The next morning, I woke up with my heart still fluttering uncontrollably in my chest. I sat up in bed and realised I had a few minutes before I needed to get dressed. I looked over at Malf - Draco. I had to start calling him Draco now, even though the taste of the word felt unfamiliar on my tongue.

He looked so cute when he was asleep, I thought dreamily. Then I internally smacked myself. What was I thinking? First of all I was checking him out last night at dinner, then I was calling him cute and blushing whenever he spoke to me...

No, this couldn't be happening. I blinked hard and slipped out of bed, then showered quickly and quietly and changed into my robes. As the sun rose outside our window I sat on the edge of my bed and stared at my hands, listening to the soft rising and falling of Draco's snores. Then they stopped abruptly, and I heard his mattress creak as he sat up in bed and yawned widely.

"Up already, Hermione?" He asked sleepily, stifling a yawn. Why did I shiver when he said my name?

I looked over at him, and managed to smile. It felt alien, smiling at him, but at the same time, it was easy to do, and the alien feeling passed over as quickly as it had come. Strangely enough, he returned the smile, and I noticed his protruding lips and the shapes they made when he did rarely smile, and, rarer still, in my direction.

He wrapped his bed sheets around his waist like a toga as he stumbled out of bed, his chest bare as he made his way to the shower. I couldn't help staring after his defined arms and torso. He looked over his shoulder at me and laughed silkily.

"Checking me out?" He teased. I blushed red.

"You wish!" I called after him, clapping my hand over my mouth a moment after. It was a spur of the moment thing, I hadn't meant to say it, it just slipped out...

I heard his muffled laugh over the sounds of running water, and that set me even more on edge. With a sigh of confusion and annoyance, I slipped out of the dorm and went downstairs, taking the stone steps two at a time, then sprinted through the common room we shared and left our tower.

The hallways were empty, since everybody was probably either still asleep or getting dressed in their own dorms. I found myself standing outside the Fat Lady's portrait, waiting for Ginny to come out so that I could tell her everything - everything, minus how my heart fluttered and my cheeks blushed red when Draco spoke to me.

I called him Draco again. Why did it still feel so weird?