Disclaimer: I do not, will not, own Harry Potter. *Sigh* The Art of Waiting Mr. Malfoy, eyes in front!

Draco took his eyes off the clock and turned to smirk at the glaring professor. 10 points from Slytherin Draco zoned out of Transfiguration as soon as Professor McGonagall opened her mouth. It was a quarter to noon. Not counting the minutes McGonagall would probably extend. He sighed. Time was the dilemma. He had to be at the corridor by the Great Hall five minutes before noon, before all the students come marching in, so he could focus on his subject. His prey. Damnit. How am I supposed to leave without McGonagall seeing? Draco smirked. She didnt need to not see me. A plan was falling into place. He turned his head towards the Gryffindors, looking for something to start with. He spotted Neville staring mouth agape at McGonagall. Perfect, he thought. Draco waited. Neville continued to ogle. When he decided that hed waited long enough, Draco executed his plan. Whats wrong, Longarse? Draco said, mock pity dripping from his voice. He decided to start off with something simple Cat got your tongue? Chuckles rose from the students. The professor turned to the sounds. Glaring at the smirking blond, she snapped, Thats enough Mr. Malfoy. Do not disrupt my class. Aw, Longarse is hiding behind his mummy. Wait, I forgot! Draco said, feigning surprise, his face displaying a mocking smirk. He doesnt have a mummy. Gasps erupted from both the Slytherin and Gryffindor students. His mummys gone all cuckoo. Poor little Longarse.

All Gryffindors and Slytherins were in a state of shock. No one has ever gone insulting Neville that far before. Mocking him about his parents? All of them thought the same thing: Draco was feeling extremely heartless today. Draco was shocked himself. He thought it, but he wouldnt have said it. Shit, he thought. Shit, shit, shit! How could he have said that? Contrary to popular belief, Draco did have a heart, though he just didnt show it. He felt guilty to the bone when he saw Nevilles quivering lip and wet eyes as Neville ran and left the room. Okay, Ive got to think positive. This would help me reach my goal. If this wont make me succeed, I dont know what the bloody hell would. MR. MALFOY! How dare you do this to Mr. Longbottom! 60 points from Slytherin! And detention with Professor Flitwick! DAMNIT! It didnt fucking work! Draco started to panic. His brain was on overdrive. It was 8 minutes to noon. He only had three minutes to get kicked out of class by McGonagall and to sprint to the Great Hall. His body seemed to move on its own account at this point. He took a piece of parchment, crumpled it in his hand, and threw it to Merlin knows where. Draco looked up, checking to see to whom he threw the paper to. Shit. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. The crumpled ball of paper flew in the air over the heads of Slytherins and Gryffindors. Audible gasps were uttered by the students who saw and from Draco himself. The ball seemed to fly towards a white mass of hair. Hearing the gasps, McGonagall turned to look at her students to ask what all the commotion was about. The ball hit McGonagall square on the face. The room became as silent as a grave.

Draco took advantage of the situation. He stood up, squared his shoulders, cleared his voice and channelled all his Malfoy pride to his face through a smirk. Thats for giving me detention, he sneered at the enraged professor. There wasnt a single rustle of papers, not a single sound. In the silent classroom, Dracos calm bored voice was as clear as a bell. No doubt, McGonagall heard him. A mask of shock was displayed on the face of every single person in the room. The students watched in fascination and fear as their professors face turned from a bright red to a furious shade of purple. This will definitely do, Draco thought. MR. MALFOY, LEAVE THIS CLASS AT ONCE! You are to be called to my office during lunch, and we shall discuss your punishment! Now get out! Everyone looked at him with a certain emotion, Slytherins slightly smug but sympathizing and Gryffindors just plain agitated. That was his queue. At once he fled the Transfiguration classroom and sped through hallways leading to the Great Hall. People roaming the halls shot him odd looks. He didnt care. He needed to be there in time. Hed been waiting for this for six years. Not that he wouldnt have done it in the past years, but it just so happens that Pothead and Weasel always prevented him from achieving his goals; there was also the thing with You-know-who. He only had one chance. One shot. This opportunity wont present itself ever again. And so he ran. He raced through the corridors with that in mind. At last, he was there. Right on schedule. Panting, he started pacing the empty corridor coming up with his script for his encounter with his target. Everything was set. When the clock chimed twelve, the students started pouring in. He started searching for his target, turning his head and craning his neck to see at least a glimpse of his prey. There you are, Granger, he thought when he spotted a familiar head of brown hair. Time to execute his plan.

Thankfully, she was alone. Thank Merlin those dammed Potter and Weasel didnt come back for their last year, Draco thought. Hermione came into full view, and Draco followed her in a faster pace. He nudged her with his elbow, accidentally hitting her own. Im sor- Hermione started, but was cut short. Sorry to hit you on your birthday, mudblood, Malfoy smirked. Hermione, shocked to hear his voice apologizing, stopped walking and turned to look at Draco. Did you just say sorry? Well it is your birthday, Granger. How did heHermione processed this for a minute. How did you know it was my birthday? She asked, her brown eyes narrowing, but with a twinkle and a slight curve tugging at the edges of her lips. He saw the smile. He liked the smile, but he had to stop the smile. Dracos smile faltered for a second. He knew he would regret the next part of his plan. With an inaudible sigh, he started. I could never I forget the worst day of purebloods, the day you polluted the wizarding world, the day you- Draco was cut off by a pang of pain on his face. She curtly turned her head away and walked to Ginny Weasly. She spotted her best friend, her fiery hair standing out from the crowd. There you are! I was looking all over for you and I- Ginny stopped in her tracks as she noticed something. Hermione, why do you look so happy? Did my brother send you anything special for your birthday? Ginny asked, wiggling her eyebrows. Hermione, in fact, did look happy. She was blushing as she made her way to the redhead. Her brown doe eyes twinkled as she retreated from the crowd.

Oh shut it, Ginny. Hermiones smile widened. Draco remembered. He remembered. She sighed a contented sigh, took Ginnys arm and towed her to the Great Hall. Hermione was barely listening to the plans of Ginny about going to Hogsmede. Her mind was quite occupied. He remembered. Draco put his hand on his check. Bloody Merlin, that hurt! But hell it was worth it. That smile was worth it. It was worth it to get some Slytherin points removed. They were going to lose anyway. It was worth getting detention and worth having whatever punishment that old hag McGonagall was going to give him. Hmm. I have to find a way out of this. But whether he gets out of it or not, it was still worth it. A/N And so ends my first fanfic! Hope you liked it :D Creds to my beta/ Classmate who wanted to remain anonymous. Without her, my story would be poo. Really. Anyway, just a shout out to my classmates who might stumble upon this work of art *snorts* Haha. :D Leave a review! I need the criticism. Thanks :D