Chapter I

It was a beautiful night. The sky was covered with thick dark blue clouds slowly moving across the sky. The night wasn't dark, however, as you could see rays of light from the blue moon piercing through the clouds. Seated at a window of the prefect apartments, Draco could hear the sound of the waves from the Great Lake. The cold chill in the air and the thunder indicated that soon rain was going to pour out. From where he was, Draco could even see a light fog hovering over the lake.

Draco loved nights like these. He used to love them before because they made it a perfect time to sleep in. Now he loved them because the tumult outside matched the tumult inside. Nothing was worse than feeling depressed on a sunny day. He arched his shoulders from behind, stretching his tired body. He had not slept more than five hours the whole week and the bags under his eyes were starting to attract the attention of the professors and some of the students who still cared about his existence. He didn't want the attention but all the potions he had tried had failed.

He was about to close the window and go back to his room when he heard footsteps. Draco was surprised to even hear them, they were barely just a whisper. He turned to see Granger standing in the entrance of their common room. She was eyeing him with those worried eyes he hated. He dropped his eyes from her face to look at her feet where two furry bunny ears where. That explained why he could barely hear her come in.

"What are you doing awake so late?" She asked with her authoritative voice.

"Cute bunnies Granger." He retorted with a smirk.

"Would you close that window, it's freezing." She said walking towards him.

"Don't tell me what to do. If it's too cold for you, go back to your room." He crossed his arms in front of him in a stubborn manner. He was planning to leave anyway but he didn't like her tone.

Suddenly a thunder bigger than the others, thud through the sky and the rain started. Draco looked behind him to see the outpouring of water, this made his position delicate.

"Malfoy would you stop being a stubborn child and close that window," Hermione exclaimed with exasperation in her voice.

With an angry sigh, Draco hoped off his tour and closed the window. He turned to the girl.

"Happy Granger?" He said.

"Very." She smirked at him. "Now tell me why aren't you sleeping?"

"I told you, you are not my mother."

"Thank goodness I am not," she answered mimicking a shiver. "I am just trying to help you Malfoy."

"I don't need your help, Granger." He said looking angrier than ever.

"Hello, have you looked in a mirror recently?" Hermione said while going to sit in the large green couch near her. "Sir Nicholas looks better than you."

Without thinking about it Draco took a sit himself in the red armchair that was near the window. His eyes were fixed on the coffee table that was between them. None of them seemed to realize the irony in their choices of seats. They sat in silence for a few seconds. Maybe asking her for advice wasn't such a bad idea, after all, she was the smartest witch of their generation and besides he was so tired he was ready to try anything at this point.

"I can't sleep" He finally said.

"You don't say?" She joked. He shot her a menacing look that erased her smile. "I know you can't sleep Malfoy, anyone with eyes and common sense knows that. What I don't know is why."

"Doesn't matter why." He muttered. "I just need to sleep."

"Did you try a sleeping draught?" She asked.

"No, but I did try looking at a recording of you talking in class. When it didn't work I knew I was screwed. I didn't bother trying anything else." He said sarcastically. "Of course I tried a sleeping-draught, I tried all of them. Although now that I think about it, listening to you talk might be the antidote I need."

Hermione rolled her eyes with an annoyed sigh.

"Would it kill you to be a decent human being for once in your life Malfoy."

She stood up and left toward her room.

"Come on Granger, it was just a joke. Don't be such a ..."

She pivoted on her feet with a deadly look in her eyes that made the rest of his answer die in his mouth. He didn't need her to turn crazy and break loose on him. She turned back and went through her corridor. He heard the door of her room open and close. He sighed and slid in his chair letting his head rest on the back of the chair. He was in for another long night. Surprisingly enough he heard Hermione's door open again and close. She came back with a glass of water and a little rectangle packet.

"Here." She gave him the glass of water and took the other packet to pop two white oval pills.

"What are those?" He asked suspiciously.

"Just take them they will help you sleep." She said

"I am not taking anything before you tell me what it is."

She sighed, exasperated and sat down on the floor facing him.

"Last year when we were looking for the... Horcruxes, I had trouble sleeping. I started looking for any potions to help me but it turned out that I was impervious to any kind of sleep potion so I started taking these. They are sleeping... potions from the Muggle world. When you said you tried everything and it didn't work I thought you might have the same thing as me. I know your blood is too pure to get in contact with Muggle things but this might be the only thing that works for you and you know ... "

"I'll take them if you'll stop talking," Draco interrupted

Hermione gave him the cutest angelic smile, causing him almost to smile back, only for her to give him have a light tap behind his head.

Hey!

Just take them, she shoved the pills in his hand.

"So how do I do this?" He asked. "Do I dip them in the water?"

"No, just swallow them without chewing. The water is there to help you get them down."

Draco raised an eyebrow and shook his head.

"Such a muggle thing to do ...absolutely inconvenient... barbaric ... ." He whispered under his breath while staring at the white pills he had first mistaken for some sort of seeds.

"Don't be a baby, it's not that difficult" Hermione teased him. He gave her a very displeased look. He closed his eyes and dumped the pills in his mouth at once. He then proceeded to drink the whole glass of water. He winced, disgusted.

"It's awful." He said

Hermione chuckled with her hand blocking her mouth before she exploded in laughter, laying on the carpet, she brought her hands on her belly shaken by chuckles that wouldn't stop. Draco urged her several times to stop in vain. It was as if she was unaware he was even there. Soon he gave up talking and allowed himself to smile as she couldn't see his face in her position. He had never seen her like that. She looked so adorable with her little girl's laugh. Looking at her rolling on the floor with laughter you wouldn't think she was the witch they all most certainly owed their peace to. Sure Potter defeated Voldemort, but as he said it several times himself, he couldn't have done it without his friends. And one of the people that played a huge part in it, and risked her life for all, was there in front of him, laughing like a child. The chill he had felt all over his body ever since he saw her dance with Victor Krum came back again. She was beautiful.

Hermione stood up with her hand still on her belly and went to lie back on the green couch.

"I am... so sorry... Malfoy... but that was... too funny." She said recovering her breath.

Malfoy recomposed his face and shook his head lightly. They sat there in silence for several minutes. She had helped him, she should head back to her room. But for some reason, she wasn't moving. She was lying on the sofa, staring at the ceiling. Meanwhile, Draco was busy memorizing her traits for later, when she would be gone.

"So why can't you sleep?" She asked abruptly.

He jumped a little, startled when she turned her face to look at him.

"It doesn't matter." He turned his face to the fireplace, to hide his red cheeks.

"The war is over, Malfoy." She said slowly. "You don't have to do that anymore. You don't have to play the part you don't like."

He smiled faintly, wishing he could believe that.

"That's a cute sentiment Granger and also one that doesn't really matter," he said "Everyone already has their mind made about me...about my family. I'm still Draco Malfoy whether I like it or not, that's the name I carry along with its identity. People don't forget Granger. "

Hermione saw sadness for the second time in Draco Malfoy's eyes. The first time, was before Neville killed Nagini, when they all thought it was over. Everything seemed to be against them, Harry was lying dead, and Voldemort was calling people who wanted his pardon. They had lost. Hermione was looking at his friend's body, devastated when her eyes met grey ones that had more sadness in them than the entire camp. That's when she realized that Draco Malfoy's body may have been on Voldermort's camp but his heart was with them.

"Then you change their minds," she said sitting up. "If it weren't for you covering for us when they captured us, Harry would have never been able to defeat Voldemort. And your mom, she saved Harry from sure death. You are heroes. And yes, maybe some stupid people, who know nothing about anything, still believe you and your family are traitors. But if anyone can rebuild the Malfoy's name, it's you. No one should ever be forced to live in the past forever. "

Draco felt warmth grow in his chest and overtake his whole body. Hermione's eyes were glistening with passion, she truly believed what she was saying. He was baffled. He felt a goofy smile wanting to come out but held it in time. Hermione Granger saw him to be a hero. He was beyond amazed and shocked when she and her friends came to testy on behalf of her mother and him. Because of them his mother and he were granted pardon and his father was given a sentence of five years in Azkaban for harboring Voldemort, which was very generous considering the circumstances. He also got to know during the trial that Dumbledore was dying and that he ordered Snape to kill him, hence saving him from becoming a murderer and saving his family at the same time. The old man esteem grew in Draco's heart from that day. Even with all that he still thought that Granger saw him to be a coward and a Death Eater, not a hero. His family's name may not be as strained as he thought.

"Has anyone told you how exceedingly annoying it is to always be right." He simply said.

Hermione smiled widely. Seeing how receptive he was, she started asking him about his childhood. Draco didn't want to be interrogated so they decided to share each one thing at a time. From the stories Draco told, Hermione concluded that Lucious Malfoy really was a vicious man. He essentially raised Draco to be a bully. Narcissa who Hermione always saw as a strong dignified woman, seemed to rarely stand up to her husband.

"My mother was always in love with my father. I think he loved her too. He always bought her expensive things. But then again, he also bought me expensive things."

"You don't think your father loved you?"

"I know he cared that the family always looked good ." He answered running his hand in his golden hair. "He expected me to be the best in everything. But how could I compete with Miss Know-It-All? No offense. It was worse when I got to know you were Muggle-born. I knew my father will freak, then Potter just had to be this seeker prodigy. My Hogwarts records were screwed up in advance with you two. "

He went silent and stared into the fire place, embarrassed for sharing so much of himself.

"I was bullied in my Muggle school before I received my letter from Hogwarts. I was bullied for being a weirdo and because of my hair too." She ran a hand in the ends of her brown hair. "One day this girl Susie she grabbed my hair and she was making fun of me. I got so mad I wished she would become a cockroach. She grew antennas and small picks on her arms. Everyone talked about it for months. "

"Well, you do have a low tolerance for bullies, my nose still twitches when I see you."

They laughed.

"I am sorry I called you a Mudblood... and for everything else too."

He stared in her eyes, feeling more vulnerable than ever before. Hermione smiled softly and nodded her head. They continued talking recalling moments they lived in the castle and telling stories that happened outside too. Some were light and funny, like when Hermione attempted to play Quidditch when dared by Ron or when Draco put Pansy's love potion destined for him in Crabbe's pumpkin juice. Others were more heavy and serious like when Draco had to live in a house full of Death Eaters and how Hermione had to erase her parents' memory to protect them against Voldemort. There were laughs to the good memories, there were silent mourning's of their innocence. Draco opened up like he never did before pouring out the anxiety he had for months about his family's status, his father being in jail and his mother alone at home. And she listened, she understood, she cared.

Hermione was telling the story of how she got a time turner in third year so that she can take more classes when she realized Draco was too quiet. She turned to look at him and smiled. He was asleep, his head tilted on his left. She levitated his body to the couch she was lying on. She didn't want to bring him in his bedroom, in case she was trespassing. She was happy it was Sunday, he could have a good night sleep and a good morning sleep. She covered him with a blanket and stared at his Adonis face for some time. She gently brushed a lock of hair out of his face. He was so handsome, she thought, it was a pity he only saw her as the annoying know-it-all. Maybe now that they had become sort of friends, she would get to know him and realize he was the worst and finally get over her crush on him. She smiled while going to her room, knowing in advance she had already lost that battle.