Disclaimer; I don't own Harry Potter or any related characters.

A/N Ok here is the other story I have been working on. Like 'Reunion' it will be a slower updater. Sorry, but it's not flowing like it should and I have made many edits. The story and chapters just got titles tonight! Lol. I hope you all like it. Happy Reading and don't forget to review.

The fight

Hogwart's school of witchcraft and wizardry had never seen the likes of their current head boy and girl. Draco Malfoy and Hermione Granger. It was over a month into the school term and every encounter between the two of them had ended badly. They fought over common room space, bathroom schedules and who was going to enter the portrait hole first. There was never in the school's history two people who just could not get along like the two of them.

Draco sat on the sofa in the common room pouring over his transfiguration essay. He was determined not to come in second to that Mudblood this year. His father had made him swear that he would not come in second yet again on his deathbed. And he was determined to make that happen. His eyes blurred from reading in the dim firelight. He lit his wand with a simple 'Lumos' and held it close to his book, taking notes and then writing sentence by sentence on his already 3 foot essay. He heard a commotion coming from upstairs. More specifically, the head girl's room. He had watched her and that red-headed weasel go up there over an hour ago. He shuddered to think what the two of them were doing, but his fears left him when the tall, lanky weasel ran down the stairs and slammed the portrait hole shut. He looked at his watch. It was nearly ten and time for them to do their weekly patrols. She came down the stairs a moment later, eyes wet with tears. She tried to blink them away so that he would not see them.

"Ready?" she asked him with an unsteady voice, barely more than a whisper.

"Yeah." he said standing up and stretching. He grabbed his robes and threw them on over his clothes and shoved his wand in his pocket. They walked out of the portrait hole together, but at a distance befitting of them. The corridors were empty as they walked them, wands aloft and lit ahead of them. Not a single soul roamed around after hours that Friday night, so by the time midnight came they were both exhausted, not only from walking, but from boredom. Draco looked at his watch again and nodded to her. This had been the first time on patrol that they had not argued over something. The first week it was because Draco had let some of his fellow Slytherins off with a warning. This had infuriated Hermione who was very adamant about following the rules set forth by Dumbledore. The following week Draco had been 15 minutes late for patrols and she had gone red in the face and yelled until he walked out the door while she was still yelling. And then last week he had caught a small girl from Gryffindor, couldn't have been more than a second year, out one minute past curfew. He had taken 20 points from Gryffindor without a second blink. She argued that he had let some of his friends off with a warning, and that this girl should have been given the same consideration. He shrugged his shoulders and walked away from her yet again. But this week was different. Possibly because they hadn't found anyone out doing anything wrong, but also because her demeanor had changed that night. She seemed different, sad. Not that he cared about her, but her attitude had made patrolling bearable. They found themselves in front of their portrait hole and he muttered the password. The Lion and the snake in the picture looked at each other and nodded before swinging open. Hermione ran up to her room without another word. He went to their small icebox and took out some pumpkin juice and a sandwich. He sat in front of the fire and ate his snack before retreating to bed. And that was the way it was. Fighting or ignoring each other. And that was just fine with him.

Upstairs however, Hermione was miserable. She lay on her bed staring up at the ceiling. Patrolling had drained her of all energy that night. And she had fought with Ron earlier that evening. She thought about that fight and replayed it over and over in her mind;

"Hermione, what is the matter with you?" Ron asked, narrowing his eyes at her as she buttoned her shirt and smoothed her hair.

"I am just not ready Ron, I have told you that before." she stood up and walked to her dresser grabbing a hairbrush and trying to tame her locks. "I want us to put our friendship first Ron. I don't know what I would do if we broke up and were no longer friends. That's why I want to take things slowly. I thought you understood."

"I do understand, but every time I kiss you, every time we start to get intimate you pull away like I repulse you. Do you know what that does to a man's self-confidence?" he asked annoyed.

"I have told you again and again that it is not you. Dating your best friend is a tricky thing to attempt. I want it to work, but you have to go more slowly. I mean we have been together for less than a month. I don't want to jump into the physical side of this. Don't be hurt." she said sitting next to him and running her hand through his red hair.

"I love you Hermione, I hope you know that. But I don't know how much longer I can wait for you. I have been waiting since we were eleven." and with that he walked out the door leaving a stunned and sad Hermione sitting on the bed. Tears fell from her eyes, and she quickly tried to hide them before she had to go on patrols with Malfoy.

She did love Ron, but she was not going to lose her virginity with someone until she was ready. And that was final. But she planned on surprising him the next morning with a trip into Hogsmeade for a butterbeer and some shopping. She would wake early and head for his dorm. She closed her eyes and fell asleep almost immediately.

The next morning she woke up early and dressed very carefully. She put on a red cable knit sweater that hugged her curves and a pair of boot cut blue jeans and some brown leather boots. She pulled her hair into a long plait at the back of her head and headed out of the portrait hole humming to herself as she walked up the stairs to Gryffindor tower. The fat lady greeted her sleepily and being head girl she knew all of the passwords. The portrait swung open and allowed her to enter. She ran up the staircase that led to Ron's dorm. He shared a room with Harry, Dean, Neville and Seamus. All of their bed hangings were pulled tight and she heard Ron's consistent snoring as she neared his bed. She pulled the bed linens back and saw him sleeping soundly on his back. She smiled.

"Ron." she said softly, trying to wake him. Then out of the corner of her eye she noticed a stirring under the covers, and some caramel hair peeking out of the sheets. Her face became red and enraged as she pulled the covers off of Ron and his mystery guest. There, sleeping soundly next to Ron, her boyfriend, was Lavender Brown.

"RONALD WEASLEY, YOU HAD BETTER GET YOUR SKINNY ASS UP OUT OF THAT BED THIS INSTANT!" She yelled. Several of his dorm mates looked out of their bed hangings, rubbing their eyes and trying to focus on the cause of the disturbance. Ron opened his eyes slowly.

"Cool it mum, I'm getting up now." he said before sitting up and realizing where he was and who was yelling. His ears went red and Lavender grabbed the sheets trying to cover herself as she was only wearing a scant nightie.

"Hermione, what are you doing here?" he had the nerve to ask her.

"WHAT AM I DOING HERE? WHAT IN THE NAME OF MERLIN IS SHE DOING IN HERE? IN BED? WITH YOU?" she yelled until her throat hurt.

"Uh…" he tried to think of an excuse but none came.

"Nothing to say now? I just can't believe you would do this to me." tears fell down her cheeks.

"I have needs Hermione, you pretty much as spelled it out to me last night that you were not interested in a physical relationship. So…" he stopped when he realized Hermione was gripping her wand.

"So instead of waiting for me to be ready you decided to take up with this ready-made whore? This is unbelievable." she huffed.

Harry, Neville, Dean and Seamus were peeking out of their bed hangings watching the couple have a very public fight. Lavender sat in stone silence, watching Ron and Hermione go at each other.

"Well maybe if you had given me an ounce of affection this would not have happened." he spat. Lavender looked hurt.

"YOU ARE TRYING TO BLAME THIS ON ME? YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING. I CAME TO SURPISE YOU, TO GO INTO HOGSMEADE AND SPEND THE DAY TOGETHER, BUT I SEE YOU HAD OTHER PLANS. SO SPEND THE DAY WITH HER, I HOPE THE TWO OF YOU ARE VERY HAPPY." she said before storming off towards her own common room.

Draco was just getting up when he heard the portrait hole open and then slam shut. He had just enough time for a cup of coffee and a bite in their kitchenette before heading off to quidditch practice. He threw on his practice robes and ran down the staircase. Granger was sitting on the couch, sobbing in hysterics. She was staring intently into the fireplace. She didn't even look up when he bounded down the stairs. He looked at her oddly before grabbing a bagel and drinking his coffee in one gulp. As he neared the portrait hole he couldn't help but glance back at her. He did not want to have to share a common room with a sobbing fool.

"Oi, Granger everything alright?" he said leaning on the door.

"Yes." she said in barely a whisper. He shrugged his shoulders before heading out towards the quidditch pitch.

Two hours later he returned dirty, sweaty and tired. He hoped Granger was over her fit of hysterics and opened the portrait hole just enough to look in. She was still seated on the sofa, but her face was no longer red, and she was not sobbing. Good sign. He opened the door and walked up the stairs to the bathroom. He stripped off his dirty clothes and threw them into the hamper. The water was warm and eased his tired muscles immediately. Fifteen minutes later he emerged refreshed and he summoned his clothes from his room. Flannel pajama pants and a white t-shirt. He intended on staying in the rest of the day and studying for his charms exam that was set for Tuesday. He hoped Granger would clear off so he could study. But first things first. He had worked up an appetite. He walked down the dual stairs and over to the icebox grabbing out some pumpkin juice and some leftover chicken. He sat at the tiny table and began to eat ravenously. Before he could finish Hermione had gotten up from her seat and disappeared. He supposed she went up to her room to avoid him. Smiling he continued to eat, but to his dismay five minutes later she came downstairs. She looked like she had cleaned herself up, fixed her hair and removed the blotchy red spots from her face. She strolled right over to where Draco was sitting and sat across from him looking at him, watching him eat. He struggled to swallow a bite of chicken before looking back at her, slightly unnerved.

"Can I help you Granger?" he asked her before drinking the last of his juice and leaning back in his chair.

"As a matter of fact you can, and I am willing to pay for it."

"Excuse me?" he said nearly falling over.

"You heard me. I need your help." Hermione said plainly. Showing no signs of her earlier distress. Obviously to Draco she had been addled in her head to think she could come to him for help.

"You have got to be joking. What could I possibly help you with? And for that matter, why would I want to?"

"Like I said, I can pay you." she dumped a bag of gold galleons onto the table in front of them.

"One hundred and seventeen galleons, my life savings." she said. He looked at her like she was quite mad.

"Granger, I have more money than that in my spare change bag upstairs, so you can just forget it." he said coolly, but still intrigued at her proposal. What could she possibly want from him?

"Damn." she said collecting the galleons and throwing the bag back into her robe pocket.

"Well?" he asked.

"Well what?" She said on the verge of tears.

"I'm curious to know what favor could be so important that you would come to me of all people?" he said reclining in the chair once more.

"Never mind." she said, her face was red from embarrassment.

"No, you can't peak my curiosity like that and then run off. It must be serious to ask me for help, so out with it." he said.

"Well, where do I begin?" she said nervously biting her lip. He sighed heavily.

"Well, I don't know if you know this but Ron Weasley and I have been dating since the beginning of the year." she breathed heavily before continuing.

"Anyway, he has pressured me to get, well, more serious." she said blushing again. "And I have put it off, mostly because I wanted to maintain our friendship first and foremost, but also because I was not ready." she said. 'Why am I telling him all this?' she thought.

"So last night we had the same argument and he left slightly mad. I thought I would make it up to him this morning so I went to surprise him in his dorm. I made plans to go into Hogsmeade and spend the day with him." she confessed.

"Okay where is this going, and how does it involve me?" he asked in a bored voice.

"Well, when I got there this morning he was in bed, but not alone. He was with Lavender Brown."

Draco let out a low whistle.

"That little hussy? Hasn't she been with half of Gryffindor?' he asked.

Hermione shot off a look of contempt before continuing with her story.

"Anyway, he blamed me for him running off with her. ME! It was my fault because I wouldn't give in to his lust." tears were filling her large brown eyes, but she blinked them away quickly.

"I still don't see what this has to do with me." he drawled.

"It has nothing to do with you." she admitted. "But I do need your help, help to get revenge on Ron. If you will do it."

"Being as I am head boy, you paying me to beat the crap out of the weasel would not look good on my record. Besides, why would I want to help you?" he knew as well as she did that they did not get along well enough to ask each other for favors.

"I don't want to cause him physical pain, more mental." she said with conviction.

"Go on." he said, fascinated by this proposal.

"Well, the thing with Ron was we were friends, I wanted to maintain that above all else. But we are not friends right?" he nodded. "And most likely never will be right?" he nodded again.

"So my plan would work perfectly." she said. "So will you?"

"Will I what? Spit it out Granger." he was becoming annoyed with her style of beating around the proverbial bush.

"By my boyfriend?" she asked hopefully.

Draco fell off his chair and bumped his head on the counter behind him, blacking out immediately.