Brewing Romance

Early the next morning, Hermione went down to breakfast in the Great Hall. There were a few students from each house sitting at their respective tables already. She sat at her usual spot at the Gryffindor table and helped herself to her favorite breakfast, toast with strawberry jam. She chewed her toast thoughtfully for a moment. When she went to pour herself a glass of orange juice, she had the feeling that someone was staring at her.



Looking around her, she didn't see anyone right away, but when she looked over at the Slytherin table, she was surprised to see Draco Malfoy sitting there all alone, without his cronies. He was the one that was staring at her. But once her eyes caught his, he quickly looked away. Looking around nervously, she forcefully looked down at her breakfast. She was feeling slightly queasy.



A few minutes later, unable to handle the fact that he was staring her down, she got up from the Gryffindor table, and walked out of the Great Hall. Once, just once, she chanced a look back to Malfoy and found that he was still staring at her. In that quick moment, she realized that she didn't see hostility in his eyes. She saw curiosity. Now why Malfoy would be looking at her with CURIOUSITY, she couldn't tell. All she knew was that it freaked her right out.



Hermione started up the Grand Staircase towards the library. She had never finished the Potions homework and really wanted to get it done. She had nothing better to do since she hadn't seen hide nor hair of Harry and Ron, but she was starting to like the downtime compared to the high jinx that they usually got themselves into. She entered the library, and one of her favorite scents in the world hit her. She loved the "Old book" smell. She walked by the main desk and was surprised that Madam Pince wasn't at her usual post, making sure no one spoke or even breathed too loudly.



As she slowly made her way to the back of the library, she saw the librarian in a row of books, replacing the books that had been on loan to students. She knew for a fact that Madam Pince HATED students taking books away from the library, and that she believed that all of her precious books that she kept such a watchful eye on should remain in the library. Hermione shook her head slightly at the foolish librarian and continued on to her destination.



The young Gryffindor took out her homework and began working on it. She ignored the students that were browsing the columns of books and continued on with her work. Little did she know was that she was being watched intently from the row of books closer to her. Steely gray eyes were watching her. Hermione looked up and around. As he saw her look up, he tried to duck out of sight, but it was too late.



"I know you're there Malfoy." Hermione said with irritation.



Malfoy stepped out of the row of books, and sat down next to Granger. He looked at her for a moment while she tried to ignore him."Granger?" Malfoy said tentatively.



"What Malfoy?" Hermione said in an annoyed voice.



"Um, well, I was thinking, that the other day was a mistake, and I wanted to properly apologize."



At this, Hermione looked up from her homework and looked at the blond Slytherin for a while.

"Is this some kind of joke Malfoy?!" She said angrily.



"What?! No! I'm being completely sincere right now!" Draco said hurridly. Hermione glared at him for a few moments more before relaxing a tiny bit.



"Alright, well, apologize, and go away." Hermione said, laying her quill down and turning to him, giving him her full attention.



"Well, um, I wanted to apologize to you, for being such a git. And as apology, I wanted to know if you would go to Hogsmeade with me tomorrow afternoon to the Three Broomsticks." Malfoy finished with his head down, waiting for the explosion. Hermione just gapped at him for a minute, unable to process in her mind what he had just said. Finally, when Malfoy looked up, She seemed to collect herself.



"Well, I don't know what to say. I'm not really sure I should accept Malfoy. For all I know, this could be a trap, and when I meet you, you and your dumb cronies take me somewhere and does who knows what with me. After all these years of complete nastiness, how could I possibly trust you?!" She finished, completely out of breath.



Malfoy looked at her with a slight hurt look in his eyes. "I swear that nothing like that would occur!"



"I just can't take the risk Malfoy." Hermione said in a final kind of way.



"What if I made an Unbreakable Vow? To ensure that nothing happens to you."



"Do you even know that spell and how to work it?" She said skeptically.



"Of course! You may be top of the year, but that doesn't mean the rest of us are stupid!" He snapped.



Hermione raised her eyebrow at him and he swallowed slowly before continueing.



"I'm sorry. Would you be willing to?" He asked her.



"I suppose." She said quietly. She held out her arm and Draco grabbed a hold of it. He pointed his wand at their connecting arms as she spoke.



"Do you swear that you are sincere in your apology?"



"Yes."



"Also, do you swear that this isn't some kind of joke?"



"Yes."



"And lastly, do you swear that it will be only me and you in Hogsmeade, and no harm will come to me in any way?"



"Yes."



Three thin bands of light bound their arms together. Hermione looked up into those gray eyes and smiled a little. They let go of each other, and Draco picked up his things.



"I'll meet you outside in the courtyard tomorrow."



Hermione nodded her head slightly and gave another small smile. Malfoy walked away and Hermione watched his back as he walked away. When he was out of sight, she ran her fingers through her hair and let out a long sigh. 'Where was all this coming from' she wondered. Regardless, she was going to meet him tomorrow.



Draco walked back to his dormitory, lost in thought. He can't believe that he just asked out Hermione Granger. Of course, she didn't see it that way. He weaved his way through the throng of students and didn't even stop as he heard several people call out to him. He reached his common room and flopped into a chair by the fire. When Pansy Parkinson came up to try to talk to him, he made it very clear that he didn't want to be bothered. He sat there, staring into the hypnotizing flames, anticipating tomorrow.



Author's note- Please Review! I really like to hear what people have to say