Hermione woke up around five, and slowly got up. She put all of her books into her bag and put her homework in it as well, neatly so that she wouldn't rip it. He woke up soon after, hearing her moving around.
"What time is it Hermione?"
"Five fifteen, why?"
"Alright," he said getting up as well. She picked up her clothes and went to go take a shower and get ready. He put both of the Muggle water bottles into the sink so that they could wash them later and then went to go get ready as well.
After he was dressed, he still heard Hermione in the shower so he went over to the fireplace. His father was supposed to use the floo network any minute now.
"Draco, Draco are you there my son?" he heard his father say through the flames, his face taking form.
"Yes Father, keep it down though. Her- Granger is in the shower."
"How is the plan going thus far?"
"Father, I do not like using her like this. Why couldn't you have done it a different way?"
"Listen, that mudblood is the only was our family will ever get back into our previous state that we were in before the fall of the Dark Lord. You will trick her into marrying you, even if you have to use one of the Three Unforgivables or use potions. Do you understand boy?" the elder Malfoy asked through the flames just after the water was being turned off in the bathroom.
"Yes, father. But I still don't understand why it must be her." By now Hermione was already quietly walking out of the bathroom.
"She is friends with Potter, she is one of their great war heros. Don't tell me that you've grown feelings for this Mudblood-scum. Have you forgotten the ways in which you have been raised in? Do you- like the others- think instead that we should have to pay for wanting to be on whichever side wins? Do as I say, force her into marrying you in any way necessary in order for us to reclaim our place in the wizarding world-." He was going to say more, but he had seen Hermione walking up behind Draco even though his son had not.
"You're behind me aren't you? How much have you heard Hermione?" he asked not turning around, but instead looking up and at her through the mirror that hung above the fireplace.
"Enough, Malfoy. Was that really what you had been planning from day one? To force me into a marriage just so your stupid family could climb back to the top where you once were, not even deserving it? Did you really think that I would help you and your horrid father and the rest of your family once I found the plan out? Did you think that I never would find out?" His father quickly disappeared from the flames.
"Hermione I wasn't going to-" Once again a Malfoy was cut off by Granger.
"Can you truthfully say that you didn't wish to follow the plan nor were you going to?" After she finished talking, she went over to her room, slamming the door and sitting down in front of it inside not giving him the chance to answer. He ran over to the door, trying to push it open.
"Hermione, please let me in so I can explain," he begged, giving up on trying to force the door open.
"Go away Malfoy," she said, crying. "How could I have been so stupid as to think that I could trust you? That you had changed? How could I have been so stupid to even feel comfortable around you without worry?" This final bit she said to herself, but he still heard it through the door.
He walked away over to the couch to think, feeling hurt and stupid. Why had he agreed to his father's plan at the start of the term before he got on the train? Why had he been so stupid to actually try to carry it out? To contact his father at a time that Hermione could overhear? How could he be so idiotic to actually spend time with her and actually come to have possible feelings for her? Was he having feelings for her or was it something else? Was he simply still following the plan? Then again what part of the plan including caring about her, her feelings, and what she wanted? He soon got up and went back to his room picking up a bag that had his books in it and left the dorm, feeling regret and guilt.
Hermione had heard the main door slam shut. Was it merely a trick or was he really gone for now? She got up and checked the main room finding nothing. She then went back to her room and picked up her beaded bag that still had all her textbooks and homework and left to the Great Hall after making sure that she didn't look like she had just finished crying before she left. She didn't want Ron to have the upper hand and find out that he had been right and that Draco did in fact hurt her. She ate very little at breakfast, she didn't look up or notice that Draco was staring at her most of the time, and she gave very short replies when her friends tried to ask her something. In class, she answered less questions than normal, and with much less excitement.
After all her classes were over she went straight to the back of the library, where she worked on all of her homework, missing dinner, and reading until she had to go back to the dorm. When she got there, Draco was in his room, he was working on his homework since he couldn't sleep. She went to her room and changed before going to her bed to try to sleep. She laid there for an hour, rolling over and over again failing to find a comfortable position to sleep in. She couldn't fall asleep, the bed smelled too much like him. She went out to the main room and tried to go to sleep on the couch, failing once more. She then went and got a drink of butterbeer before going over to one of the chairs and transfiguring it into a Muggle recliner, trying once more to fall asleep. She was almost fully asleep when Draco came out of his room to get a butterbeer.
"Hermione, what are you doing out here?" he asked, confused as to why she didn't sleep in her bed which was certainly more comfortable than any of the furniture out here.
"Go away Malfoy, I'm not in the mood to deal with you," she told him tiredly.
"Will you at listen to what I have to say then?" he asked, walking over to the couch, but not sitting yet. She rolled over, now looking at him, which he took as a sign to continue. "Even if I had started out following my father's orders, that doesn't mean that I had wanted to once you actually got here." She remained silent and he stood up from the couch and went over to her chair, sitting on the ground beside it so that his head was just above the armrest of the Muggle recliner and he was eye level with her. "Trust me, please 'Mione, I don't want to use you like he wants nor do I want to hurt you, in anyway," he tried to convince her. She still remained quite, not responding in anyway. "Say something, do something. I'd rather you hex me out of the castle then remain silent. Honestly, it's quite frightening."
"Can't be any more frightening than Voldemort or your father," she finally countered. "Malfoy, go to bed, we'll talk about this tomorrow."
"Promise?" he asked excitedly, at least she was giving him a chance.
"Yeah, whatever just go back to bed. You fucking dork," she told him, turning over to hide a smile.
"Did Hermione Granger, Gryffindor Princess and Perfect Girl of the Gold Trio just curse?" he asked her mockingly, standing up and laying down next to her.
"Malfoy, what are you doing?"
"What I always do, fall asleep with you near me," he replied innocently as if he were six.
"I still haven't forgiven you yet," she told him, rolling over to face him. Now they were nearly nose to nose.
"Be that as it may you haven't tried to hex me, jinx me, or cast any other type of spells on me yet, so there's a plus," he said, kissing the top of her head.
"No, but it's definitely on my to-do list," she told him right before they both started to drift off to sleep.
"Morning," Draco said, as he saw Hermione was waking up.
"Go away Malfoy," she told him, trying to get up but being stopped by him.
"I would but I think I know why you didn't fall asleep in your bed last night," he said, wrapping his arms around her waist.
"And why's that?" she asked, trying to cross her arms as best she could.
"You missed me and that place reminded you too much of me," he told her as if it were the most apparent thing in the universe.
"You wish," she said, trying her best to lie to him and get out of his hold, failing at both. "I need to get ready for class Malfoy."
"Than I'll go with you," he said, getting up which caused her to get up.
"Malfoy please, I need to take a shower and change."
"You can only go if you accept my apology," he offered.
"Fine, now let me go."
"You should repeat: I accept the ever loving Draco Malfoy's apology and promise to not be so stubborn and to listen to him next time I get angry at him for some random reason," he tried jokingly.
"You wish," she said smiling. "What's gotten you like this anyway?"
"I have no idea what's so ever to be honest. Maybe it's the fact that Weasley and Potter can't use your essays to help them write their own from now on," he told her as she went to take a shower and get dressed. "Hermione, can I ask you a question?" he asked, following her into her room and sitting on her bed as she made sure she had all of her homework and needed school supplies after she came out of the bathroom.
"You just did but you can ask one other question."
"Stop acting like Dumbledore and listen. Are you and Weasel, um, you know?"
"Two things, one, glad you caught who I was imitating considering you had a hand in his death. As for Ron, no we're not dating, I thought you would have figured that out from last weekend when he practically asked me out and I refused. Why do you need to know?"
"Did you have to bring that up Hermione? As for you two dating, no reason."
"Malfoy, I just forgave you. You can't possibly be thinking of plans to continue with what your father wants."
"Maybe I want to do this. Do you have to keep calling me Malfoy?" he asked as they started heading towards the Great Hall for breakfast, causing everyone they passed in the halls to stare.
"Yes, until I know I can fully trust you, you will be called Malfoy. If you want to do this for your father's reason than stop, but if you want to do this because of you and some other reason that's not related to your father's idea than you can continue with this." Out of nowhere he pulled her into one of the hidden rooms on the side of the hall, out of sight from the other students.
"If you want to play like that, Granger, then so can I. As for whose reason I'm doing this for," he told her, walking closer to her. She didn't back up but rather stood her ground. "You know you can-" he started telling her, putting his hand on her cheek.
"Stop you when I must? Yeah, I know," she said, pulling a smirk that would make any Slytherin pride.
"Granger, Granger, Granger," he said, shaking his head.
"Malfoy," she retorted, stepping closer to him.
"You know, the entire castle is going to be talking about us just simply walking in the halls by each other," he whispered to her. "If I really wanted to listen to my father and get the Malfoy name to a better reputation, than I'd simply have to be friends with all three of you rather than doing what I'm about to do."
"Oh, and what's that?" she dared him. He closed the gap between them in a kiss. To them it seemed like forever when in reality it was merely a few seconds.
"Better than Weasel and Krum?" he asked her with a smirk, causing her to push him backwards.
"Look at that, someone thinks he's all special," she replied mockingly. "And whose to say that Ron and I have kissed?"
"Oh please, he's too defensive about you for you to have not kissed. Potter acts more like your brother - especially considering you're both only children- so I can't exactly see you two getting together while Weasley is a defensive boyfriend type, but at the same time an abusive one."
"I'm not even going to reply to any of that, but we have to go if we want to get something to eat before going to Slughorn for potions," she said, pulling him out of the room and letting him go when out in the hall once more where he fixed his robes to look like they had just been ironed.
"You know, everyone is going to be talking about us walking by each other by lunch," he pointed out as they walked toward the Great Hall.
"More like by our second class," she countered.
"Yeah, but I hope they don't get the wrong idea."
"Oh, and what would that be?" she asked, trying to hide the hurt in her voice.
"I simply mean that I don't want them to think that we're dating because if they do they may think I'm using you."
"As you were planning to when you first had me move into the Heads' Dorm?"
"Don't bring up my father's plan Hermione, " he told her gently, yet somehow still having a dark tone behind it.
"Malfoy, how am I supposed to trust you?"
"You just do it, without doubting me or my motivations at all?" he offered as they entered the Great Hall. After the Battle McGonagall thought it would be a good idea to stop dividing the houses during the day, separating only at dinner, so now they could sit anywhere. Since this new rule, no one sat with the Slytherins nor they with them, until now. Draco Malfoy sat beside Hermione Granger as she sat across from Harry and Ron.
"Malfoy," Harry greeted him without any emotion in his voice. Ron, however, had hatred in his voice while greeting him.
"Potter, Weasley," he greeted in response, using the same tone that they each used.
"What do you think you're doing here?" Ron asked.
"I, unlike you, am trying to undo the hatred between houses with Hermione."
"Malfoy," Hermione warned him quietly so that only he could hear as he was about to pull out his wand.
"You don't deserve to be here, nor do you deserve to serve as Head Boy and get Hermione or forgiveness, from anyone," Ron said getting up and storming out of the Great Hall.
"What was that about?" she asked Harry, noticing something was more wrong with Ron than normal.
"He's still upset over the fact that you moved in with ferret-boy. Worried that you two will do something before he can even tell you how he feels," Harry explained while eating.
"He does realize that I know how he feels and I see us as nothing more than friends, right? He's far too immature for a real realtionship."
"Not really, he may or may not think that you like him back and The Bouncing Ferret is just messing with your emotions, slipped you a love potion, or has you under the Imperius Curse."
"Hold on, did you call me Ferret again?" Draco asked.
"Maybe I did, maybe I didn't. Why does it matter, Ferret?"
"Oh would you both behave?" Hermione requested. "And I'm pretty sure if Malfoy were to slip a potion or spell on me, I would have defended myself," she continued, not paying attention to when Harry mumbled 'I will if he does.'
"Tell Weasel there is too many flaws in his idea," Malfoy said.
"Such as?"
"If I put her under the Imperius Curse, than she wouldn't just be sitting there and she do what I want her to do all the time. If it were a love potion, neither you or I could pry her off of me," he explained with his almost always present smirk.
"Thanks for the metal image, Malfoy," Harry said, putting his food down, losing his appetite.
"Tell Ron that I have as much chance falling in love with him as the Basilisk has shagging the Giant Squid," she said, causing both the boys to almost spit out what they were drinking.
"Yeah, I think it best if you tell him. I couldn't without laughing."
"But Harry, what if there is a repeat of what happened in the Common Room?"
"Why don't we sacrifice Malfoy?" Harry offered.
"No, I think the Boy Who Lived has escaped death so many times that whatever Weasel-be is going to do to you is nothing."
"Agreed, Harry shall sacrifice himself for yet another time."
"I hate you both," he said, standing up and leaving to find Ron.
"Where's the other Weasley?" Malfoy asked as they both headed to potions.
"I'm not sure, why?"
"No reason, just thought that she might want to stop her brother and protect her boyfriend while defending her best friend," Draco said as they descended the stairs and came to the entrance of the potions classroom where everyone was standing.
"What's going on?" Hermione asked the others.
"Slughorn's in there talking to the Headmistress," Blaise explained.
"What do you think it's about?" Nott asked coming over as well.
"Probably about Gryffindor and Slytherin not getting along," Draco answered.
"Hey, Gryffindor isn't the only house against Slytherin, the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs aren't too fond of you as well," Hermione defended.
"Nobody asked for your opinion, Mudblood," Nott told her.
"Don't call her that," Draco said, about to punch him in the face.
"Draco, it's fine, drop your fist," Hermione whispered to him, holding his fist back from impact.
"I knew she moved into the dorm and all, but this right here is insane."
"You know, Granger, you are the only Lion here in the Snake's' den right now," Blaise pointed out.
"No I'm not, Dean and Seamus are over in that corner," she said pointing over to the two boys.
"Yes, but they aren't paying attention," Draco pointed out, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind her.
"Malfoy what are you doing?"she asked him quietly so the others wouldn't hear over everyone else talking.
"Oh so it's back to Malfoy now is it? What happened to Draco?" He asked sarcastically. "Besides if I don't do this, they will."
"And what is 'this'?"
"This is me protecting you from my snakes."
"Yet the biggest snake is right behind me and has his arms wrapped around me."
"Well, if by biggest snake you mean-" he started before she cut him off by elbowing him in the stomach. "That hurt."
"Can't be as bad as third year's punch, I could always make it worse than that though."
Before he could reply, McGonagall came out of the classroom and everyone went in just as the other Gryffindors started to show up for class.
By the end of all the classes, all the students had more homework than the weeks before combined. Nobody was done with yesterday's homework and now this. The only one who was caught up was Hermione, despite her thinking she was behind since she didn't have the potion essay for Slughorn finished yet. As soon as she entered the Heads' Dorm she went over and sat on the floor in front of the end table by the hearth, taking out all of her homework to work on.
"Really 'Mione, classes just ended and you're working on the homework already?" Draco asked when he walked in and plopped down on the couch behind her.
"You should do yours too."
"Oh is that so," he challenged . She could feel his breath on the back of her neck as he moved her hair off to one side.
"Malfoy," she warned trying to move but instead got turned around by him.
"Come on Hermione, lighten up a bit," he told her as he moved to the ground and was now hovering over her.
"Draco, I still don't know if I trust you despite us kissing earlier," she said, staring into his grey eyes.
"I know," he said sadly, moving to sit next to her instead.
"How am I supposed to trust someone who was so willing to use me in the most horrid way just to clear their family's name?" She asked, mainly to herself, causing him to stand up to head to his room before she grabbed his hand. "Draco sit back down."
"But you said-"
"I know what I said, but how can I trust you if I don't hang out around you more?"
"Hermione Granger, you have no idea how insane your Gryffindor logic is," he said shaking his head while wearing his classic Malfoy smirk.
"Just work on your homework," she said smiling while going back to her essays, sitting on the couch this time. After Draco took out all his homework to work on, he too sat on the couch.
"Hermione, how far are you?" Draco asked a couple hours after they started.
"About halfway, why?" she asked not looking up from the parchment.
"Cause it's time to go down to supper," he said putting down his essay down and trying to pull her up after he stood.
"Can't I finish this essay before we head down?" she asked, putting her quill down after almost smudging the ink.
"Nope, we go now."
"Fine, give me a minute," she replied, putting her shoes back on.
"Finally the mudblood cracks," Draco said jokingly.
"Malfoy why do you get defensive for others calling me that and then you do it and it's perfectly fine?"
"Cause they don't live with you nor do they get to do this without you killing them," he said, smirking and putting his arms around her.
"Are we leaving or can I go back to my essay?"
"Fine," he said, dropping his arms before they started walking down to the Great Hall.
"Where are you sitting?"
"Do you want me to sit with the lions or with the snakes?"
"It doesn't matter to me."
"Fine, in that case I'll sit with you guys and mess with Weasel and Scarhead."
"Draco, no, you can't sit with us if that's the only reason."
"Ugh, that's no fun."
"You can find other sources of fun you know," she pointed out as they went down staircases.
"Yeah, but that takes too long in order to break old habits."
"Then don't sit with us if you aren't going to try to break them."
"Hermione," he tried to protest but couldn't think of what else to say.
"I'm serious Draco, if you sit with us then you have to promise to try not to mess with Harry and Ron, or any of the other Gryffindors."
"I won't mess with Potter, but Weasley is a different story. I can tolerate Potter since he is not being as horrid as Weasel who won't even try to forgive," he said as the got onto the first floor.
"Fine, but don't go overboard on the whole thing, please," she begged before they walked into the Great Hall and sat down at the Gryffindor table across from Harry, Ron, and Ginny. They got stares from nearly the entire Great Hall as they sat down.
"Hey 'Mione, Malfoy," Harry and Ginny greeted them both.
"Hello Harry, Ginny, Ronald," Hermione greeted them back.
"Potter, Weasleys," Draco replied, picking up some of the food and putting it onto the plate.
"Are you joining us for Hogsmeade this weekend?" Ginny asked Hermione as they all ate.
"Yeah, I may catch up with you after I finish everything that the Professors give us."
"Malfoy what about you?" Harry asked him, surprising everyone around them.
"You want to invite the Death Eater to join us on a Hogsmeade weekend? Have you lost your mind Harry?" Ron asked loudly.
"Ronald Bilius Weasley, you need to get over it," his sister told him.
"If Hermione, Gin, and I all can let the past go, so can you Ron. If there is one of us that would be allowed to not forgive him about his past with us and with Voldemort, it'd be Hermione or me, not you," Harry told him.
"Sure, I guess I could join you guys, if you don't mind of course," Draco replied, looking at Ron.
"Ridiculous, that's what this bloody is. First Hermione moves in with you, then you decided it's fine to eat with us, and now you're joining us for a Hogsmeade trip. Why don't you just reveal your plan now?"
"There is no plan Weasley. You just can't get over the fact that Hermione doesn't feel the same as you do about her," Draco told him, causing Ron to pull out his wand.
"Ronald sit back down," Hermione told him.
"Are you seriously siding with him?"
"Yes, now sit down and put the wand away."
"Listen to her mate, we don't need to lose any house points because you couldn't control your temper," Harry warned him.
"Fine, just know that I'm not going to accept him as easily as you lot."
"You never do Ron," Ginny told him as he sat back down and put the wand away before starting to eat again.
"Hermione, since Malfoy is joining us this weekend, you have to as well, no matter if you are finished with the homework or not," Harry said.
"Fine, we'll meet you at the Gryffindor portrait," Hermione agreed.
"Alright, if we don't come out within five minutes of you guys waiting than just go in."
"Okay, I'm going back to the Heads' Dorm to finish my essays from today. Draco you coming with me or staying here?" Hermione asked him as she had finished eating.
"I'm going to stay here, dessert hasn't even came out yet."
"Alright, see you later then. Bye guys," she said before leaving the Great Hall and going up to work on homework once more on the couch, sitting in the middle of it after changing into pajamas since they were more comfortable than her uniform.
"So, um, Malfoy, how was your summer?" asked Ginny awkwardly.
"It was alright I suppose, my father had to help round up a bunch of Death Eaters that were high ranking and more faithful than most."
"So those like Bellatrix?" Harry asked.
"Yeah, except for the fact that Mrs. Weasley killed Bella,"
"What else was she supposed to do when Bellatrix was trying to kill me?" Ginny asked defensively.
"I'm not saying that it was wrong of her to do so. I mean, Bellatrix had used the Cruciatus Curse more times than Voldemort had killed people it seemed like."
"That's something we can agree on at least," Ron said miserably.
"Right, I think I should go. I'll see you all on Saturday," Draco said, standing up and leaving to the Heads' Dorm as well.
"I can't believe you told him how I felt about Hermione," Ron said to Harry after Draco was out of earshot.
"If I wouldn't have, I'm certain he would have found out on his own, Hermione did," Harry told him while still eating.
"Hey 'Mione," Draco said upon entering the dorm room.
"Supper is not done yet, why'd you come back?" Hermione asked curiously while still working on her essay.
"Weasley said some stuff and it was uncomfortable for me without you there," he told her, bringing two butterbeers from the fridge over to the couch and sitting down beside her in the corner of the couch.
"Thanks," she said, taking the butterbeer. "Wait you actually tried to make conversation with them?"
"Yeah, Future Potter started it by asking about my summer and then we started talking about Bellatrix and Weasley jumped in before Weasel said something in a manner that wasn't the best," he told her, picking up his essays again after taking a drink of butterbeer and putting the bottle on the coffee table in front of them.
"Interesting," Hermione replied, looking at a page in her book as a reference before going back to the parchment.
"Hermione, you already have more than double the requirement that Filtwink wanted for Charms. Why bother writing anymore?"
"Because I need to in order to get perfect grades still," she said, finishing up the essay with a couple more sentences.
"Can we read a book now?" he asked after a while, getting bored with writing his essay for McGonagall.
"Fine go get it," she said, putting down the last essay she had to write that was due in a couple days for Muggle Studies. "Which book did you get?" she asked when he came back after getting the book and changing into pajamas as well.
"The last Narnia book," he told her sitting back down. She moved closer to him and leaned against him as they both laid their legs out on the couch. "Does this mean you're starting to trust me?" he asked with a smirk as she took as drink of butterbeer then sat the bottle on the table.
"Shut up, and start reading," she said smiling as she leaned closer into his chest even more so and covered both of their legs and her chest up with a blanket that she summoned from her room.
"Why bother? You're already falling asleep," he told her.
"No I'm not," she protested.
"Sure you're not," he said sarcastically as he started reading anyway. He stopped when he was at the start of the second chapter. "Told you," he said, not knowing that she was still up but had simply closed her eyes. He put the book down the book on the table and extended the couch a little and rolled over before pulling her closer to him. "Night Hermione."
"Good night Draco," she whispered just before they both fell asleep.