Chapter 2 – Yelling at Draco Malfoy

Granger had actually waited a full week before she attempted to coerce him into performing his duties as head boy again. He was impressed. Leaving the potions classroom one afternoon, he noticed her hiding, not very well mind you, behind a suit of armor in the hallway, apparently waiting for him to walk by. Whistling to himself, he passed her hiding spot and mentally counted to himself to see how long it would be before she spoke. 'eighteen…nineteen…'

"Malfoy!"

'Bingo.' Turning around, he flashed his cocky smile and simply stated, "What?"

"I really need your help tonight…"

"Now Granger, I had my doubts about the Weasel King, but for you to seek me out, well that is a compliment." Realizing what he was inferring, Granger blushed so deeply that she appeared to be sunburned.

"Ah...um…That's not what I meant! Ron is more than capable at night!" However, to Granger's dismay, she had gotten a little too enthusiastic near the end of her announcement, causing several students in the hallway to snicker as they quickly passed along the rumor that Weasley's girlfriend was defending his honor to Malfoy. Groaning, Granger dragged her hand across her face looking like she was waiting for the hallway to swallow her whole. "What I meant to say," she started again, this time more quietly, "is that tonight is the first night for patrols, something that I need your help in organizing and then performing."

"Look Granger, I thought I made myself clear last week," he replied to her. "I have no intention of acting as any sort of authority figure this year. McGonagall and that old hat can find themselves a new Head Boy." Hoping she would just leave it at that, Malfoy turned and once again started off down the hallway. It didn't take long before he heard quick footsteps announcing her approach once again. 'Merlin, why isn't she letting this go?' Stopping so he could tell her off yet again, she interrupted him before he could even open his mouth.

"Since when do you turn down the chance to boss everyone around?" He paused as he contemplated his response. He couldn't believe she had noticed the difference. He had been trying to act like his former cocky self, at least in public, but the act had been starting to wear thin. No one else had noticed that his behavior had been different. But then again, this was know-it-all Granger; he shouldn't have been so surprised at her noticing he was off.

"Granger, I have my reasons. Can't we just leave it at that?" Hoping she would truly just leave it before he started to get agitated, he arched an eyebrow, daring her to push it. Of course she did.

"But you're Draco Malfoy; you always bully other people into doing whatever you want…"

"Well maybe that was when I actually had some fucking influence to use Granger!" He didn't care anymore. Let her know the whole damn thing. Maybe then she would finally drop the subject. "In case you haven't noticed Granger, I don't exactly have the same clout I had six months ago. What threat do I pose to anyone now? I'm Malfoy the former death eater. My father's in jail and my mother's under house arrest. Why the fuck would anyone take me seriously now, let alone fear me of all things? To be honest, I'm surprised that McGonagall even fucking invited me back after all the shit I did the past two years. And you know what, fuck it! I don't care. I didn't even want to come back this year, but I'm here. My only goal now is to get through this year, and then put as much distance between myself and everything this place stands for. So Granger, please get this through your thick skull. I'm not acting as Head Boy this year, especially with you."

And he had meant it too. Leaving Granger shocked and for once with nothing to say, Malfoy had simply left her gaping in the hallway as he made his way back to the common room for some peace and quiet. Unfortunately, whatever powers-that-be existed hadn't agreed with Malfoy's plan. Upon entering the common room he had come across a very agitated and very red Ron Weasley. Apparently word had spread quickly that Granger had come seeking Malfoy's attention due to Weasley's lack of performance in the sack, or so one version of the story had said. To make matters worse, Potter was sitting in one of the overstuffed armchairs with the Weasley girl in his lap, both of them looking like they were about to start laughing hysterically at both Malfoy and Weasley's expenses. Figures Granger would choose the moron who believed everything he heard without realizing how ridiculous it sounded in the first place.

"Malfoy, what's this about you and my girlfriend?!" Malfoy rolled his eyes. He just wanted five minutes without some Gryffindor yelling at him.

"You know Weasley, I still don't quite get why little miss-know-it-all Granger chose your thick-headed self, but pay attention, she approached me in the hallway. As to whether or not she commented on your level of skill, well… you'll just have to ask her yourself won't you?" Pleased with the stunned expression that appeared on Weasley's face, Malfoy smirked and went up the short flight of steps to the boys' dormitory, only to realize a second later that seeing as how this was his room too, Weasley could just easily follow him, which he did when he came to the same conclusion five minutes later.

However, before Malfoy could decide which hex would be the best way to shut the Weasel up, Potter finally had the sense to step in and explain reason to his moronic friend. Malfoy rolled his eyes watching the two boys confer quietly in the corner, occasionally catching snippets of their conversation as he pretended to be bored by the entire situation. After the third "you're right, he is a slimy git" comment though, he decided that his bedroom would be no better than the potions hallway had been. As he walked back into the common room it was at this precise moment that the howler from McGonagall arrived in all its fury. It just seemed that the house of Gryffindor enjoyed yelling at Draco Malfoy.

"So I thought you weren't acting as Head Boy hmmm?"

Merlin she was annoying. She thought she was so damn smart with that stunt she pulled with McGonagall. He hated being played for the fool. Well, she may have won this round, but he'd get her back. The howler had instructed him that he was to show up for the meeting in the prefects' office that evening, but it never said he actually had to cooperate with the mudblood.

"You know you could be helping me with these patrol schedules. We'd be finished that much quicker."

So far, ignoring her inane comments was the best plan he had come up with. Watching her glare at him out of the corner of her eyes every time she looked up from her schedule had been amusing him up until this point. He wondered how long he could keep it up before she truly lost her composure. He hadn't acknowledged her once since he had arrived earlier. Instead he had sat himself next to her at the Heads' worktable and pulled out that day's edition of The Daily Prophet. It was the first time he had ever attempted to read the paper from cover to cover, but it seemed to be doing the trick. He had only five pages in when she had started her paltry attempts at goading him into helping, or at the very least conversation. Every now and then when he turned the page he shook the entire paper as if he was straightening it out, just to hear her annoyed sigh each time. An hour later he had finally reached the classifieds when he heard her throw her quill down on the table. Glancing over she simply glared at him in full force.

"Well it's done now no thanks to you. Do you think you could at least post these on the boards in each common room so the prefects know their duties?"

Giving her the look he had usually reserved for when Crabbe and Goyle said something dumb, he hoped she got the message that he was in no way acting as her errand boy.

"Forget it," she mumbled angrily to herself, "I don't know why I even bothered to ask."

"Lesson learned then?" he responded happily, grinning when she gave a start to the unexpected sound of his voice. "Maybe then Granger you'll learn that instead of running to McGonagall whenever you have a problem, you do what the fuck I tell you and leave me the hell alone."

"So that's what this night has been about then? Getting back at me for reporting you?"

"Honestly Granger, I thought you were supposed to be the brightest witch of our generation or some crap like that. Of course that's what it's all been about. That's what it has always been about." Rising from his seat he gathered his paper and began heading towards the door. "Oh, and one more thing Granger, tell Weasel not to bother me with his insecurities. Just because he is too thick-headed to listen to every bit of gossip, doesn't mean I have to suffer through his horrible attempts at intelligent communication." Pleased that he had had the final word, Malfoy shut the door behind him and started heading back towards the common room. Hopefully Zabini and Goyle were around so he didn't have to deal with Potter and Weasley again.

However, to his surprise, the common room was blissfully empty when he entered. Looking at the clock on the mantle of the fireplace, it made sense when Malfoy realized how late it was. 'Bloody hell, 2 o'clock? That means both of those idiots are asleep by now and making that horrible racket. I might as well just fucking sleep here.'

"Accio blanket." With a lazy flick of his wrist, Malfoy summoned his comforter from his bed and settled himself into the couch in front of the fire. 'I just might end up getting a better night's sleep than I usually do.' Closing his eyes, Malfoy stretched under his blanket and threw his right arm behind his head. Within minutes he was deep asleep.

He wasn't sure what it was that had awoken him. But without opening his eyes, Malfoy knew he wasn't alone. He couldn't have been asleep for too long either. He knew the fire hadn't even gone out yet because he could still feel the heat from the flames on his skin. He debated as to whether he should acknowledge whoever it was that was in the room, or ignore them and attempt to fall back asleep. Deciding on the latter, Malfoy tried in vain for ten minutes to fall back asleep. Realizing that whoever it was wasn't going away, he decided to just confront them and make them leave him alone. Cracking his eyes slightly, he almost jumped when he realized it was Granger sitting in one of the overstuffed armchairs, her gaze fixated on the dancing flames of the fire. Realizing she hadn't even noticed he was awake, he took the opportunity to watch her. Something he rarely ever did. Zabini hadn't been wrong when he said she had grown up. She was no longer the awkward little eleven year old he had attempted to befriend all those years ago before he understood the prejudices that existed in his world. Gone was the bushy mass of hair that had inhabited her head, only to be replaced with curls that finally were tamed and shining in the light of the fire. Her face had considerably thinned, revealing delicate cheek bones that would put most witches to shame. Malfoy didn't even want to think about the areas below her neck that had changed. He was only eighteen for Merlin's sake. He'd rather not have Granger find him aroused at the sight of her. Instead he kept focusing on her face, noticing for the first time that her eyes weren't simply mud brown as he had liked to think of them. Starting out dark at the edge and finishing out a golden color around the irises, her eyes positively glowed in the reflected light. It was at this moment that Malfoy came to the realization that what he had said to Zabini before was true. If Granger had made herself willing he would not only take her, but he'd probably want to repeat the process, something he had only done with Parkinson for the sake of convenience.

Shaking his head to clear his traitorous thoughts, Granger had finally noticed he was awake and was staring at him curiously. "Why are you sleeping in the common room?" she asked him softly.

"If one doesn't go to sleep before Weasley and Goyle, then one doesn't go to sleep," he replied matter-of-factly. She laughed at his response, immediately understanding what he meant.

"Well I can't say I know from experience when it comes to Goyle, but for Ron? Definitely. He isn't what one would call a light sleeper. Last year Harry and I went crazy when we were on the run. It took everything it our power not to strangle him in his sleep some nights." Pausing, she looked at him, clearly debating on what she wanted to say next. "If I asked you a question Malfoy, would you answer it honestly?"

Surprised by her question, Malfoy had to think about his answer. It could be anything for all he knew. But then again, at this point, what didn't people know about his life. "I guess Granger, just keep it quick, I was sleeping you know." He noticed her lower her chin just a fraction, as if she felt slightly guilty for waking him. Taking a deep breath she looked him in the eye before she spoke.

"Why are you here?"

All he could do was stare at her. What the hell did she mean? Seeing his confused expression she quickly spoke to clarify her question. "I mean, earlier you had said that you didn't even want to come back to Hogwarts this year. So why did you? I mean, like you said, it couldn't have been an easy choice. I've been wondering all night, and I just can't seem to figure you out."

She had been thinking about him all night? And more importantly, she remembered what he had said to her? He couldn't believe they were even having this conversation. He was Draco Malfoy, and she was mudblood Granger. When did she start caring about what he did? Usually it was Potter that obsessed over his every move, yet so far this year he had been the only one who didn't seem to care he was there.

"What's it matter to you Granger? I would have thought that you of all people would have been thrilled if I never returned to Hogwarts." There, it was out. He had brought it up, something he never thought he would have to do. He had tried all summer to forget the horrible events of that day, for it was that day that was the biggest obstacle he knew he was going to face at Hogwarts. Yet, up until this point no one had brought it up. It was as if it had never happened, which sickened him. How could they all simply pretend? How could she simply sit there and look and him and actually be concerned?

"Ah, so we've come to this. I was hoping we could avoid this conversation." He couldn't believe she had just said that. Of the two of them, she wanted to pretend it had never happened.

"How can you say that?" he asked her. "How can you just sit there and actually seem concerned about me? After everything that's happened?" He stood up and walked over to right in front of her chair, angry and now at the point of yelling. "How can you just sit there and act like nothing ever happened? What is wrong with you? For Merlin's sake I watched you be tortured by that sick woman! I watched you at your weakest moment and you want to find out what's wrong with me?" He stomped away from her and viciously ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. Pacing back and forth, he alternated between looking at her and looking at his wrist, now exposed and revealing his mark. "I've been branded as your mortal enemy and yet you still want to be my partner in some school experiment at self-government. You're supposed to be smart Granger! You shouldn't be sitting in that chair and asking me redundant questions. You're supposed to be with Weasley and Potter, hell anyone else besides me. How can you be sitting in that chair so calmly after I did nothing?"

"You honestly think I haven't asked myself all those questions a hundred times?" Malfoy stopped his pacing and stared at her, actually afraid of what she was going to say next. "Ever since I received McGonagall's letter explaining the new situation at Hogwarts I wondered whether you would be here or not. How could I face you for a whole year? I was afraid of returning to Hogwarts for the first time in my entire life. Don't you see the irony in that? That first night in the Great Hall I saw you sitting with your usual cronies, and I dreaded ever coming into contact with you again. And then that stupid hat sang its stupid song." He couldn't help but gape at her after her last statement. Walking back towards her he sat on the couch, not taking his eyes from her the entire time. "Yes Malfoy, I called it a stupid hat. It had made my worst fears come to life. And sure enough, latter that same night you only justified them. So I avoided you for a week. However, it was during that week that I noticed it. You were different. Not on the surface at least, it was as if you were trying to give everyone the impression that you were the same Malfoy. But for whatever reason I realized that something had changed. So I approached you again. Once more fearing what would happen."

She paused at this point in her story. Malfoy couldn't believe everything he was hearing. She had been afraid of approaching him. Not that he blamed her.

"You know, we've never talked about that day, Harry, Ron and I. Neither of them has ever brought it up. And I think it was for that reason that this fear grew. So there I was, speaking to you, afraid you would make some horrible comment referring to that day, and you broke. All your insecurities finally penetrated the surface. You might have still been acting like an asshole, but you were no longer the Draco Malfoy I had known. And I wanted to know why. That's why I went to McGonagall. It wasn't so she could force you to help me draw up a schedule, although that's what she thought. I can very easily handle being Head Girl on my own. I just knew that it would be the only chance for me to be able to talk to you in private. However, you obviously had other ideas. So I watched you leave again. I didn't know how else I could reach you. I wandered around the school for awhile under the pretext of patrolling so I could remain lost in my thoughts without being interrupted. Eventually I made my way back up here and to my surprise I found you asleep on the couch instead of in your room. This just further added to my curiosity. I had come up with some deeper explanation than Ronald's snoring, and wanted to find out if it was true. And well, here we are. Malfoy, all I want to know is why are you at Hogwarts? Obviously being here bothers you, so why deal with it? As for the other stuff, well, to be honest, I'm not really sure." She sat back in the armchair and stared at him, waiting for him to respond. At this point, he didn't know anything anymore. Her one explanation battled every thought he had had for the past four months. She was a mudblood, and yet, she still was concerned for him, a death eater.

"I came back for my mother." Her eyes widened; this was obviously not the answer she had been expecting. Sighing, he lowered his face into his hands and continued speaking, albeit it was slightly muffled. "All summer long the manor had been under ministry investigation. Every day she was forced to watch as strangers sifted through all our belongings, taking anything they felt would be good for evidence. She's under house arrest while my father's serving a short term in Azkaban, again. I was planning on staying home to be with her while my father was away, but the moment I suggested the idea she immediately opposed it. She was so adamant about my returning that I had no choice. I can't bring her any more pain. So I'm here. And now in a strange turn of events I'm actually talking to you. The one person I was afraid to talk to."

Looking up from his hands, he saw her staring at him in an odd sort of way. He was about to ask her to quit staring when she abruptly got up and stood in front of him, still staring.

"Look, I know we're having this heart-to-heart and all, but could you quit bloody staring-" And then she did that last thing he ever expected her to do. Hermione Granger leaned down and kissed Draco Malfoy.

A/N: Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. And yes, I know, cliffhanger. Until next time…