"This is getting ridiculous," Draco drawled loudly. He brought out his wand and stunned Ron Weasley directly in the chest.

"Malfoy!" Hermione shrieked furiously. She took a few steps toward Ron, who was out cold on the floor of the dungeon where they had just met Draco.

"No! Wait," Draco said, pulling her back by her arm and spinning her around to face him. "It won't do to have him awake."

"And why is that?" Hermione asked, folding her arms across her chest.

"Because I bloody well want to talk to you," he exploded. "You know I have. For the past week." She had been smart enough to continue her patrol with Ron, in order to avoid any more run-ins with Draco.

"Oh really?" Hermione asked with raised eyebrows. "Why is that? Want to erase my memory again?"

"No," Draco scoffed. "What makes you think-"

"Malfoy," she cut him off. "I can put two and two together."

Draco stared at her for a moment. "Right," he conceded grudgingly.

"What is it you wanted to talk about?" Hermione asked.

"Well, I wanted to know why you haven't told any teachers about..." he trailed off.

"...your failed attempts at both seducing and hexing me?" Hermione offered helpfully. "And your obvious previous success judging by the fact that I cannot remember what exactly happened one night a few weeks ago and the fact that I had a mark on my neck-a hickey, to be blunt-that you all but took credit for. I can only hope that the hickey was the only thing besides hexing me that could have left any sort of mark..."

Draco suddenly pressed his fingertips against her mouth. "Yes, all of that is exactly what I was talking about."

"Well," Hermione sighed. "I was hoping we could leave things how they were-just a romantic interlude in the dungeons and a failed attempt at a memory charm," she trilled happily, and rather sarcastically. At seeing Draco's still unconvinced face, however, she added, "I don't want to be enemies with you. I thought we might just let it alone and pretend it never happened. I thought you wanted the same thing until you began following me around this past week and attacking my friend."

They both looked down the hallway at Ron, who lay spread-eagle on the slimy dungeon floor.

"So you really don't have anything against me?" Draco asked suspiciously, bringing the attention back to the two of them.

"Of course not," she said, "I promise."

They stared at each other for a moment.

"So why is it you were trying those spells out on me anyway?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, you know," Draco said lamely, his eyes darting down the corridor evasively.

"Was I just the easiest target or was it something personal?" Hermione questioned further.

Draco looked absolutely horrified. "No!" he said loudly.

Hermione studied him with a small smile. Then she firmly said "Draco Malfoy, you tell me the truth. I deserve it after all the stunts you've pulled."

Draco scowled down the hall, his gaze flitting casually over Ron. He looked back at Hermione, his face sour and pale. "Well," he started slowly, "well, listen, I know that my repulsating hex didn't really backfire and make you more attractive, alright?"

Hermione didn't really know what he was talking about. She couldn't remember this ever being an issue, but, being one of the brightest at Hogwarts, she knew when to keep her mouth shut.

"You were good-looking to begin with and I just wanted to...I don't know...talk to you, I guess," Draco finished, curling his lip at her as if she was the opposite of something that could attract his attention that way.

"But, Malfoy," Hermione persisted. "There are plenty of other attractive girls at Hogwarts on whom you could have taken out your adolescent feelings."

"Ya, but none of them are quite the best-looking girl in school, are they?" Draco asked very angrily, getting up so close to her face that there noses were almost touching.

Hermione stared at him wide-eyed for a moment. When he didn't say anything more, she let out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding. "Well," she started bossily, "that's still no reason to hex me."

"Maybe you're right," Draco admitted, "but it is reason to do this-" and with that, he pulled her head in for a kiss, making sure it was not hard enough to scare her away but strong enough to explain exactly how he felt. Hermione softened almost instantly against him. She seemed to have made up her mind to enjoy the interlude without putting up a fight. While they kissed each other, finding out for the first time what it would be like to have both parties participating fully, Ron still lay stunned on the ground.

Hermione pulled away after a few minutes. "So that's it?" she asked. "You picked on me because you had a crush?"

Draco nodded and grinned, pulling her lower body closer against his.

"Well," she said, "that's very sweet." Then her smile turned into something colder, more calculating, and less affected by Draco's warm body against hers. "So tell me, what did you plan to do? Have sex with me? Become my boyfriend? Renounce all of your stupid pureblood doctrines? Marry me?" she asked pointedly.

Draco blanched, looking almost as stunned as Ron. His arms were still about her waist but they weren't pulling her in as tightly as before.

Hermione looked at him regretfully, shaking her head in mild amusement. "Because agreeing to all of that is what it takes."

"To get you?" Draco choked out, still caught off-guard by her use of the word marry.

"No," her face broke out into a true smile. "To get out of this situation with your memory intact."

Draco stared. "What?"

Her wand was out before he knew it. One minute, he was facing her wand, the next, everything was swept clean with a simple "obliviate."

Draco Malfoy blinked a few times at Hermione Granger, who stood with her hands on her hips. "Go on," she said. "Back to your common room before I give you a detention, and no more following me around," she warned in a no-nonsense voice, "if you don't want me to tell the Headmaster you stunned Ron."

Draco walked back to his common room, confusedly stepping over the prone figure on the floor. Hermione revived Ron. The next time Draco and Hermione spoke, it was at a ten-year Hogwarts reunion where Hermione was very nice to Draco, very successful, and very married to another, more mature Slytherin, named Blaise Zabini.