An Unlikely Pair

Chapter 1

Draco slammed his Potions book closed and leaned back in his chair. "Finally!" He said loudly.
"Shhh!" the librarian shushed him angrily. He shot her a dirty look, but she had already looked away. He rolled his eyes and turned back to his books. He had finally finished his 4 foot long Potions essay which was due tomorrow. Plus, it had only taken him 3 hours...He started gathering his belongings when the door to the library swung open. He turned to see who it was, then whipped back around before she could notice him: Hermione Granger. He hated her kind; his whole family did. She was a mudblood, a Muggle-born. The Malfoys were purebloods, and always had been. Granger was such a smart-aleck, bossy, and worse, she was always hanging around Potter and Weasel. And yet, there was something about her that made Malfoy just the slightest bit attracted to her. Maybe it was her bushy hair, usually pulled back into a ponytail (he had always secretly liked her hair), or maybe it was her smile. It lit up the room, with those perfect white teeth, or maybe it was...Malfoy shook the thought away disgustedly. He was pulled out of his fantasies when he heard someone yell his name...and rather loudly too. He swiveled in his seat to see who it was.
"MALFOY!" Malfoy jumped up from his chair, knocking it over in the process.
"Granger!" he yelped. Hermione ignored the annoyed shushes from the libraian as she stops in front of Malfoy, who was currently on the floor after getting tangled in his chair.
"Good Lord, Granger, what was that for?" Draco fumed, picking himself up from the ground and dusting off his robes.
"Please explain to me why you were staring at me...dare I even say...with a dreamy look in your eyes?" Hermione said, outrage clear in her voice.
"Dreamy? Oh, God, what put that idea in your head, mudblood? Are you so desperate for a boyfriend that you had to imagine me going all googly-eyes on you? Well, i hate to be the one to break it to you, but unlike you, I am not that desperate," Malfoy sneered. Hermione opened her mouth, closed it, then spun around on her heel and stalked out the door. Draco yanked up his fallen chair and shoved it into the desk. He walked out before he could catch the librarian's steely glare.

Hermione stomped into the Gryffindor common room and threw her books onto the nearest couch, which just so happened to be the one Ron was sitting on.
"Oi! Watch it!" He huffed.
"Sorry Ron," Hermione apologized. Harry, who was sitting right across from Ron, walked over and say next to Hermione. She was seated by Ron, arms crossed, and had a frustrated look on her normally calm face.
"Malfoy again?" he asked gently. She nodded rapidly. Harry sighed. "'Mione, we are 16 years old, not 9. Use your words."
"He called me a mudblood again," she mumbled under her breath. Ron sighed this time, exasperated.
"Hermione, speak up for God's sake! We can't hear you!"
"He called me a mudblood again!" Hermione said loudly. "There, is that better?" she muttered.
Harry rolled his eyes. "Hermione, I know it hurts your feelings, and it bothers is too, but I think you just need to learn to ignore him. Just...let him think he is superior to you. Ignore him and eventually he'll leave you alone."
"Alright," Hermione said slowly. Harry frowned inwardly. Had he detected a hint of reluctance in her tone? He shook his head. Hermione Granger? Like Draco Malfoy? No, absolutely NOT possible.
"Harry? Are you ok?" He jumped, then realized Hermione and Ron were looking at him curiously.
"What?"
"You just had this weird look on your face...like you just saw something gross or something," Ron told him.
Harry reddened. "Oh...well, um...I was deep in...thought."
Hermione laughed. "I'm sure you were! Well, I have to go talk to Professor Snape about my essay. I'll see you guys in the Great Hall tonight!" With that, she bounced off toward the door, seemingly in a much better mood than she had been in 10 minutes ago. Ron watched her go, shaking his head.
"Girls and their moods," he said.