She'd decided to talk to Dumbledore in person, so she was writing a letter to Malfoy.

"Malfoy,

In case you hadn't been informed, we're head boy and girl this year. It's quite peculiar to me, but nonetheless it was Dumbledore's decision. I hope to hear from you before the term starts regarding the matter. Until then, enjoy the rest of your holiday.

Hermione Granger."

Errol was sitting perched on the window sill when Hermione looked up. She gave it to him and said,

"Take it to Malfoy Manner, and try not to get lost please." He ruffled his feathers and hooted softly before taking off into the starry night sky. The view reminded her slightly of the view from the window beside her bed in the Gryffindor towers, except she was looking over a sea of grassy hills and valleys instead of the Black Lake. Hermione breathed in the fresh air, then walked over and turned off the lights before crawling into bed and snuggling up under the covers.

. . . .

The sun shone brightly through the open windows and beamed down over Draco. He lay shirtless on top of the blankets, asleep, the heat of the sun keeping him warm. The pleasant dream he was having slowly faded to an end as he woke up. His tousled silvery blonde hair hung down on his forehead, not quite long enough to cover his eyes. He sat up and saw the owl sitting perched on the window sill with the letter in its beak. It hopped in and dropped the letter on the desk before exiting back out the window. He stood up and stumbled over to grab it, then sat on his bed and opened it.

"Granger? What the bloody hell is she writing to me for?" he asked aloud. He read the letter, and then looked at his letter from the school he'd received the previous day. It did indeed contain another piece of parchment explaining his being chosen to be head boy, as well as Granger being head girl. This was the least bit thrilling for him, and seeing Granger's name made it even worse. He grabbed a piece of parchment and scrawled on it quickly, responding to Hermione's letter.

"Granger,

I am now fully aware of the situation and I can assure you I'm just as confused as you, possibly even more so. Dumbledore must be off his rocker, but that's Dumbledore I suppose. See you at school.

Draco."

He gave it to his owl and instructed it to take the letter to Hermione. He pulled on a pair of black slacks and a green shirt before promptly taming his hair and making his way downstairs.

. . . .

Ron, Harry, Ginny and Hermione all stood in their robes in front of the oversized fireplace. Molly stood behind them, nudging them toward it and talking at the same time.

"Now I expect you all to behave and go straight to the places you need. Don't lollygag or get distracted. Just go to the stores you need, then head straight back here. Understood?"

"We will mum, no need to worry," Ginny said confidently, reassuring her mother. They took Floo powder from the pot and and said 'Diagon Alley', promptly disappearing in a large burst of green flames.

The four teens emerged from the fireplace and brushed off their robes.

"Ok guys; let's get to Gringotts before the morning rush gets too bad. We should be out of here by noon if we go now," Hermione told them as they started walking down the cobblestone walk. There weren't too many people there, seeing as it was only nine in the morning. Ron and Harry yawned in unison more times than Ginny could keep track of, both still slightly grouchy for being woken up so early.

After Gringotts, they went to their stores to buy their supplies. Hermione had just bought Ron some sugar quills, knowing he had a nasty habit of biting the end of his quills when he was working, when she turned and bumped smack into someone. She dropped her bag and the box of sugar quills and bent over to pick them up immediately. She didn't notice who she'd bumped into until she looked up and saw a pair of gorgeous grey eyes staring down at her. She'd bumped right into Draco Malfoy. He handed her the box of quills and said,

"Sorry about that Granger, I didn't see you there."

Stop staring Hermione, for Merlin sakes!

She smiled and took the box from him.

"Thanks Malfoy. Did you get my owl last night?" she asked curiously as they exited the store.

"I did. I didn't find out until this morning though. I was quite surprised. I saw you walk in there and I figured I'd come tell you now. I already sent out an owl though, so you'll have a letter waiting for you," he told her.

Why is he being so nice? This doesn't make sense at all.

"So I suppose this means we'll be sharing a dormitory for the year then, seeing as we're both heads now," he said, breaking the silence. She nodded, remembering that the heads did in fact share a dorm.

Draco knew there was something different about her today. She seemed very suspicious.

"This must be really odd for you. I know I'm never usually this... well, for lack of a better word, this nice," he told her, once again breaking the silence. She looked straight ahead and said,

"Yes well, it does seem a bit peculiar."

"I'm just trying to be on good terms before the year starts. We don't need McGonagall barking at us all year to get along," he told her. This was true, for the most part. He also didn't want to be on her bad side. He could still remember how hard she punched in their third year, and didn't want to even begin imagining how much worse it would be now.

"That is a good idea. You really are smarter than I thought," Hermione said, laughing quietly at the face he made.

"You're not the only brainiac Granger. I just distract people with my dashing good looks to make myself even smarter," he boasted. Hermione smirked and said,

"Someone's full of himself again. Now that's the Draco we all know and lo- wait, never mind." He returned the smirk and said,

"You know you fancy me Granger, admit it. I'm just so irresistible." She looked over him and pretended not to be interested, when truthfully she was actually thinking about it. He was tall, handsome, witty, smart, and could be a total arse, but nevertheless, he was still decent. He had a bit of a build to him, but it was moderated evenly over him. Not too much muscle in certain places, but just enough to be noticeable. With as straight a face as she could muster, Hermione looked back at him and said,

"Nah, you're not really my type Malfoy. Nice try though." His eyes narrowed with determination and he stopped walking. She stopped and looked at him questioningly.

"Tell you what Granger. Why don't I buy you an ice cream and we can chat about this whole not being your type business? What do you say?" he asked casually, his voice tinged with determination. She smiled inwardly, keeping the smirk on her face and said,

"You're such a try hard, you know that?" He cocked his head slightly and looked at her questioningly.

"Was that you agreeing? Or am I eternally doomed to never find out why it is you don't find me irresistible?" he asked. Why did it bother him so much that she was being so guarded? He pushed the feeling out of his mind and focused on her answer. She closed her eyes, shook her head then said,

"Come on Malfoy; let's go chat about your irresistibility over some ice cream." A triumphant smirk spread across his face as they walked.

They sat facing each other in Florean Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlour across the road from Olivander's wand shop. The waiter had just brought them their ice creams when Draco began.

"So why am I not your type Granger? I mean, you do seem to like the less appealing group, but still," he asked her, sounding a bit sarcastic. Hermione blushed slightly and said,

"Less appealing group? What's that supposed to mean?" She eyed him carefully as he contemplated his answer. He smirked and said,

"Well you do spend almost all of your time with Potter and Weasley at school. I figured you fancied one of them or something. I can't possibly think of any other reason to hang around those two all the time." Hermione froze at the accusation, her cheeks flushed to a deep red. His eyes widened at the sight and he burst into laughter.

"Which one is it? It's Potter, isn't it?" he asked. She was silent, still blushing hard.

"Weasel? Seriously? You've got to be kidding me! Merlin Granger, what spell did he cast on you to make this happen? I've got to get it from him!" He howled with laughter until Hermione spoke over him and said,

"For your information Malfoy, I don't fancy either of them. They're my friends, that's why I'm always with them at school. You just don't like them."

"Why should I be nice to them when they never treat me with any decency? It's not my fault they hate me. He probably still believes the rumours that everyone spread around first year that all Slytherin's are evil," Draco complained. Hermione ate the last of her ice cream, then looked out the window. The sun was up and the streets were busy with all the morning patrons coming to purchase school materials. It had to be close to noon by now. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Draco watching her intently. She noticed every detail of his face because of the way the sun fell on it. His silvery blonde hair was pulled back mostly, but there were a few loose strands that fell down into his forehead, giving him a younger look. It looked almost white in the sun. She caught and held is gaze for a moment.

Her soft brown eyes lit up in the sun as he held her gaze, but he quickly looked away. He could imagine what his father would be saying to him right now.

"Draco what are you doing, talking to a filthy mudblood. You're disgracing the Malfoy name! We have an image to maintain!"

The thought of his father sent a chill up his spine.

"You ok Malfoy?" Hermione asked, breaking him out of his thought.

"Yeah, I'm fine Granger. I'd better get going though. My parent's will be expecting me soon, and my father will hex me into next week if I don't get home in time," he told her, sounding slightly disappointed that he had to leave. He left the money on the bill that had been dropped off at the table and watched as it disappeared. They walked out of the parlour into the sunlight and Hermione caught sight of her friends, waving to them before turning back to face Draco.

"So I guess I'll see you on the train then," she said, adjusting the bag that hung on her shoulder.

"Yeah, I'll see you on the train," he replied. Then he did something that shocked both of them. He reached out and hugged Hermione quickly. They broke apart, looking at each other awkwardly.

"Bye then," Draco said fleetingly as he walked away toward the Leaky Cauldron.

"Bye," Hermione called after him, her cheeks flaming red.