A Change of Heart? . . . Maybe Not.

Chapter Three: A Change of Heart? . . . Maybe Not.

A/N: So, I don't have much to say; but I will tell you that there is only one more chapter after this one. Hope you enjoy it as much as I had fun writing it! Oh and if you want to, I have an Author's page on the forums you can visit! ~Jen

A few hours later, Hermione was still sitting on her bed reading her novel. The constant giggling had been going on for the past TWO hours!

She had had enough; her stomach was growling uncontrollably, and Hermione swore that Draco and Pansy could probably hear it from the common room. Dinner was far since over, but she figured she could at least grab something in the Heads' kitchen to satisfy her stomach.

As quietly as possible, Hermione snuck out of her room and walked past the snogging couple, but not without glaring at the back of Pansy's head.

When Hermione reached the oven, she whispered to it: I'd like a plate of lasagna, please. After about two seconds, the oven let out a soft 'ping,' indicating Hermione's meal was ready. She opened the oven door and pulled out the plate. After setting her meal on the table, Hermione poured herself a glass of iced tea, got herself some silverware, and began to eat her supper.

When Hermione was done with her dinner, she put her dishes in the sink, where they magically washed and put themselves away. Now, to sneak back to my room without another Pansy confrontation.

Hermione silently made her way out of the kitchen. The pair was now lying down on the couch, still kissing just as passionately. Unfortunately, as Hermione had glanced over at the couple, she failed to avoid the large pile of books by her and Draco's writing desks, knocking them over with a loud THUD. Oops! Draco instantly sat bolt upright, letting Pansy, who had been on top of him, fall to the floor.

"OUCH! Draco, what's wrong?" Pansy asked, acting as if she hadn't heard the books crash.

"Nothing. Hermione, why are you down here?" Draco responded, but Hermione thought she heard a slight hint of panic in his voice.

No, I must be imagining things. Why would he be nervous that I'm witnessing him snogging Pansy? It's not like I haven't seen (or heard) it before.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt your . . . little, uh, 'session.' I was just hungry and came down to grab a bite to eat."

"Oh, okay."

"HELLO! Girl on the floor here!" Pansy yelled, wanting more attention.

"Oh, my bad, Pansy."

Draco helped Pansy up and then, surprisingly, led her straight over to the portrait hole, kissed her good night, and shut the portrait behind her. Hermione could hear Pansy's protests from the other side of the portrait.

"You'll probably have to suck up big time for that tomorrow," Hermione said with a smirk on her face.

"Yeah, probably, but I'm beat," Draco said with a smirk of his own. "Someone had me shopping all day long."

"Well, how very cruel of that person," Hermione said, playing along.

"Yeah, and then, I had to beat up this lousy git for her, too."

"That must have been tough, but I'm sure she's quite thankful."

"I'm sure she is."

Draco walked over to where she stood. Hermione was putting away the books she had knocked over, carefully placing them onto their proper shelves. Draco bent down and began to help her with the task, occasionally glancing at Hermione from the corner of his eye.

About ten minutes had passed when Hermione finally was placing the last of the books in its place. However, this particular book belonged on one of the higher shelves, so Hermione had to stand on one of the desk chairs in order to reach it. In the process of placing the book on the shelf, Hermione put too much weight on one side of the chair, causing it to lean slightly. Trying to correct the problem before she fell, Hermione went to shift her weight so she'd be equally balanced on the chair. Unfortunately, she shifted the wrong way and began to fall.

Draco, realizing what was happening, rushed over to help Hermione. He arrived just in time to catch her before she hit the floor. Hermione was slightly disoriented from the excitement of the fall, but after a few seconds, she regained her senses. That's when Hermione realized she wasn't lying on the common room floor; she was in Draco's arms! He must have caught me before I fell. Wow, he looks even hotter when he's this close. His eyes are so sexy and I love the way his hair falls into his face like that . . . Oh, wait, he's saying something. I better pay attention.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked, slightly concerned by the way Hermione was looking at him.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine. You know that's twice you've saved me today."

"I guess it is. I'm going to have to start charging for saving your life," Draco said, laughing as he set Hermione down.

"What'd you have in mind?"

"For what?" Draco asked, clearly confused.

"Your payment, silly."

Hermione couldn't believe she was acting like this . . . all girly and flirty, but she just couldn't control herself around Draco. She smiled slightly at the stunned look on Draco's face.

"I was kidding, Hermione."

"I know, but you deserve a little something for your heroics," Hermione said, walking closer to Draco, who had backed away slightly.

Hermione wrapped her arms around Draco's neck and gave him a peck on the cheek. Afterwards, she whispered in his ear, "Good night, my faithful rescuer."

Then, Hermione pulled away from Draco, walked up the spiral staircase and entered her bedroom, sensing Draco's eyes on her the entire way.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Over the next few days, Draco was starting to get really confused. Do I really like Pansy as much as I say? Of course I do! Then why am I constantly hanging out with Hermione even when we don't have Head duties? Because she's my friend AND because Pansy seems to keep getting detention. Yeah, I guess that's all it is. Hermione and I are just friends. Just friends. . . . nothing more, right? Right! Still not thoroughly convinced, Draco pushed his doubt about his relationship with Pansy aside as she entered the Great Hall.

"Hello, Draco! Aren't you just so excited for the dance on Saturday?!" Pansy exclaimed as she sat down beside him at the Slytherin table.

Draco nodded, but he wasn't really paying attention because right at that moment, Hermione and her friends had entered the Great Hall. The whole group was laughing and smiling as they took their seats at the Gryffindor table.

Sensing someone's eyes on her, Hermione turned around. Draco tried to look away quickly, but Hermione caught him...their eyes locking for a few seconds before Hermione returned her attention to her friends.

The rest of the day Hermione was all smiles; she felt as if she was walking on air. Hermione had caught Draco on numerous occasions that day sneaking glances at her when he thought she wasn't looking; once in Potions, twice in Defense, a couple times during lunch, and a few seconds ago as she was doing her homework in the Heads' common room.

Hermione smiled to herself as she decided to have some fun with this. Draco was currently sitting at his writing desk, a few feet from Hermione's, trying to concentrate on his Potions essay. Hermione slowly made her way over to the bookshelf behind Draco's desk, making sure he hadn't noticed her move.

A few seconds later, she crept up behind him and whispered seductively in his ear, "Draco."

He practically jumped out of his seat. Draco hadn't been prepared for her to approach him, let alone, whisper like that in his ear.

"Y-y-yeah?" Draco managed to get out as he desperately tried to calm his rapidly beating heart.

Trying not to smile too much or laugh at his reaction, Hermione replied, "Could you get a book down for me?"

"S-sure."

Draco stood and retrieved the book Hermione pointed to on the top shelf. Once he had handed her the book, she said 'thanks,' gave him a peck on the cheek, and returned to her desk. Draco was frozen to the spot for a second or two, something that seemed to happen a lot when Hermione was around. Slowly regaining his ability to walk, Draco made his way toward his own desk to finish his essay.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The next day, Thursday, Draco and Hermione had the first two periods free to make sure everything was in order for the dance on Saturday. They were sitting on their usual couch in the common room with a small model of the Great Hall in front of them. Draco had taken the liberty of transfiguring the other couch in the common room into the model so he and Hermione could figure out how and where everything would be placed on Saturday.

"Okay, so we're going to have small tables placed around the outer edges of the dance floor. Then where should we put the gaming tables?" Hermione asked, looking thoughtfully at the model.

"I think we should put them where the Head table usually is. That way, they're all near each other and away from the dance floor in the center of the room," Draco suggested as he flicked his wand so the model showed what he had just described.

"Alright, but then where are we putting the band?"

"I think we can conjure a stage on one side of the Hall as long as we take away a few tables."

Draco tapped the model with his wand, and after a few seconds, it began to rearrange the furniture to accommodate the new plan. A stage would definitely fit on one side of the room, and even better, they wouldn't have to remove any tables if they put a few in front of the gaming tables.

"Okay, now for the decorations," Hermione said as she grabbed the various bags beside her.

She quickly shrunk all the decorations and began to place them in the model. For the tablecloths, they had bought a black silk-like fabric with red dice on them that magically rolled around the cloth. The centerpieces on the tables were pyramids of cards with candles sitting in the spaces between the cards. Hermione had enchanted the cards with an anti-burning spell so that they wouldn't catch fire with the candle flames so close. She had also found some confetti in the shape of the cards' suits that she sprinkled around the centerpieces.

Once the tables looked good, Hermione took a long red piece of fabric and attached it around the sides of the stage. Meanwhile, Draco was placing banners of various casino activities along the walls. The banners contained everything from die rolling down the fabric and then starting again to cards shuffling themselves and making designs, such as pyramids or houses. Next, the pair set the necessary game pieces on the appropriate gaming tables.

"Who are we going to get to run these games?" Hermione asked as she surveyed the model.

"I already asked some of the professors if they wouldn't mind. Professor Snape agreed to deal blackjack, Flitwick agreed to run the roulette, and I actually was able to convince McGonagall and Dumbledore to each run one of the poker tables."

"Wow! I'm impressed, Draco. That must have taken a lot of persuasion."

"Yeah, but it was worth it. This dance is going to be awesome!"

"I couldn't agree more," Hermione said, smiling at Draco.

His eyes locked onto hers for a moment, and it seemed as though Draco might kiss her. But then, he shook his head, as if to clear his thoughts, and returned his attention to the Great Hall model. Slightly disappointed, Hermione brought her gaze back to the model as well.

"I think we need a bit more color. How about we make the chairs have red seat cushions?" Hermione suggested quietly.

"Sounds good. Hey, we forgot about the balloons!" Draco said as he pulled the red, green, black, and white balloons out of the last decoration bag.

"Oh, yeah . . . oops."

Draco magically inflated the balloons and placed them in bunches all around the hall model. He also made a balloon archway right in front of the hall doors.

"Now, I think we have everything pretty much done. Oh, did you book the band, Hermione?"

"Yes, the Burning Bludgers will be here around five to start rehearsing."

"Anything else on your checklist?"

"Besides finding a date? No."

"You don't have a date yet?"

"No. I was hoping this one guy would ask me, but I don't think he's going to find the nerve," Hermione replied sadly.

"Why can't you just ask him?"

"It's complicated. See, he's got this really annoying girlfriend who will probably be around for awhile since she told me that they've slept together."

"Oh," Draco said, "that does seem a bit complicated."

"So, do you think I should ask him anyway?"

Draco was taken aback by Hermione's last question. Since when have we ever confided in each other this much? Still, it's kind of nice that she feels comfortable enough to tell me these things. But now what do I say to her?

"Well . . . um, do you think he likes you even though he's with this other girl?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure he does."

"Then I say . . . you should . . . um, ask him, but make sure his girlfriend isn't around so he can think about it without getting yelled at."

"Thanks for the advice, Draco."

"No problem."

Then, the pair packed up the extra decorations and put the model on Hermione's writing desk before gathering their school things and heading down to the Transfiguration classroom.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Later that night, Draco was sitting on the Heads' common room couch, snogging Pansy, when he realized he wasn't having as much fun as he usually did during these "sessions." He was, of course, still participating but not as passionately as he usually did. Unfortunately for him, Pansy had started to take notice.

Sliding off his lap onto the seat beside him, she said, "Draco, what's wrong? It feels like you're off in some other world."

"I know. I'm sorry, Pansy. I just don't feel up to this right now. I'll see you tomorrow morning, okay?"

"Alright," Pansy said as she gave him one last kiss before going out of the portrait hole.

What's wrong with me?! I just let Pansy walk out and worse yet . . . I said I DIDN'T FEEL UP TO SNOGGING! When have I ever said that before?! Never!! In the middle of Draco's thoughts, Hermione walked down from her room. Expecting Pansy and Draco to be snogging, she crept quietly down the stairs.

"She's not here anymore, Hermione," Draco said, startling her.

"Why not? Did something happen?" Hermione asked, trying to hide the excitement in her voice.

"I don't know. I just . . . I just, well, I'm not exactly sure what's going on at the moment."

Hermione came and sat down beside Draco on the couch; that's when he noticed her clothes. Hermione was wearing a rather small (and tight) tank top and shorts. THESE are her pajamas?! Wow . . . who knew all that was hidden under her robes?! Man, I really need to stop thinking like this . . .

"Are you okay, Draco? You look kind of out of it. Draco? Draco, can you hear me?"

Draco shook his head to clear his thoughts and brought himself back to reality. Not trusting his voice at the moment, he just nodded in response to Hermione's question. After a few moments of silence, Hermione gathered up her courage and spoke.

"Draco, can I ask you something?"

"S-sure, shoot."

"Um, I was wondering if you'd go to the dance with me?"

Draco was speechless for a moment. The guy Hermione had been talking about this morning was HIM?! He didn't know what to say. Did he like Hermione more than Pansy? He couldn't decide, but he had to give Hermione an answer. Why me?!

"Hermione . . . I . . ." Draco started, but she interrupted.

"Wait! Before you answer . . ."

Hermione leaned forward and pressed her lips gently against Draco's. She felt him respond to the kiss, so she went to deepen it. A few seconds later, however, Draco gently pushed her away.

"Hermione, I can't do this. I'm with Pansy," Draco said before his mind fully registered what he was saying.

"Oh, okay. Well I guess I was wrong then. Night, Draco."

Hermione stood and walked up the spiral staircase that led to her room. Just before she shut her door, Hermione called out, "I hope she knows how lucky she is."

Then, Hermione shut her door and slipped into bed, a few tears running down her cheek. As she drifted to sleep, her dreams were filled with visions of what it would have been like if she and Draco were together.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

It was Friday morning, the day before the dance. Draco was sitting at the Slytherin table, trying to keep his head from falling into his bowl of cereal. He hadn't gotten any sleep the night before. Draco had tossed and turned all night thinking about his feelings for Pansy and Hermione. He enjoyed spending time with each of them, but he realized that when he kissed . . .

"Draco, I'm so excited for the dance tomorrow!" Pansy said as she gave Draco a kiss on the cheek.

"Yeah, it should be fun," Draco responded half-heartedly.

"Draco, what's wrong with you? First, you don't want to kiss me, and now you sound all depressed when you talk to me."

"I'm just not myself at the moment, Pansy. I'll be fine by tomorrow . . . Don't worry."

"Well, good, I don't want to put up with your depressive state at the dance. I'll be right back, sweetie!"

Pansy gave Draco a kiss good-bye, this time on the lips and filled with all the passion she could muster. Then, she left the hall, not noticing that Draco hadn't really responded to her kiss or that he was currently looking at a certain Head Girl who had just entered the room with her friends.

Hermione walked into the hall and took her place at the Gryffindor table. Feeling like she was being watched, she tried to tell herself to just ignore him and continue with her breakfast. Her heart, however, won out, and she turned to face the Slytherin table. When her eyes locked with his, Hermione could see the confusion she felt reflected in them. Sighing slightly as Pansy returned to her seat beside Draco, Hermione turned back to her breakfast and started talking with Ginny.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Throughout the day, Draco was still trying to decide who he liked better. Well, Hermione's easy to talk to. Pansy tries her hardest to care about people other than herself though. I have to give her credit for trying. Hermione's fun to be around. So is Pansy . . . as long as she's not shopping. Hermione and I don't have to be kissing to be having fun. Yeah, but Pansy's an amazing kisser. Who wouldn't want to be kissing her? True, but when I kissed Hermione those couple of times, my heart started racing, I started to lose all my self-control, and I forgot exactly where I was. It was amazing! Yeah, but . . . well, with Pansy . . . Oh, I give up, I got nothing. So, does that mean Hermione wins? Beats me.

Sitting in Defense against the Dark Arts, Draco finally was able to clear his head of its many conflicting thoughts. The truth was he needed to follow his heart, not his head. And deep down, Draco knew exactly which girl had that. Now, all that was left to do was make sure that girl knew.

A/N: I know I'm a bit evil with this cliffie, but I'll try to get the next chapter validated within the next week. But while you're waiting . . . How'd I do? Let me know! Please review! ~Jen