March 2000

Hermione waltzed into the empty lecture theater full of nervous excitement. It was her first day of classes and she couldn't wait to get started, which is why she was 20 minutes early, and had read the textbook. In fact she'd read all the textbooks assigned for her first semester of a dual degree in Law and Arts. She'd chosen Arts in the end because she just couldn't decide what to pick as a dedicated major; Peace and Conflict studies, Human Rights, Political Science, Sociology, Public Policy, International Relations. There were so many disciplines that called to her and that could help her to bring true change to the Wizarding world.

Her first class of the year was Introduction to Sociology, and as Hermione looked around the lecture theater and chose a seat (just off centre and slightly above the lecturer's eye height.) she was looking forward to being surrounded by people who actually cared about learning. Curious about her fellow students she looked up at the sound of someone in the doorway. It was still over 15 minutes before class would begin so Hermione was actually anticipating that the next person to enter the room would be the lecturer, instead she got the shock of her life when she looked up. The person in the doorway seemed to be lingering, and so Hermione had slowly scanned up from the expensive shoes to the crisp slacks and black button up only to find herself frozen in equal shock as her eyes locked with a pair of extremely familiar grey eyes and platinum blonde eyebrows raised high in equal shock. Hermione's mouth formed the name silently watching as his did the same. "Malfoy?", "Granger?" before she promptly blacked out.

"Granger, hey Granger, wake up"

Draco was panicking, just slightly. Here he was in Australia at a Muggle University and the girl he had watched be tortured in his drawing room had just fainted in her chair upon seeing him. This was bad. Very bad. No one was supposed to find him here, not even Blaise or Pansy knew where he was, in fact the only person in the world who knew who or where he was was his mother. Until three seconds ago that is. And now of all people she was there and he was shaking her and yelling her name, trying to get her to wake up and fighting off the rising sense of panic as his brain flashed with images of the last time this girl had been unconscious in his presence. It was in this state of panic that the lecturer found him, screaming at her to wake up whilst rocking and shaking on the spot, a dazed look in his eye. The lecturer immediately went to the phone on the wall and called the campus medics, before slowly approaching the pair.

"Son, I'm Professor Chapman, everything's going to be alright, the doctors are on their way. Can you tell me what happened?" the professor asked gently placing his hand on Draco's shoulder. Draco blinked a few times and looked at the man.

"Huh?"

The professor kindly repeated his question and this time Draco absorbed enough to actually formulate an answer. "Granger…. I just…I walked in and she saw me and just fainted sir"

"Granger, that's her name? do you know her?"

"Yeah, yeah, we went to school together in Scotland"

"Ok well, the Medics will be here soon and they are going to take both of you to get checked out, do you know if she has any medical conditions that might cause her to faint like this?"

"what…..oh, no, but umm she's been through some trauma"

The medics arrived and placed Hermione onto a stretcher, whilst another gently guided Draco out the door. As they walked out Draco suddenly let out a harsh laugh "she's going to be so pissed that she missed the first class" he said ruefully.

Professor Chapman looked at him curiously, "she's a bit of a swot sir" Draco explained.

"Right well when she wakes up you can let her know that I will be teaching this same class two other times this week, you are both welcome to come to one of those lectures to catch up". Nodding vaguely Draco followed the medical staff out of the building and across the quad.

Five minutes later he found himself sitting in the campus medical centre, his head between his knees and a nurse patting his back encouraging him to breathe normally, Hermione was on a bed next to him, still passed out. A doctor and nurse were standing at the end of Hermione's bed discussing her state. "There doesn't seem to be anything physically wrong with her, she's just in shock" the doctor explained in low tones.

"So it's a psychological reaction then? questioned the nurse.

"Indeed we simply need to wait for her to feel ready to wake up, I suggest you write both of them a referral for the psychologist clearly the boy is having a panic attack, he seems to be lost in his own world too, I suspect there is more to his reaction than simply seeing someone faint."

"The lecturer mentioned they knew each other, do you think there might be something in their history that they both experienced then?"

"Indeed, nurse Lowan. When she wakes and the boy is calm, send the psychologist in to see them."

"Of course sir"

Shit! thought Draco, what the hell are we going to tell a muggle psychologist?

Thankfully, when Hermione finally stirred, the medical staff were all out of the room. Reacting quickly Draco cast silencing and locking spells on the room before approaching Hermione.

"The…..where am I?" Hermione groaned

"Listen carefully Granger, we don't have much time to come up with a plan."

"Malfoy? What, what are you doing here? where am I?"

"Never mind that now Granger, you'll have your answers soon, but right now we need to figure out what we're going to say to the Muggle Psychologist those healers are going to call as soon as they see you are awake. We need to get our story straight as to why you fainted at the sight of me."

"Doctors"

"what?"

"They're called doctors Malfoy, not healers"

"I fucking know that, can you please focus!" he snapped "any minute those doctors are going to come back in here and start asking questions that we can't answer without being locked up. Who the fuck cares what they are called. that's not important right now."

"ugh" Hermione groaned sitting up slowly. "alright, do you have any suggestions?"

"No"

"Well what have you been doing while I was unconscious? you were the one who could formulate a plan" she huffed.

Draco jumped to his feet, fists clenched, towering over Hermione's bed, lowering his face inches from hers

"I was having a fucking panic attack alright!" He spat "If you must know seeing you unconscious brought back some not particularly pleasant memories and I had flashbacks, that's what I was doing"

Hermione's jaw dropped as she looked at Draco's face, the anger radiating off him in waves, "Oh" she said simply.

"Right." Malfoy continued getting himself under control and sitting back down on his chair. "so a plan"

The pair sat in silence for a few moments, Hermione shooting Malfoy confused glances. "Ok well, I guess we can tell them that we know each other from school and that you used to pick on me and that neither of us expected to see each other so that was a bit of a shock" Hermione ventured. Draco made a derisive noise,

"They already know there's more to it than that Granger, and people call you smart."

"Well I don't know, you come up with something then!"

"Fine. We'll tell them that our school was involved in a bus crash and some classmates died and you were in a coma, and I transferred schools after so we haven't seen each other since the crash so seeing each other unexpectedly was a shock for you, and seeing you unconscious caused me to have flashbacks. It's close enough to the truth that they won't be suspicious that we're hiding something, and should steer us clear of too many awkward questions."

"Ok, thats, thats actually a really good plan Malfoy" Hermione replied, clearly taken aback. "Wait, how do you what a bus crash is?"

"Later, the nurse is coming"

"How can you tell?"

"Wards" he replied pulling out his wand and quickly disabling the charms.

"Oh"

The nurse and psychologist both took copious notes, first establishing basic medical history and creating the new students a file, before the psychologist moved on to questioning them about why they thought they reacted as they did. Their cover story held up and there was only one time the pair had looked at each other in panic urging the other to answer for them. Within the hour they were brought some food and left alone to rest, and informed they would be discharged after the next set of rounds. As soon as the room was clear Draco pulled his wand and replaced the charms he had previously applied.

"How did you know the nurse was coming?" Hermione quizzed.

"I told you Granger, wards, don't you listen?

"Yes, but, it's just, I don't think I know of any wards that can tell you who is coming"

"Of course you wouldn't, it's a pureblood spell."

"oh"

Silence fell for a few beats before Hermione's curiosity got to her again. "What are you doing at a muggle university, Malfoy?"

Draco sighed, "after the war everyone was, well, wary of my family. It made life in wizarding society rather uncomfortable. At my trial I was given a choice, six months in Azkaban or a ban from using magic for a year, I figured if I was going to be the scum of society I might as well live like a Muggle, so I took the magic ban and spent a year living a life where no one knew me or my family or what I'd done. It was surprisingly freeing. At the end of the year, I wrote to McGonagall and asked if I could take my N.E.W.T.S, she agreed and I was looking forward to coming back to the magical world, but people weren't exactly welcoming. Mother wasn't coping living in the Mannor anyway, so we decided to move away, make a fresh start." He fell silent for a moment, and Hermione waited, considering everything he had told her. With a shrug he continued "We figured Australia was the furthest we could get from London, and that we would be able to live here in the wizarding community without the stigma the Malfoy name now carries. During my year without magic I'd had to learn to live in the muggle world, and well, it wasn't what i'd expected." he laughed dryly. "I started to question how it is that I, and all my friends were able to be raised with such complete lies told to us about the world outside our own, you know? How did we get to the point of the Muggle Born registration committee, or where those who claimed they were the pinnacle of society raped and tortured and murdered people for post dinner- party entertainment, where the general public doesn't know a damn thing about what muggles are actually like….." Draco trailed off.

"You learnt what it's like to be me" Hermione mused quietly.

"Yeah. I guess I did." he said thoughtfully. "Anyway, I eventually stumbled upon psychology and sociology and I thought maybe I might find some answers as to how the wizarding world got to be so fucked up that my father, and Goyle and Crabbe and Nott's father's' dreams were to raise their sons to serve a madman. Who does that?" he finished looking haunted.

"I don't know" Hermione signed "But I hope you find what you're looking for Draco."

Draco's head whipped around at the sound of his given name on Hermione's lips, and he stared at her in confusion for a minute. Finally he spoke rambling slightly in an effort to put his turmoil into words.

"Why?" he muttered bitterly. "Why don't you hate me? You should hate me! I stood there and watched my aunt carve into your arm and crucio you again and again, I tormented you for years, you should hate me."

Hermione looked at him carefully, almost as if she were studying a curious object. When she spoke Draco had to strain to hear her words.

"I did, I hated you for 6 years, the names you called me, the hurt…..but then the snatchers got us, and instead of contempt and smugness at seeing us get caught, when I looked at you I saw fear. You tried to lie for us Draco." she sighed. "Harry had told Ron and I that you were lowering your wand, that you wouldn't have done it, that night on the Astronomy tower, I hadn't quite believed him until then, when I looked at you and saw the fear and panic in your eyes. You looked at me and it was like I could do Legilimency and your thoughts were screaming 'you fools, why did you have to get caught? We are all doomed.' and then there was Bellatrix, and so much pain, and everything around me was blacking out except for two things. Ron calling for me, and the look on your face. I knew you didn't believe anymore, that you were only on Voldemort's side because you didn't know how to escape. You tried to save us Draco." Hermione glanced over at the boy sitting next to her, his face ashen and tears forming in his eyes. knowing he needed some time to process everything, she turned away from him

"I'm going to sleep now" she said.

Half an hour later the nurse returned to check on them. Whilst she was examining Draco, Hermione suddenly shot up from her sleep. "Oh we missed the first lesson!"

Draco snorted. "I knew it. I knew that's what you'd be most worried about"

Hermione began to ramble in panic, fretting about missing work and not knowing anyone and the Lecturer being mad at them "Granger, calm down. I already told the Lecturer you'd panic like this. He said he runs the exact same class two more times this week and we can just go to one of those."

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief "Oh, good, that's good."

When the nurse had discharged them and Draco stood to leave Hermione found herself suddenly calling out for him to wait. He turned and looked at her quizzically, Hermione swallowed nervously unsure why on earth she was doing this, then blurted out "Would you like to go to the make up class together and then get a coffee or something?"

Draco blinked at her and for a few seconds Hermione was terrified he was going to laugh, then he opened his mouth "Sure, I'll owl you" he said, and walked away. And Hermione felt her whole body sag in unexpected relief.