Draco was freaking out. He'd done everything he could to get his marks up as high as possible, and he was still second to Granger. He couldn't figure it out. He'd done everything. He'd done extra work, studied more than he had thought was humanly possible, and finished with near perfect marks in every subject.
"Calm down," Blaise told him. "You did better than just about everyone. Your parents can't be mad about that."
"They can," Draco muttered. "They always are."
He heaved a sigh. He wasn't looking forward to going home. His father was sure to yell at him for not proving that purebloods were the best. He hoped that was as bad as it was going to get.
"I'm going for a walk," he said.
He walked out of the Slytherin common room and up to the first floor. There was a breeze flowing through the castle, probably due to some door someone had left open. It felt nice and calmed his nerves a bit.
He was so wrapped in his thoughts that he didn't realise that he'd walked right into the person who occupied his thoughts.
"Sorry Granger," he said, backing away.
"No insults?" she asked skeptically.
"Look Granger, I don't like you. But you're doing something right. I thought I had finally beaten you this year."
She smirked. "I've been getting better marks than you since first year. It might have been four years since then, but I doubt that will change anytime soon."
"Well, I think I'll just go." He shoved his hands into the pockets of his robes, feeling very awkward.
"What's bothering you, Malfoy?" Hermione asked.
"Are you sure that talking to me isn't a mistake?" Malfoy asked.
"I'm hardly ever sure that anything I do isn't a mistake," Hermione said. "I doubt you would understand. It's not like your brain has a big neon sign that says 'mistake' every time you do anything."
"You'd be surprised," Malfoy muttered under his breath. "Good night Granger."