---
“Do you think I was a bit harsh last night?” Hermione asked her friend curiously as she took small glances at the Slytherin table, looking at Malfoy. She kept looking back and forth from Malfoy to Ginny.
“I’m sure Malfoy is forming a plan to humiliate you right now. He’s not the type to back down over some insult. He’s a stubborn ass but that’s what makes him . . . him.” Ginny explained with a small chuckle.
“Gee, that makes me feel a lot better. Now, Malfoy is planning to humiliate me, great!” Hermione said with fake happiness as she clasped her hands together. “I can’t wait.”
“Oh, come off it. I was just giving you an example. Malfoy is probably fine.” Ginny told her with a small grin.
“Yeah . . . how did your talk with Zabini go?” Hermione eagerly asked as she stared her friend down.
“Well, uhm . . . I wasn’t able to bring Malfoy up yet. I’m still working on that, first I just want to look friendly, you know?” Ginny asked as she looked away from Hermione, taking a liking at her plate.
“Oh . . . okay.” Hermione said as she slightly furrowed her eyebrows at her friend looking at her plate. “Do you like the plate or something? Why are you staring at it?”
“No reason.” Ginny dismissed it quickly and took a bite out of her toast.
“Right.” Hermione slightly puffed her cheeks and looked over at her friends with a small grin. “Do you guys need something? Why are you all staring at me like that?” She questioned Harry and Ron nervously.
“Hermione, I heard from Neville that you and Malfoy sat next to each other yesterday night during Astronomy.” Ron stated as he slightly glared over at Malfoy.
“Oh, that’s right. Why were you sitting with him?” Harry asked curiously as he stared at Hermione.
Hermione slightly gulped and pressed her lips into a straight line. “Uhm . . .”
---
“Is she staring at me?” Malfoy asked with a smirk as he continued to eat his breakfast.
“Yes, she’s looking back and forth from you to She-Weasel. Did something happen last night? You looked a bit upset when you came in last night.” Blaise said as he stared at his friend, waiting for an answer.
“Granger has an attitude and she has a lot of confidence . . .” Draco said quietly as he took a sip of his pumpkin juice. “I’m going to crush her and that big confidence of hers until she’s left with nothing but insecurity.” He stated with a smirk as he stared at Granger speaking with her friends.
“That seems really harsh.” Blaise said after a while.
“So did you talk to She-Weasel?” Draco asked, completely ignoring his friend’s comment.
“Uhm, no . . . not yet. I’m working on it. She has a bad temper so I’m planning on befriending her first before bringing Granger up.” Blaise stated.
“Okay, good.” Draco replied and suddenly felt someone’s hand on his thigh. He turned his head over to Pansy with a scowl. “What do you want?”
“You know, I heard something so funny last night. I heard you and Granger were getting close last night after Astronomy class.” Pansy stated with a soft giggle as she stared at Draco.
“Who told you that?”
“I’m not the only who knows, you know. There’s a rumor flying around that you and Granger are . . . dating. Everyone knows about it.” Pansy said with disgust as she pulled her hand back from his thigh. “You didn’t seem to deny anything, is it true, then?”
Draco smirked and stared at Blaise, Granger, then at Pansy. “Maybe I am dating her, maybe I’m not.”
---
Lavender looked at Ron and then at Hermione, immediately throwing daggers at her. “You must be over Won-Won then, seeing you’ve already found yourself another guy to drool over.” She stated with venom dripping from her voice.
“Excuse me?” Hermione asked with a small laugh. “You think I like Malfoy?” She asked with another incredulous laugh. “Malfoy sat down next to me because there were no more seats available so against his own will, he sat with me. All we did was fight so don’t get any wrong ideas.” She said and let her eyes pierce into Lavender’s blue orbs.
“Are you sure? There’s a rumor flying around that you and Draco Malfoy are dating.” Lavender said with a smirk.
Hermione opened her mouth to protest when a shriek cut her off. All heads turned over to Pansy and Draco.
“You’re dating that mudblood?! It’s true?!” Pansy yelled with outrage as she stood up from her seat, glaring at Draco.
Draco looked around the room to see everyone looking at them. He suddenly locked eyes with Hermione and a smirk started to crawl its way onto his lips. “Yes, I’m dating Hermione Granger.” He stated, announcing it to the whole room as he stood up. “Oh, and Pansy, I’d appreciate it if you didn’t call my girlfriend a you-know-what. I thought we had this talk earlier.” Whispers and gasps filled the whole room as every student pointed and stared. Hermione Granger stared at Malfoy with wide, shocked eyes and her jaw dropped wide open. Malfoy winked at her as he started to walk towards her. She felt a blush bloom across her face as everyone stared at her. She turned around and saw the shocked faces on Ron, Harry, and Lavender’s face. “Guys, he’s joking. It’s not true.” She told her whole Gryffindor table with a nervous chuckle. Suddenly, she felt a tug on her arm and turned around.
“We should get going, right love?” Malfoy asked her with a smirk as he stared at her, pulling her up.
Hermione glared at him as she got pulled up. “What are you trying to pull, Malfoy? It’s not very funny.” She told him sternly in a whisper.
“I’m laughing.” Draco said and grabbed her backpack, swinging it around his shoulder and winking at Hermione one last time before pulling her out of the Great Hall.
Hermione immediately protested as she tried to pull away from his grip but realized he was too strong for her. “Draco Malfoy! You let me go right this instance!” She yelled as her voice echoed throughout the whole room. “We’re not dating!” She yelled before Malfoy pulled her out into the corridor, away from the Great Hall.
Draco continued to pull her far away from the Great Hall but they could still here thousands of voices talking in outrage. Hermione continued to protest and finally grabbed for her wand. “Draco Malfoy! Let me go this instant!” She said sternly as she pointed the wand at him.
Draco looked behind him to see a wand pointed at him. He scoffed and without any warning, grabbed Hermione’s wand out of her hand. “I’m your boyfriend. You shouldn’t go around pointing your wand at me.”
“What are you trying to do? Us dating? That’s ridiculous!” Hermione yelled at him in disbelief. “It’s not funny.”
“I think it’s absolutely hysterical.” Draco stated as he let out a taunting laugh. “I guess I have the last laugh in this, huh?”
Hermione suddenly recalled back to yesterday’s encounter and scowled. “You are such an ignorant, pompous arse.” She accused as she started to hit him anywhere she could reach. “This is not funny!”
“Oh, but it is.” Malfoy said as he grabbed her wrist, stopping her from hitting him. “Ah, but Granger, you should know this. You promised to keep it a secret, didn’t you?” He said as he leaned in with a smirk. “I have a secret crush on you, remember?” He whispered at her and leaned back with his signature Malfoy smirk.
Hermione glared at him and stomped on his foot angrily, making him let go of her. She waited patiently as Draco yelped in pain. “Give me back my backpack and my wand.” She ordered angrily.
“Damn woman.” Draco muttered under his breath as he stood up straight. “No.” He said as he started to walk off with both her belongings.
“Draco Malfoy!” She yelled as she started to run after him. She realized he was already too far away to catch up to. She looked around the place and finally sighed. She took off her shoe and chucked it at Malfoy, hitting him right on the back of his head. She smirked and quickly ran over to him.
Draco rubbed his head and glared at Hermione. “You have great aim. You should try out for the Quidditch team. Gryffindor could really use a person like you; they need all the help they can get anyway.”
“Oh, shut up and give me my things.”
“I refuse.” Draco said as he stared at down at her with a glare.
“You’ve already humiliated me in front of the whole school!” Hermione yelled and felt the anger rise in her. “Give me my damn wand and backpack back!”
Draco smirked as he raised an eyebrow. “I didn’t know the goody-two-shoes spoke with such profanity. I never thought I’d live to see the day Granger use a curse word in a sentence.” He mocked her and scowled. “I would give it to you if you were actually being nice to me.”
“And why would I be nice to you?” Hermione asked with a scoff as she crossed her arms across her chest.
“Well, if you want your wand and backpack back . . .” He trailed off as he stared at her with one eyebrow raised.
Hermione chewed on her bottom lip as she glared at him. She dropped her arms down to her sides and sighed. “Malfoy . . .” She started and then quickly kicked him in the shin. “You’re an insufferable jerk.” She quickly retrieved her wand and backpack from him. She started to run off when she suddenly turned around, grabbing her shoe and quickly dashing off far away from him.
Draco groaned in pain and looked down in his hand. “Damn.” He cursed under his breath, for Granger’s wand was in his hand . . . which meant Granger had his. Malfoy mentally slapped himself and licked his dry lips. He looked towards where Granger disappeared to and sighed. “Lovely . . .” He mumbled with a frown and proceeded to walk to the Slytherins Common room.
---
Draco entered the dungeon and quickly sat down on the couch with a sigh. He stared at the fire in front of him with a blank expression.
“Well, well, well, looks like you made your way back here in one piece. I thought Potter and Weasley tore you into pieces by now. Congratulations mate!” Blaise Zabini teased his friend with a chuckle as he sat down next to Draco. He immediately realized Malfoy didn’t react to his statement, no scowl or smirk. Something was definitely not right. “Did something happen?”
Draco sighed as he held up his hand with a wand on his palm. Zabini raised an eyebrow at his friend with a what-the-hell-does-a-wand-have-to-do-with-this? He sighed and looked down at Malfoy’s hand to see an unfamiliar wand. “Oh . . .” He sighed and looked up at his friend. “Whose wand is this?”
“Granger’s.” Draco spat out with anger and closed his fingers in to make a fist, holding onto the wand. “She has my wand.”
“How the hell did that happen!?”
“She doesn’t know she took my wand instead of hers . . . or at least I don’t think.” Draco explained and frowned. “You’d think since she’s called the smartest witch of our generation, she’d know the difference between her wand and mine!”
Zabini stared at his friend for a while and immediately burst out laughing. Draco immediately shot daggers at his friend and scowled. “What the hell are you laughing about?” Draco asked his friend with a glare.
“It’s just . . .” Blaise forced himself to calm down but couldn’t help but to let a few more laughs escape his lips. “You got your wand stolen by Granger. How in the world did you let her take it?”
“She kicked me in the shin, I was obviously busy.”
“Enough with the excuses! Just look on the bright side of this whole situation.” Blaise told him and cracked a small smirk. “You can use this chance as an advantage.”
Draco furrowed his eyebrows and slowly let a smirk replace his frown as he realized what Blaise was talking about. “You are brilliant. No, I’m brilliant for thinking of a plan but you get credit for helping me realize it.”
“A simple thank you would’ve been nice.” Blaise said with a straight face.
“No, that’s not necessary. I acknowledged your presence here, isn’t that enough?” Draco asked but meant it as a statement. He quickly stood up with a wide smirk. “I’ll be off now.” He started to walk towards the door.
“Where are you going? You just got here? Pansy has been crying up in her room ever since you left with Granger! She needs some comfort!” Blaise yelled. “She’s asking for you and she won’t stop complaining until you’re there!”
Draco stopped in front of the door and turned around. “She’ll get over it like she always does but if she’s bothering you, shut her up yourself.” He told his friend and walked out before Blaise could even open his mouth.
“Selfish bastard.” Blaise commented under his breath as he sneered.
---
Hermione walked into the Gryffindor common room with a groan as she muttered curses and other rude things that people shouldn’t say to others. She threw her bag down on the ground and furrowed her eyebrows as she let out a small frustrated yell. She didn’t realize she had an audience and looked over at the couch to see Harry, Ron, Ginny, and Lavender sitting there. “Didn’t see you there.” She said awkwardly as she slowly picked up her bag, slinging it over her shoulder.
“What happened during breakfast?” Harry asked her with his arms crossed.
Hermione made her way towards the couch and sat down slowly. “Before we get into anything, I just want you guys to know Malfoy was just putting on a show to get back at me for humiliating his Quidditch team.” She explained with a stern voice.
“When did you humiliate their Quidditch team?” Ron asked curiously as he raised an eyebrow.
“That . . . is a different story but it’s irrelevant to this conversation.” She quickly said and sighed. “Look, I’m not dating Malfoy. There is absolutely nothing going on between us. We’re simply fighting like always. There’s nothing romantic about it.” She told them with a small grin.
“We know you’re not stupid to even consider dating that guy.” Harry said with a small grin as everyone else agreed except for Lavender who just scoffed.
Hermione let out a relieved sigh and smiled. “I’m glad you guys didn’t believe him. I mean, it’d be crazy if I dated him, right!?” She asked them with an incredulous laugh as she took out her wand from her robes to turn on the fire. Right when she took it out, they all stared at her with a weird expression. “What?”
“Whose . . . wand is that?” Ginny asked as she raised an eyebrow at her friend as she pointed to the unfamiliar wand.
“What are you all talking about?” Hermione asked with a small laugh as she looked down at her wand. “It’s obviously my . . .” Her voice trailed off and she gasped as her eyes widened. “Oh my god!” She yelled as she dropped the wand.
Ron reached over and grabbed it as he examined it. “Hey . . . wait, isn’t this Malfoy’s wand?” Ron asked Harry as he handed it over to his friend. Harry looked at it with his eyebrows knit together in confusion. He handed it back to Hermione slowly. “Why do you have his wand?”
“I thought you said there was nothing going on between you two.” Lavender stated matter-of-factly with a smirk.
Hermione quickly grabbed the wand and stuffed it into her bag. “You know what?” She asked in a hurry as she got up, walking to the door. “I need to get my wand back.” She told them and quickly left before anyone could stop her.
All four of them exchanged glances and looked back at the door to where Hermione disappeared to.
“I thought she said there was nothing going on between her and Malfoy . . .” Harry said with a confused look on his face.
“Yeah . . . but why did she have his wand?” Ron asked in a daze as he furrowed his eyebrows.
“And if there was nothing going on . . .” Harry started to say and turned to Ron.
“Then how did their wands get switched?” Ron and Harry said in unison in confusion.
Lavender simply smirked and slightly laughed at Hermione’s action. “Well, obviously she lied to you guys.”
“Hermione would never lie to us.” Ron said as he chewed on the inside of his cheek as if he was starting to doubt what he said.
Ginny sensed exactly what was happening and spoke up, “Well, you heard her. They’ve been fighting so obviously they started to fight and maybe perhaps their wands got switched. Come on guys, Hermione is a smart girl. She would never get herself romantically involved with Draco Malfoy.”
“You’re right.” Harry said as he nodded his head.
“And if I were you, Lavender, I would just shut my mouth because I don’t know anything about Hermione.” Ginny snapped at her brother’s girlfriend with a glare. “Just do what’s best for you . . . I have a bad temper you know. You never know when you’ll get hit by one of my hexes because of your stupidity.” She warned her and sighed as she looked at the time. “Well, I’ll be taking my leave. I promised Luna I would see her in the library.” She said and left the common room leaving Lavender shocked.
“Are you just going to let your sister treat me like that?” Lavender asked Ron with big angry eyes.
“Well, I . . . uh . . .” Ron looked over at Harry for help who just put his hands up in the air as if he was trying to stay out of the business.
“You’re on your own on this one, mate. Besides, I promised Neville that I’d help him with Quidditch.” Harry said and quickly left the awkward atmosphere.
Ron looked over at Lavender. “Just let her be, she won’t actually hex you.”
“Are you sure about that?” Lavender asked with a glare. “You should really learn to control your sister.”
“I’ll handle it.” Ron told her reassuringly and slightly grinned at Lavender who just glared at him, crossing her arms across her chest. “Lavender, don’t be like that.”
“Whatever.” Lavender said as she looked the other way, clearly upset.
Ron sighed and rubbed the back of his neck nervously. “Lav-Lav . . .”
---
Hope you enjoyed! Please vote / drop a comment :)
Thank you,
Annie