Chapter 1
Hermione sat at the desk, arms crossed, watching as Draco Malfoy lazily spun his quill between his fingers. The Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom was nearly empty now, only a few stragglers still packing up their things after class. She sighed, glancing at their project outline.
"This would go a lot faster if you'd actually contribute," she said sharply.
Malfoy smirked, leaning back in his chair. "Oh, I’m sorry, Granger. Am I not up to your impossibly high standards of academic excellence?"
Hermione rolled her eyes. "No, you're just infuriatingly lazy."
"Lazy?" He scoffed. "I prefer ‘selectively efficient.’ Unlike you, I don’t feel the need to write a full dissertation for a simple class project."
She ignored him, dipping her quill in ink and writing down a few more notes. "Fine. If you're so efficient, tell me—how exactly do you propose we analyze counter-curses for advanced hexes?"
Draco sat forward, resting his elbows on the desk. "We could always test them out in real-time," he said, eyes glinting. "I hex you, you counter it. See what works."
Hermione gave him a deadpan stare. "Tempting. Really. But forgive me if I don't trust you not to make it personal."
His smirk widened. "Smart girl."
For the next two days, their meetings were filled with snarky remarks and pointed sighs. But somehow, in between the sarcasm and occasional glares, their work came together.
By the fourth day, Hermione realized—almost begrudgingly—that Malfoy was actually clever. His ideas were sharp, his knowledge of spell mechanics precise. More surprising? He was funny in a dry, smug way that sometimes made her bite back a smile.
"See? I can be useful," he remarked one evening as they worked in the library, his handwriting surprisingly neat as he scribbled out a section of their research.
"Miracles do happen," she said without looking up.
Draco chuckled, and something shifted between them—something subtle, something unspoken. The tension that once filled the space between them had softened, replaced by an ease Hermione never thought possible.
Maybe, just maybe, working with Draco Malfoy wasn’t the worst thing in the world.