Hermione

Harry, Ron, and I walk out of DADA, and I'm relieved that it's our last class of the day.

"Snape was in a foul mood today Harry," I say to him. "I warned you not to get on his bad side!"

"Hermione, when he sees me, he gets on his bad side," Harry says.

"Does he have any other sides other than his bad one?" Ron asks in a low voice.

"What about his backside?" Harry suggests. 

"Yeah. That one's that biggest of all of them," Ron adds. 

We all laugh, but none of us notice that Snape is right behind us. 

"Potter, Weasley, I'll take ten points each from Gryffindor, and you both owe me detentions tonight. Granger, I'll take another ten points from you." 

Ron opens his mouth furiously, but I step on his foot hard, and he shuts up. But as I'm stomping on Ron's foot, Harry speaks.

"Maybe, sir, instead of taking away points from us for stating facts, you should go to a muggle gym and work out!" Harry says loudly. 

Some people gasp, including me, but Ron, Seamus, Dean, and Neville grin appreciatively and flash Harry a thumbs up from behind Snape's back.

"That will be detention for two weeks Potter," Snape says coldly, and walks away. 

As we stroll down the hall, Seamus, Dean, and Neville catch up with us, grinning, and give Harry claps on his back.

"That was awesome!"

"Brilliant mate!"

"You only spoke facts!"

"What? No! Don't encourage him you idiots!" I exclaim, exhausted of Harry's temper these days. "He gave you two weeks detention Harry! You'll never be able to finish all your homework!"

"C'mon Hermione, don't be so uptight!" Ron says. 

"I'm not uptight Ronald! Excuse me for caring about my future!" I shoot back, my voice rising a little higher. 

Ron's ears turn red, and Dean, Seamus, and Neville hurry away. Harry rolls his eyes.

"A few detentions won't make you fail school!"

"Well, that's more than 'a few' Ronald!"

"At least he has a sense of humor-"

"STOP! You two are always arguing like an old married couple! Just give it a rest!" Harry shouts angrily.

"Well, I think that's what they're going to end up as!" a dreamy voice says behind us. 

I spin around to see Luna. Ron has gone silent, and he's staring at me. I feel a blossom of heat rush up to my face as I meet Ron's eyes. Harry grins. 

"You're right Luna. That's probably how it'll end up," Harry says slowing down to walk with her. 

Ron and I don't speak to each other until we reach the common room. 

"Harry's temper is blazing these days," Ron says awkwardly. 

I seize the topic before anything else can come up.

"Yes! Ron, I think it's because of Sirius. He was the closest thing to a father that Harry ever had!" I say.

"Yeah. Poor Harry."

"Would you please check on him? I try to make him open up, but it's so hard! Boys don't really want to talk about their feelings," I say to Ron.

"Yeah I'll see what I can get out of him," Ron promises. 

"Thanks Ronald!"

"But Hermione, enough about Harry! What about you?" Ron asks. I'm confused.

"Huh? What about me?" I ask. 

Ron chuckles.

"Hermione, you always worry about Harry and me, and you do our homework for us and stuff, but what about you? Are you feeling alright these days?" Ron asks, concerned. 

That's probably the nicest thing that Ron's ever said to me. I mean, he's gotten a little bit better since he realized that I was a girl. I feel a sudden rush of affection for him.

"I'm fine Ron," I exclaim, and without thinking what I'm doing, I hug him, my face flaming. 

He stands as still as a rock. 

"Bye! I've got my flying class with Malfoy now!" I say. 

A slow grin spreads over his face.

"Yeah. Excellent. Yeah. Catch you later 'Mione!" he says. 

I rush out of the common room and head straight to the Quidditch pitch. Did he just call me 'Mione'? 
He's never called me that before. Maybe Ron's finally growing up. I'm so lost in my thoughts, I barrel right into someone, and we both crash on the ground. 

"Third time's a charm, Granger," Malfoy drawls.

 I try and get up, but we are so tangled up in each other, that I just trip over his feet. He scrambles away from me and gets to his feet.

"Do you ever watch where you're going?" he asks. 

"Shut up, Malfoy."

We walk down to the Quidditch Pitch together in an awkward silence. When we arrive, I look at him expectantly, waiting for instructions.

"Shit! I forgot my broom!" he exclaims, not looking sorry about it at all.

"Ugh! Malfoy! Can't you do anything right?" I ask, irritated.

"I'll just go get it then," he says, in a hurry to leave.

"Hold on! Are you stupid?"

"What?" he says, turning around.

"Are you stupid?" I repeat angrily.

"No . . . Why do you ask?" he replies, bemused.

"You are a wizard! There is literally a spell that summons things!" I snap, losing my patience.

"Oh. Right. Accio Nimbus 2001!" he says.

Rolling my eyes, I watch the broom soar into his hands, and cross my arms again, suddenly feeling self-conscious. He bends down to tie his shoelaces, and I stand there awkwardly. 

"You know Mudblood, you don't have to be so self-conscious. I couldn't think any lower of you," he states, getting to his feet. 

"I don't care what you think about me Malfoy, just get on with the lesson!"

"So we left off last time at mounting. So you just want to swing a leg over and sit down," he says, demonstrating as he speaks.

 I nod my head, and hold out my hand for the broomstick.

"Er . . . High-five?" he says uncertainly, touching his slender finger reluctantly to my palm. "What the hell, Mudblood? If you want to touch me that bad, just ask."

I groan in frustration. 

"Malfoy! I'm asking for the broomstick to try mounting! Not a freaking high-five!" I say, shoving my hand in my robes. 

"No way. Hooch told me that you can't even ride a broomstick. You have to get the hang of flying with me before you can fly alone," he explains, rising lightly into the air. 

I know that if I try and fly, I'll just embarrass myself in front of him, so I don't argue. He flies high into the air, and I try to keep my eye on him, but lose sight of his body as he soars into the cloudy sky. I squint up, trying to spot him, but I can't find him anywhere. 

I feel a cold hand clamp on to my shoulder, and a spike of fear shoots through me. By impulse more than anything else, I swing my elbow into the person behind me. Hard.  

"AHHH!" a high pitched shriek echoes from my attacker. 

As I look closer, I see that it's Malfoy. Why is he like this?

"What the hell Granger!" he yells, clutching his stomach. 

"Would you please stop cussing! And why did you sneak up on me like that?" I snap, whacking his shoulder with my hand. 

"Don't flatter yourself, I sneak up on everyone like that," he says disdainfully.

Rolling my eyes, I wait for him to go on with the lesson. He opens his mouth to speak, but before he can, a sharp voice interrupts us.

"Granger, Malfoy, how's the lesson going? I just thought I'd drop by to give you some pointers," Madam Hooch has arrived.

I nod, and turn my head to Malfoy for directions. Unfortunately, he seems to have lost his thread. Looking from me to Madam Hooch, he shuffles his feet.

With a sigh, Madam Hooch walks towards us and says, "She's just a beginner Malfoy, so you want to start out on the same broom. Then, you can show her how to steer and get control of it."

She takes the broom from him, and gestures for me to get on. Hesitantly, I mount, my feet still firmly planted on the ground. I look at her and she points for Malfoy to get on too.

"Me? No way! I'm not getting any closer to that Mudblood!" he exclaims, taking a few steps back. 

Madam Hooch doesn't even say anything, she just glares at him. He mutters something under his breath, and slides on behind me. His arms snake reluctantly around me, and he puts his hands on the broom. 

"Good. Now Malfoy, you take the broom into the air, and show her how to steer," Madam Hooch instructs. 

Before he can even reply, she hurries off, spotting Professor Sprout. Muttering mutinously under his breath, he mounts. Then, without warning, he lifts us into the air. And to my amazement, we're flying.

Draco

I can't do this. I literally fucking can't. I agreed to teach her to fly. But on the same broom? I can't believe that I'm this close to a mudblood. We are still flying; the tension in my shoulders is still there, which is a surprise, because flying usually calms me down. 

I'm doing better than Granger though, she's buried her face in her hands and is making muffled squeaks. It's obvious that she's scared of heights, and just to piss her off, I make a sharp turn, and go up on a ninety degree angle. 

This time, she doesn't hide the scream of terror that tears out of her mouth. A grin immediately appears on my face, and I feel a little better about the whole situation.

"Would you stop! I'm freaking out!" she screams, jerking around on the broom.

"For fuck's sake Granger! We're going to lose balance!" I yell back at her.

Of course, she just ignores me, and wiggles around some more. It happens it a split second, she's on the broom, and then she's not. Her hand is gripping the base of the broom, and I'm barely steering. 

If she falls, she'll definitely die, as we're very high up in the air. I spot a small landing spot on a balcony type grove on a roof, and aim to land. 

We barely make it; I land with a hard thud on a pointy stone, and pain immediately courses through my spine. Granger is already standing up, brushing dust off herself. I will kill her. I will actually kill her. 

"I hope you're happy now Malfoy. Are you sure you even know how to fly? I've wasted so much time today! This is all your fault. I don't even want lessons anymore!" she's glaring at me, and I match the anger in her eyes with an ice cold glower of my own.

"My fault? I told you to stop moving around! It's easy for you to just sit on your lazy arse, I'm the one who does all the steering!" 

If I were Weasel or Potter, I would definitely be scared of the fire that's blazing in her eyes. What's that saying? If looks could kill. But I'm not Potter or Weasel, and I'm not scared of a Mudblood's glare.

"Also, if you don't want lessons, then you're doing me a big favor. Do you think I have nothing better to do than teach a Mudblood how to fly? You're so bad!"

"Don't tempt me Malfoy. I'm warning you, if one more insult comes out of your mouth, I will not hesitate!"

"What can you even do Granger? Blow dust at me? Ok, here's a list of all the insulting words I can think up about you- Mudblood, Mudblood, Mudbl-"

WHAM.

Oh my fucking god. She actually hit me. And it's not a princess slap, it hurts. A lot. I think there might be a red mark on my face now. 

I don't even know what to say. I have to admit, I'm kind of impressed. I didn't know she had it in her. As I bring my hand up to my face, and a look of triumph flashes across hers.

"Let's go Malfoy. I can't waste any more of my time," she orders.

 I look around for the broom, but I can't find it. Shit. I search again, more frantically, and the broom is still no where to be seen. It's getting dark, if we don't find it soon, we will be in big trouble.

"Where's the broom Malfoy?" she asks, in a shrill, panicky voice.

" I don't know!" I answer, my voice also riddled with tension.

She looks around, and goes to the other side of the balcony.

"I found it," she sighs in relief, and I go to join her at the ledge. 

She points down on a similar groove below us, but it's way too far to reach.

"Shit. We can't get it, it's too far," I say in defeat, slumping. 

She's looking at me like I'm an idiot, like one would look at a grown man who didn't know simple math.

"What?"

"Your wand, Malfoy. Your wand!"

"Right. Yes," I say, inwardly cringing. 

I summon the broom, and I hear her mutter something unintelligible, though I get the gist of what she said. A sudden anger surges through me, and I feel like I need to get revenge on her. She's looking at me expectantly, because she wants to mount. 

And then, I know what I have to do. I shove her roughly away, mount the broom, and soar into the air. I won't leave her here forever, but she can stay and think about what she's done.

"MALFOY! COME BACK!" she cries.

"No. I'm going to go and have dinner in the Great Hall, and when I've eaten to my fill, I'll come back and get you," I say smugly. 

She shouts more and more, but I'm already flying away, laughter spilling out of me.

Hermione

He's actually gone. I squint up into the sky to see if he's just kidding, if he'll come back and get me, but no. I can see the distant silhouette of him flying away. I hate him. I hate him so much, and dread courses through me. 

What if he just leaves me here and never comes back? What if I'm here and nobody ever finds me? I'll starve to death! Stop Hermione, you're overreacting. Of course he'll come back. 

I sink slowly to the ground. It's pitch dark by now, and I don't even have my wand. There's only one thing left to do. Wait.

Draco

I can't keep the smug grin off my face as I walk into the Great Hall. The Slytherins are waiting for me, and I take a seat in between Blaise and Theo. They look at me in a weird manner.

"What?" I ask, suddenly self-conscious.

"Why does your left cheek have a bright pink burn across it?" Theo asks.

"Granger slapped me," I mumble, shoveling food in my mouth.

"WHAT? SHE SLAPPED YOU?" Blaise exclaims. 

Heads turn towards us.

"Why don't you say it a bit louder Blaise, I don't think the entire hall heard you," I snap. 

He mutters an apology, then looks at me expectantly. I start to tell them, and Theo lets out a low whistle. He gets up to his feet, trying to spot Granger at the Gryffindor table, and I let out a laugh.

"Draco. What the hell did you do to her?" Blaise asks, a bemused expression on his face.

"I left her there. She's still on the balcony," I say with a self-satisfied grin. 

Theo lets out a howl, and helps himself to treacle tart. I have to admit, the desserts today are higher quality than usual. I grab some treacle tart and shove it into my robe. Blaise frowns.

"Don't steal, Draco dear. It's not right." 

I whack him on the back of his head, and get to my feet. If I want some sleep tonight, I have to go and retrieve Granger. With a hasty goodbye, I grab my broom, walk into the night, and soar into the air. I reach the spot quickly, and it's so dark, I can barely see anything.

"Lumos maxima," I whisper, looking around for Granger.

 I hear a sniff behind me, and I see her with her head in her hands, letting out a jarring sob. Shit. I hate crying girls. I clear my throat to announce my arrival, and she jolts to her feet. She wipes her eyes, and this time, when she looks at me, I am a little scared at what I see. 

Who knows what this girl can do to me in the middle of the night, with no witnesses? I take a step back. She takes a step forward.

"Bring me back Malfoy. Now," she says in a murderous voice, and I hand the broom to her so she can mount. 

On the way back, I fly extra carefully so she doesn't have another reason to kill me. We land, and I wait, expecting her to hit me again, or at least yell. But she is silent. I look up, and then immediately look back down. Her stomach gives out a loud growl, and I look up again.

"Happy, Malfoy? I didn't eat lunch, because I was studying in the library, and you made me miss dinner too. I won't be able to eat breakfast tomorrow, because I've agreed to help a first year with his homework. You really don't have any emotions, do you?" she asks.

I don't say anything, and she sighs, turning to walk away. A small, tiny, feeling of guilt trickles through me, and I push it away. I slide my hand in my robe pockets, feeling the treacle tart there. I can't believe I'm doing this.

"Granger. Wait," I manage to choke out. 

She turns, and I hand the tart to her. Honestly, the look of surprise that flashes on her face is insulting. The suspicious gaze that she sports after even more so.

"Is this bewitched? I'm not eating this until you prove it's not bewitched," she says. 

"What do you even want me to do?" I ask in frustration. 

She breaks off a tiny piece of tart and hands it to me. I pop it in my mouth without hesitating, and a faint smile appears on her face.

"Thanks, Malfoy," she says, and hurries off. 

And no matter how much I try, I can't stop the ghost of a grin that appears on my face as she leaves.