Hermione Granger was not pleased. Upon starting her seventh year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, she had learned that there were three things that were going to ruin her year as Head Girl: Draco Malfoy, the new Head Boy, the fact that she had to share a living space with him, and Dumbledore's decision to put on a play about a love story starring the Heads.

"Act two, scene one. Action!" "Nathan, I love you." Hermione said, facing Draco, practically choking on her lines. "There's no way I'm kissing her!" He said, completely out of character. "No bloody way." "Draco," said the director, otherwise known as Gwyne, a previous Hogwarts student, "It's not that big of a deal, and it's not real, it's acting. Alright, Hermione, from the top." "Nathan, I love you." Hermione said. Draco leaned forward. Hermione leaned back.

"Granger, I'll make you a bet. I don't gel my hair, and you don't wear your uniform so... buttoned-up." "Excuse me?" Hermione said, offended. "Your uniform. You always button up even the top button of your shirt, with even your cloak like that. And your skirt is practically past your knees." "My skirt?" Hermione said, pulling her skirt down a bit farther from her seated position. "It's fine." "Sure. But the deal is that I don't gel my hair if you don't wear your uniform like you do now," Draco said, confident she wouldn't take the bet. "Fine," Hermione said.

"You get worked up, like that," Draco said, snapping his fingers at 'that.' "I do not!" Hermione said angrily, "You're doing it now! And I didn't even do anything! But, say, I did this," Draco said, pushing Hermione lightly backwards onto the common room couch. "I could understand if you got upset." "Well, say I did this," Hermione said, getting up from the couch and kissing Draco. "Now if I did that," Hermione said coolly, pulling away. "I could definitely see you getting upset."

"You kiss people without letting them know you're going to!" Draco was looking at her intensely, waiting for her response. "I... uhm...," Hermione was lost for words. "I don't know what I was thinking when I did that," she said finally, quietly. "You were thinking that you wanted to show me up," Draco guessed. "Or you wanted to make me mad. So... I guess you..." "Kissed you." "Yeah," Draco said with an intense expression.. "I guess you were feeling kind of angry." "Angry?" "Yeah. You were yelling at me." "Yeah," Hermione said softly. "Angry."

"God, Hermione, we're not dating! Your little Weasley can have you!" Draco shouted. "Yeah, but I... I don't want him," Hermione said quietly. "Not like that anyway." "You know what? I could really care less about you and Weasley. It doesn't matter to me." "I know, but... but you've got to stop kissing me if he's ever going to forgive me." "And if I don't?" Draco said with a smirk. "Then I... I...-" And she was cut off by his lips on hers. "Because," he said, pulling away. "I don't think I'm going to."

The scene to which Ron opened the portrait hole in the Heads commonroom was not one he would have liked to remember. It was not one at which he would laugh at a week later. It was a scene he would look back on and feel a stab of jealousy and hurt so intense that he'd have to catch his breath. The kiss that he walked in on, a kiss Draco and Hermione shared, would replay in his mind over and over for weeks on end.

"Just leave her alone," Ron said. "Or what? Are you going to make slugs come out of your mouth if I don't? Or fall off your broom, perhaps? Or maybe you'll-- "You heard what I said, Malfoy." "Weasley, you hadn't had a chance with her in the first place." "Malfoy!" Ron yelled, and lunged at him. And this time, Hermione wasn't there to warn him of what a bad idea it was, or tell him that Draco wasn't worth it.

“Hope, if I ever hurt you it wasn’t intentional. I don’t understand what’s going on but I know that if I ever lost you it would be the worst day of my life.” And as Draco said this, Hermione felt something inside her jump, and she spoke her line with a quiet calm.
“Really? Because I hurt more than I ever have before.”
And as Draco stared down at Hermione, he couldn’t for the life of him recollect his next line.