"So, the Mudblood finally shows up with her poor, orphaned friends." That's what Hermione had expected to hear, because Malfoy loved to taunt her about her family. Instead, she heard Malfoy saying something like, "Hermione, could I talk to you for a second?" Hermione, although quite confused, told Harry and Ron that she would be in in a minute.
"What, Malfoy, do you want? I haven't got all day."
"Hermione, couldn't you call me by my name? Malfoy, it sounds so like my father. Call me Draco." Hermione nearly collapsed in shock at this statement.
"Since when does he want me to call him 'Draco'?" Hermione wondered. But she had no time to mull over Draco's mysterious request. He was saying something to her, and quite possibly, she needed to listen.
"So Hermione, what's with you and Ron? You seemed so tense this morning at breakfast."
"Malfoy, pardon my rudeness, but I fail to see what business it is of yours."
"Listen, Hermione, he doesn't love her. But I want you to know that somebody around here truly cares for you. But I'm not going to tell you. I want you to figure it out on your own. Use some of that genius brain of yours. Whoever manages to get you will be one lucky guy." With that, Malfoy strode back into the classroom with Hermione right after him.
"You're late. Malfoy! Granger! I expect to see you after class with your excuses. Take a seat." Severus Snape, the Potions Master at Hogwarts was strict, and Hermione began to wonder exactly what lie Draco would manifest in order to incriminate Hermione. It was evident that Snape valued his students over others, because he was Head of Slytherin House.
"Today, you will brew a Straightening Potion, designed to straighten any curly substance. Please, begin by copying down the ingredients in your books on page 13. Later, we will be testing the potion. . ." Hermione automatically tuned him out and began copying the notes out of the book. Later, her potion was tested and highly successful. Neville Longbottom's when tested on a curled ribbon, made it disintegrate. For Neville, who usually went to pieces in Potions, this was a frequent thing. But this time, Snape exploded.
"Longbottom! How come is it, after being in this class for six years, cannot even manage to brew a simple potion without disaster striking? The ingredients and directions are written down so clearly in the book that even a neanderthal could understand them! If you do plan to continue into the wizarding world, I do hope that you will not be in a profession where you must brew potions! Class dismissed, with the exception of Malfoy and Granger." Hermione had hoped that he would have forgotten about her tardiness, but, to no avail, he remembered.
"Please explain. Malfoy, you know that tardiness is not allowed unless under extreme duress."
"Professor, it was not Hermione's fault that I was late for class. I was walking down the stairs, and I tripped, and my bag spilled everywhere, and Hermione was so gracious to help me gather my books and everything. If it weren't for her, then I would have been even later. Please excuse her, because she was just helping me."
"Fine. Malfoy, detention and 10 points from Slytherin. Granger, you are getting a warning. Late again, and Malfoy's punishment will be double for you. You are dismissed."
Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and packed up her things and left hurriedly. She could not believe that she had escaped punishment when Malfoy had gotten detention. She could hardly wait to tell Harry and Ron, and she didn't have to wait long.
They were waiting just around the corner.
"What was with you and Malfoy? What did he say to you? Do you have detention?"
"Nothing was going on between me and Malfoy. And he's got detention, not me."
"But Hermione, he was looking at you all class period. I don't know what's with him." Ron was looking worried. Harry was looking quite puzzled too.
"Nothing's going on between me and Malfoy!"
"Then what did he say to you before class?" Ron fired back. He seemed determined to know this information.
Hermione hesitated, unwilling to reveal this information. If she told him what Malfoy had said, then it was very possible that it would me revealing that she liked Ron. She couldn't tell them. She just couldn't.
"Not until you tell me how Malfoy was looking at me during class."
"Like, I don't know. Like he wanted to kiss you or something." replied Ron.
"Kiss me?" For once, Hermione was at a loss for words. All of that talk about somebody caring for her. Was that Malfoy? Was he in love with her?