Hermione yawned and stretched out her hand trying to pull her pillow back under her cheek.  Even though she was still half asleep, she could still identify the hard thing under her head as a book. 

      "Should have put my books away before I went to bed," she thought to herself sleepily. 

      Hermione stayed that way, torn between sleep and wakefulness, for another moment before she remembered something extremely important.  She had never gone to bed the night before.  That certainly shocked her fully awake. 

      She was still in their room.  She had been sleeping in her large, squishy chair, the book that she had been trying to translate serving as a pillow.  Hermione rubbed her eyes, it was rather dark in the room, the fires had never been lit and the candles had smoldered themselves out ages ago.  There was a chill in the air and Hermione pulled her cloak tighter around herself, trying to fend off the cold.  But in her rush, she had left her cloak at the ball with Dean; this cloak was dark gray and would match perfectly with the dress robes that Draco had been wearing at the ball. 

      Hermione pulled the lapels of the cloak tighter and tilted her head slightly so that she could feel the softness of the fabric against her cheek.  It smelled faintly of some exotic spice, perhaps patchouli.  Draco himself, she noticed, was still sitting across from her in the dark, his head propped up against his hand.  Pale tousled hair that seemed to almost glow in the dimness was hanging low over his face. 

      Hermione yawned again and wished that she had at least gone to change before she had drug him up here.  As if waking up in a dark cold room after you had been sleeping in a chair wasn't bad enough, she had done it in her new dress robes. 

      She stood up unsteadily and walked to the windows, it was very dark outside, not that she would have been able to see anything through the glass even if it hadn't been the middle of the night.  The window was covered in a fine sheet of frost. 

      She returned to the table and lightly touched Draco's shoulder.  When he didn't stir she leaned down and whispered quietly. 

      "Mal...Draco, wake up." 

      He didn't respond.  Hermione glared at his sleeping form, he would have to be a deep sleeper.  Leaning closer, she tightened her grip on his arm.

      "Draco," she shook his arm, "wake up."

      And he did.  With a startled grunt he jerked back from the table and grabbed her.  Before Hermione could even register what was happening, she found herself laying on the table staring wide-eyed up at Draco.  He held her arm painfully tight and she was very aware of the tip of his wand pointing at her throat. 

      "Malfoy!  Have you gone daft?"  She snapped, half in anger, half in fear.

      His dark gray eyes lightened as he recognized her and he let go of her arm.

      "Hermione, what are you doing in my dorm?"  Draco's surprise faded and he gave Hermione a seductive smirk.

      "Get off Draco, I'm not in your dorm, and neither are you."  Hermione said sourly.

      Draco stepped back from her, and Hermione sat up, she was still leaning against the table.  Her arm was beginning to ache slightly and she grimaced.

      "Did I hurt you?"  Draco's smirk faded and he stepped closer to her again.

      "No, no, I'm sure that once the blood starts flowing again everything will be fine."  Hermione said waspishly.  

      "Here, let me see." 

      Draco didn't wait for an answer; he took her arm and gently pushed up the flared sleeve of her robe.  In the dark, the vibrant scarlet was a dark maroon, and it contrasted strongly with the bright white of her arm.  Even in the dark, the place where he had gripped her arm could be seen; small red splotches marked where his fingers had been.

      "Bloody hell Granger, why do you have to bruise so easily?  That's no fun at all." 

      Hermione glared at him, but he only smiled at her with amusement.  He hadn't let go of her arm and Hermione's glare faded as she realized that he was gently tracing the marks with the tip of his thumb.  She swallowed hard as he looked down at her, looked into her.  Suddenly aware of how close he was to her, she tried to move back, which was quite impossible since she was leaning against the heavy wooden table. 

      Draco seemed to become aware of their closeness as well and he immediately let go her arm and let the sleeve fall back down.  He turned away from her and started to rummage through a box for a spare candle.  Hermione breathed a sigh of relief and felt her heart beat start to slow again.

      "We must have fallen asleep."  She said breathlessly.

      "Good show of stating the obvious." 

      Draco's superior smirk was lost in the darkness, but Hermione knew that it was there.  She could almost hear it. 

      "Well you're rather disagreeable when you don't get your beauty sleep aren't you?"  She snapped.

      A candle flared in time for her to see the bemused look that Draco was wearing before it disappeared in shadows again.  He set the candle on the table and looked down at the large book that he had been going through. 

      "This is harder than I thought it would be," Hermione muttered more to herself than to him.

      "Blasted code.  Why on earth did he have to make his own Arithmancy system?"  Draco glared at the book.

      "The code?  I'm talking about the Latin; the Arithmancy is the easy part.  It's all just a list of corresponding numbers." Hermione sat down dejectedly next to him.

      "Certum est, quia impossibile."  Draco said softly.

      Hermione arched an eyebrow, "you speak Latin?"

      "I can speak it, read, and write it."  Draco's voice held more than a hint of pride.

      "You're joking."

      "Classical education," Draco said sounding offended.  "What, did you think that my education started here at Hogwarts?"

      "Well, don't most witches and wizards..." Hermione began.

      "Do the Malfoys sound like most witches and wizards to you?"  Draco questioned.  "I've had tutors for as long as I can remember.  Lucius always believed that I should have a solid foundation for later schooling.  Oh, and most dark magic spells are in Latin."  He added that as an afterthought.

      "I'll keep that in mind," Hermione told him, torn between amusement and disapproval.

      "Hermione, I think that you're really seeing this the wrong way."  Draco told her patiently. 

      "Oh really?  I've only devoted a great deal of my time to this project and I don't seem to be getting anywhere.  I know that the answers are right there in front of me and I just can't read them."  She broke off here, a little out of breath.

      "Oh calm down Hermione, I don't think you're looking at this rationally."  He spoke slowly as if he was afraid of another outburst, but Hermione could tell that he was still finding this very entertaining.

      "Oh I'm not thinking rationally am I, Malfoy?"  She said acidly.

      "No, you're not Granger," he retorted with an equal measure of bite.  "You are a marvel with the codes and I am a linguistical genius." 

      Hermione just rolled her eyes.

      "Come on Granger, put it together."  Draco decided that she must be too tired to think properly and didn't wait for her answer.  "You can break the code and I'll translate, if we work together it shouldn't be a problem.  Teamwork, Granger." 

      Hermione sighed, her head hurt and she was achy from cold.  He was right, of course, she hated when he was right. 

      "Fine!  We'll work together."  She agreed finally, "But I think that we should wait for tomorrow before we start."

      Draco nodded at her and he started to blow out the candles.  Hermione turned to gather her things and then remembered that she had come here straight from the ball.  She had only taken a moment or two to exchange hurried apologies with Dean for leaving early.  Harry and Ron had both complained that she had promised them each a dance and Ginny had given her a knowing look, but Hermione had been able to sidestep them all and escape into the hall.  In her excitement, she hadn't noticed Harry and Ron watching her leave with Draco. 

      "Ready?"  Draco whispered from the door.

      Hermione nodded her curly head even though there was no way that he could see it in the dark. 

      After she had locked the door to their room, they stole stealthily down the spiral stairs and then across the library.  They would normally part ways outside of the library, but Draco seemed lost in thought and he accompanied her through the silent halls back towards Gryffindor tower.  She watched him out of the corner of her eye, but he seemed very distant. 

      The fat lady was snoring softly when they reached the portrait hole.  Hermione turned to Draco, was he intending on following her in?

      "Draco?"  She whispered.

      "So this is the way into Gryffindor Tower?  Good thing to know."  He muttered softly.

      "Oh yes, because you love to drop by and visit every now and then."

      Hermione stood patiently waiting for him to leave, as tired as she was, there was no way she was going to announce the password in front of him.  But Draco seemed to not be paying attention.  Hermione remembered his cloak.

      "Here," she murmured as she pulled the dark gray cloak from her shoulders.

      Draco took it from her slowly, as if not really seeing it.  He was staring at her with a look that Hermione found somewhat unsettling and exciting at the same time.  His gray eyes were once again stormy and dark, his face half hidden in shadow.  He seemed about to say something, or perhaps do something, when a movement caught both of their attention.

      Sitting only a few feet away was Mrs. Norris, her large glowing eyes studying them in the darkness. 

      Hermione gasped and stepped back, "you had better go, she can summon Filch faster than you would think."

      "And how often have you run into that blasted cat after hours?"  Draco whispered in surprise, a note of respect in his voice.

      "More often than I would have liked, now you had better go!"  Hermione motioned with her arm at the staircase. 

      Draco still stood, unmoving.

      "Look, if you get caught, who will help me translate Latin tomorrow?"  She pleaded.

      Draco looked at Mrs. Norris, and then back to Hermione.  He nodded and then dashed down the stairs.  Mrs. Norris gave Hermione a cold look before turning to follow.  Hermione turned to the portrait and whispered,

      "Christmas Cheer"

      The fat lady snorted in her sleep and then spoke in a yawn, "You've been out late dearie, you should tell your boyfriend not to keep you out after hours.  He is a handsome one though."  The pink lady smiled as Hermione flushed.

      "He's not my boyfriend!" she snapped as she stepped through the portrait hole.

      "Of course he isn't," the voice called out in amusement as the picture swung shut behind her.

      The common room was dark and Hermione made her way up the stairs to the girl's dorm.  Lavender and Parvarti were sound asleep when she got there.  A clock by her bedside told her that it was four in the morning.  Hermione quickly pulled off her dress robes and then slipped on her pajamas.  Feeling comforted by the soft flannel, Hermione allowed herself time to think about what had been weighing on her mind all night.  Draco Malfoy.

      Hermione climbed onto her bed and pulled the curtains closed around her.  She slid under her thick feather-down comforter and stared up at the crimson canopy.  What in the world was going on?

      She couldn't figure it out, one minute he was the same old Malfoy.  The same boy that hated all mudbloods and wished her and her friends nothing but ill will.  But then, the next moment he would be kind and almost caring.  Hermione shivered suddenly as she pictured his deep gray eyes looking into hers. 

      She hadn't expected him to come to her during the ball.  She was glad that he had though.  It wasn't that she hadn't been enjoying herself at the dance.  It just wasn't what she had wanted.  Even though it was silly, she could never quite dismiss the need for something magical to happen.  And as much as Hermione hated to admit it, dancing with Draco under a star filled sky with snowflakes falling delicately around them had been more magical than she could have ever wished for. 

      The next morning dawned clear, crisp, and bright.  Light glistened all around as the wet snow shone in the sun.  There was no hint that another storm was brewing, inside or outside of Gryffindor tower.  And Hermione woke up feeling relaxed and happy.  A sparkle of anticipation fluttered around in her stomach.  Whether it was the prospect of finally making some headway with books, or the fact that Draco would be waiting for her, she didn't know. 

      Dressing quickly, Hermione pulled one of her black school robes off the back of a chair and scooped her backpack off of the floor before starting down to the common room.  She hummed a melody as she walked along the stairs.  Had she given it a little thought, Hermione would have remembered that it was the song that she and Draco had danced too.  But Hermione was too light hearted to give it any real consideration. 

      She had almost reached the bottom landing when the fourth year girls' dorm swung open a floor above her.  Hurried steps were descending quickly.

      "Hermione?"  Ginny's voice echoed down the stairs.

      Hermione called back over her shoulder as she crossed to the entrance of the common room.  "I'm in a bit of a rush Gin, I'll meet you for lunch."

      "No, wait, Hermione you don't understand." 

      But Ginny's pleas fell on deaf ears as Hermione walked through the archway and into the common room.  She stopped short when she found Ron and Harry sitting at a near-by table.  Their expressions were unreadable, but the stiff way that Harry sat told her that whatever this was about, they were determined.  An unbidden thought ran through Hermione's mind as they stared her down.  Ambush.

      "Hermione!"  Ginny had suddenly appeared on the landing behind her looking very out of breath.  Her eyes fell on Harry and Ron.  "I tried to warn you."  She whispered.

      "Wh...what's going on?"  Hermione asked cautiously, her light mood sinking.

      "You should sit down Hermione," Harry told her decidedly.

      Hermione glanced from Harry to Ron and then back at Ginny before she sat down at the table.  Ron gave Ginny a dark look as she took a seat next to Hermione, but he didn't say anything.  Harry and Ron looked at each other unsure of where to begin.  Ron finally becoming exasperated turned to Hermione with a glower and virtually spat at her.

      "What the bloody hell are you doing with that prat Malfoy?" 

      Hermione's jaw dropped and she stared at Ron in shock.  How could he have known?  Was it so obvious that she was having strange feelings and ideas about Draco. 

      "We saw you leave the ball with him."  Harry said quickly as Ron looked about ready to say something equally unpleasant. 

      "Oh," Hermione said in relief, "is that all?  Draco and I just wanted to go to the library."

      Ron's face suddenly suffused with color and Hermione knew immediately that she had said the wrong thing. 

      "Draco?  Since when do you call him Draco?"  Ron's voice was low and dangerous.

      "I...well it's just easier than calling him Malfoy all the time."  She muttered.

      "Hermione, what's going on?"  Harry asked calmly.

      "What's going on?  Isn't it obvious Harry, that stupid git has done something to her!" 

      "Oh shut up Ron!"  Hermione snapped as her temper gave way. 

      It was now Ron's turn to stare at her with his mouth-agape. 

      "He's not evil you know."  She said angrily, "you've never even given him chance, not that he's really ever deserved one I'll admit, but you can't get angry at me just because I've made the best of a bad situation and found that it isn't that bad after all." 

      "You don't get it!"  Ron glowered at Hermione.

      "Ron," Harry tried to cut in but Ron ignored him.

      "It's Malfoy!  He's a Slytherin, and he is evil.  How can you just forget that?  I'll bet he's already down on the list for future death eaters.  How can you defend him?" 

      Ron had gotten to his feet when he began his rant.  And Hermione stood up quickly so that he wasn't towering above her.  Both Harry and Ginny edged away from the feuding pair.

      "He's not a death eater!"  Hermione yelled back at him.  "And he's not going to be either!"

      "Oh that's rich, what, did he tell you that when you caught him helping little old witches across the street at Hogsmeade?"  Ron's face was bright red now and everyone in the common room had stopped to watch.

      "Ron," Harry tried again to stop his friend before could go to far.

      "I believe him!"  Hermione said shrilly, her face equally red.

      "You can't trust him, he's a slimy Slytherin!"  Ron shook off Harry's hand.  "You are so stupid Hermione!"

      "Ron!"  Both Ginny and Harry gasped at once.

      Ron stopped short, slightly out of breath and wild-eyed, he slowly seemed to realize what he had been saying.  The common room was silent, he glanced around, all eyes were upon them.  He turned back to face Hermione, she was unnaturally white. 

      "Hermione," he began.

      She stepped back from the table.  Her hands were trembling and she could hardly see through the silvery cloud of tears that were in her eyes.  Hermione pulled her bag back onto her shoulder and took another step backward. 

      "Hermione, I didn't mean it like that."  Ron whispered.

      She shook her head at him and felt one large tear slip down her cheek.  Hermione turned suddenly and ran across the common.  She darted though the portrait hole and left it hanging open.  Ron called her name once in desperation but she didn't stop running.

Hermione fled blindly down the stairs.  She crossed one corridor after another trying to put as much distance between Ron, Harry, and herself.  She ignored the wondrous glances that she was receiving from her fellow classmates and she didn't even acknowledge Neville when she past him in the Transfiguration hall. 

      It was instinct alone that guided Hermione to the library.  It was because of her deep rooted belief that whatever problem she might be facing, reading a book would somehow make it better, that she found herself standing at one end of the gallery that led to the library. 

      A door to her immediate right, the boy's bathroom, opened and a figure with pale hair and Slytherin robes stepped from it.  Hermione looked up at Draco in surprise and relief.  It was comforting to see him, even if she didn't know why.  His gray eyes flashed angrily as he noticed her tear streaked face.  He seemed about to say something to her when the door opened again and Draco was followed by Crabbe and Goyle.

      Hermione wiped at her eyes with the cuff of her sleeve, but she couldn't hide the flushed cheeks or red eyes.  Cruel, identical grins spread across Crabbe and Goyle's faces.

      "Oh look, the mudblood has been crying,"  Goyle's grin broadened.

      "What's wrong Granger?  Potter and Weasley don't love you anymore?"  Crabbe laughed. 

      Hermione swallowed the lump in her throat and stared at Draco.  He looked away, his gray eyes focusing on something along the wall in the distance.  She realized that he wasn't going to say anything, that he was just going to stand by and pretend like there was nothing between them, like they were still enemies.  Were they still enemies?

      For the second time that evening, she found herself incapable of looking at someone that she cared for.  She pulled her eyes away from his face and studied the floor.  Crabbe and Goyle took a threatening step towards her and Hermione stepped back.  There weren't any answers to be found in the library today.  Hermione felt as if the walls were closing in and the tears that had almost stopped at the pleasure of seeing Draco were promising to pour down her cheeks in a mere moment.  Hermione turned from the trio and sped down the hall. 

      She hardly knew where she was going, only that she needed to be outside where the air was fresh and she could breathe.  Hermione didn't stop running until she had reached the edge of the lake.  Here she collapsed onto a large fallen log and tried to reclaim her breath. 

      The snow was piled deep and a thin sheet of ice covered the lake.  The sky, which had been bright earlier that morning, was darkening now as a winter storm approached.  The wind picked up and Hermione shivered.  In all the confusion, she had somehow forgotten her cloak again; it lay in a piled heap on the floor of the Gryffindor common room.  She pulled her knees up to her chin and wrapped her arms around them trying to be as warm as possible; it wasn't working tremendously well.

      "'ermione?"  A booming voice almost made her fall off the log.

      "Hagrid," she replied quietly, a quavering note still lingering in her voice.

      "Yeh know, 'arry and Ron 'ave been out lookin for yeh.  Asked me if I 'ad seen yeh.  Might worried they 're." 

      Hermione looked away from Hagrid and struggled not to cry anymore.  How could she go back and face them?  After what Ron had said to her, in front of everyone.  How could she go back knowing that he was right after all? 

      A sudden, heavy weight fell upon her shoulders and Hermione found herself enveloped in Hagrid's moleskin coat.  She turned to face him in surprise.

      "C'mon, I'll make us a bit of tea.  Rather obvious that yeh need some."  Hagrid easily picked her up and set her on her feet.  He turned and headed towards his hut.  Hermione had no choice but to follow.

      Two steaming cups of tea later, Hermione was beginning to feel herself again.  Hagrid, who seemed to know better than to ask her what was wrong, was explaining his plans for his next class.  School would be starting up in a few days and he was almost as glad as Hermione was.  He was animatedly telling her about a pair of Bulettes that he had managed to acquire.  Hermione knew better than to ask where, or better why, he had gotten them.  She knew them to be very dangerous beasts not native to the British Isles.  Their penchant for meat and ferocity in a fight were well known, but she found herself smiling at the hulking man anyway. 

      "Hagrid," a sudden thought had just occurred to her, "did you and Professor Dumbledore ever catch the manticore?" 

      "Aye, week or so back.  'ad to put the thing down."  Hagrid's face fell as he mentioned this.  "It's interestin' that the thing went after Malfoy.  Being Lucius' son n' all."

      "Well Draco isn't like Lucius!"  Hermione snapped indignantly before she could stop herself.

      "Draco is et?" 

      Hermione flushed but Hagrid's eyes twinkled with amusement.

      "Ron did mention somethin' to me about you being in over yer head with that Slytherin.  But I told him and Harry that yeh've got a smart 'ead on yer shoulders and that yeh can take care of yehself."  He poured them another cup of tea.

      Hermione smiled at Hagrid and then sighed softly.  "I don't know Hagrid, they might be right.  Draco is just so impossible sometimes.  He's everything that I hate, and yet..." 

      "I don' think that ruddy git would know how to behave properly if someone was nice to em.  And yeh Hermione, yer a nice girl." 

      Hermione hoped very hard that she wasn't about to cry again, but it was a losing battle and Hagrid handed her a handkerchief that was so large she could have wrapped it around her waist and used it as a skirt. 

      "I wouldna judge any of them too 'ardly.  Boys do strange things when emotions are involved.  Don' know how to act if yeh ask me.  Mind yeh, we never grow out of that."  Hagrid laughed heartily and after a moment Hermione joined in. 

      "Thanks Hagrid."  Hermione whispered softly, a faint smile tugging at her lips. 

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