Harry had his first private meeting with Dumbledore on the first Saturday of term, and so Ron and I waited up for him with great excitement.

"It was brilliant!" Harry gushed when he came skipping back into the common room at quarter past midnight. "We went for a journey in this old man's memory and we saw Voldemort's mum and she was well minging! Dumbledore and I reckoned she must have used a love potion because no man in their right mind would want to dip into that."

"Harry!" I scolded, feeling hurt on behalf of this poor woman. "How would you feel if someone said that about you? Believe me, it's not at all nice!"

"Nonsense, Hermione," Ron scoffed, "All the girls fancy Harry. Have you seen how many of them put their names down for Quidditch tryouts? And not all of them are even Gryffindors! Mind you... there are some right musty looking ones on that list."

I stood up, feeling aghast. "Must you be so shallow?You know, looks aren't everything! Sometimes a girl can have a nice personality, or- or... intelligence!"

"Not being funny, 'mione," Ron continued, refusing to yield that fucking shovel. "But it's not a girl's IQ we're thinking about when we- uh- well... you know."

"No, I don't fucking know!" I said shrilly. "Tell me, Ronald! Just what do boys like you want in a girl?!"

"Big tits, usually." Harry helpfully answered as he gave his glasses an annoying little lift off his nose. "And maybe a nice smile."

"Yeah," Ron quickly agreed, vigorously nodding his head. "Or pretty eyes, although it's not that important. Just so long as they're not too ugly and that we've got something to play with in this area." He jiggled his hands in front of his chest.

I stormed off to bed, wishing I was a lesbian.

*****

Despite being utterly infuriated at them, I still Confunded Cormac McLaggen during Quidditch tryouts so that Harry could give the spot to Ron without looking like a nepotistic twat.

I couldn't help but notice Cormac was making eyes at me though. I'm not going to lie, it felt good being ogled at like that. Especially as it quite clearly pissed Ron off.

"Perhaps he thinks I have nice eyes?" I suggested lightly when Ron moodily asked what his problem was.

"Whatever," Ron muttered, the colour in his face darkening as his eyes darted briefly to my tits.

*****

"Miss Granger, I was wondering if I could have a private word with you?"

I froze in the process of packing my bag to look up in surprise at the sight of Professor McGonagall standing over my desk. It was the end of Transfiguration, and she had already dismissed the class.

Panic literally consumed me, and I could feel the beginnings of sweat prickle in my palms. Had I done something wrong? Did I only get ninety-nine percent on my last essay?

"Uh- I... sure," I stammered, "is there anything wrong, Professor? My assignment on the differences between Human Transfiguration and Metamorphmagi was sufficient, wasn't it? If not, I can add another two rolls of parchment, maybe even three-?"

"There will be no need," McGonagall interrupted brusquely. "The quality and quantity of your essay was more than expected... as usual." I felt my body relax in relief. "But I was hoping for a favour from you. A favour that would look good on your school record and could well impress any potential future employers."

"Oh?" I said, my interest piqued.

She waited until the last student had left before presenting her offer.

"It has come to my attention that a certain pupil of mine is struggling of late. He is skipping classes and not handing assignments in on time. It is most unusual for this particular student." She fell silent, watching me carefully.

My heart sank. There was only one student who fitted that description. It had been glaringly obvious that Draco Malfoy was indeed slacking, acting these days as though he'd rather be anywhere but at Hogwarts.

"But... Professor," I said quietly, "why me? Malfoy - he hates me."

I looked down as McGonagall continued to survey me through her square spectacles.

"It may interest you to know, Miss Granger," she said slowly, "that he specifically asked for you."

I looked up in surprise, my heart suddenly racing.

"It must be a trick," I said at once. "Some kind of revenge for- for not being a proper witch-"

"I will hear none of that nonsense talk in my classroom," McGonagall said sharply. "You are a witch, and one of the brightest ones of our time, I hasten to add. And clearly, Draco too sees the potential in you, otherwise why request you?"

"Did he-" I swallowed, trying to search for the word in my brain, "did he say why he wanted me?"

"At the end of the day, I presented him with an ultimatum, either get help or get out of my classroom. When I gave him the option of choosing a fellow classmate to tutor him, he said your name without hesitation. And I don't blame him. If I, or anyone else was given the option, I'm fairly certain everyone's first choice would be the student who achieves nothing but top marks."

Her eyes glittered as they looked into mine. I swallowed, my mind racing.

"So, if I agree to this, then I will get given extra merit?"

"Absolutely, and an automatic pass through Transfiguration N.E.W.T. level. You will need not to sit any examination, and I know how much the pressure of the exam paper becomes too much even for the cleverest of us. All I ask is that you help Draco get his assignments in on time, each with a pass, of course."

This sounded truly tempting. And if Draco was indeed asking for me then it was possible that he wouldn't be such a difficult student.

"Can I think about it?" I asked, chewing my lower lip.

"You can come to me with an answer by the end of the day," McGonagall compromised. "Time is precious, and I will need one hundred percent achievement from him from now on or else I will have to fail him before we are even halfway through the first term."

I walked away, my mind racing. On one hand, Draco Malfoy was a vile, arrogant, conceited bully. However, on the other... extra merit and no dreaded end of year exam.

"YOU HAVE GOT TO BE FUCKING KIDDING ME!"

I rolled my eyes at Ron's predictable reaction.

"No, I'm not kidding you," I said airily as I poured myself a pumpkin juice. "Professor McGonagall said there was no better person for the job."

"But he calls you Mudblood at every available chance he gets." Harry snarled. "And not to mention he stamped on my face. Why would you want to help him?"

"One," I said, listing the reasons off my fingers, "this may be a fantastic opportunity to educate him about his prejudices. Two - Harry, I'm sorry, but you really should not have eavesdropped on him like that. I would have stamped on your face too. And three - as I have already said, I'd be getting extra merit and an automatic pass."

"But we haven't even been back two weeks." Ron said moodily, piercing a roast potato with his fork. "Seems a bit drastic, don't you think?"

"No, not at all," I said in an imitation worthy of McGonagall herself. "We have reached an extremely important year in our school career and every day from here on counts."

"But- but why you, though?" Harry whined. "Isn't there some pure blooded Slytherin that could help him instead? You know, someone who he hasn't spent the last five years degrading?"

I kept my mouth shut and shrugged, deciding to keep quiet about the fact that Draco had requested me especially. I didn't think this would go down too well with my friends.

"So, what are you going to say to McGonagall then?" Seamus asked, butting rudely into our conversation. "Will our Gryffindor angel agree to dance with the Slytherin devil?"

I blinked. That was quite a sweet analogy coming from him. "I- uh- I'm not sure." I stuttered, suddenly feeling a little flustered.

Ginny looked up at me in surprise, one eyebrow cocked. "It seems to me, Hermione, from what you've said, you're very much decided."

I couldn't help but glance up at the Slytherin table where Draco was sat, once again slowly pushing his food around his plate and not actually eating it. As though sensing my gaze, his eyes flicked up, meeting mine. The breath caught in my throat at once and I immediately looked away, feeling an unnatural heat rise to my face.

"Yes," I said quietly, for some reason my heart hammering wildly in my chest. "I think I might just do it."

*****