She paused for breath as she regarded the shut entrance to the Astronomy Tower before her. She ran her hand along her side and tried to soothe the stitches that had formed as a result of climbing 104 stairs in a mere fifteen minutes.

Hermione could hear faint shuffling noises inside, and she knew for certain who was making them.

What should she ask him? How would she confront him? She thought as she raced up the stairs, her eyes wild and angry.

"Miss Granger!"

She stopped to see Prof Sinistra making her way down the staircase. "Where are you off to in such a hurry, Miss Granger?" asked the professor in a kindly tone.

Hermione racked her brains and tried to come up with a plausible excuse.

"Um,well, Professor, I-I just thought tonight would be a good night to uh..observe the planets."

Professor Sinistra smiled. "Of course." She was completely taken in by Miss Granger who was actually interested in the study of the planets and not like the others who used telescopes as a child's plaything.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief. " Well, shall I…?"

The teacher deliberated for a moment. "Yes, you may, Miss Granger. But Mr Malfoy is serving his detention inside, so take care not to disturb him." She looked sternly at Hermione.

Hermione quickly nodded. "Of course, Professor. Goodnight."

"Goodnight, Miss Granger."

She waited until Professor Sinistra was out of sight before hesitating whether to knock or not. She decided not to since Malfoy didn't care much about manners anyway. If he did, she wouldn't be here.

So, taking a deep breath, she pushed the wooden door open to find Draco Malfoy shuffling some papers and grunting under his breath.

He looked up quickly and she saw his grey eyes harden. "What are you doing here?" he all but snarled at her.

For a moment Hermione didn't know how to react. She just stared at him.

"Cat got your tongue, mudblood?"

That phrase alone was enough to make her see stars in her vision. She strode ride up to him and pulled her wand out.

"Oh, you think you're so much better than everyone, you little ferret. Let me tell you are not. Not even a bit. You're just a sneaky little Slytherin who doesn't hesitate to steal others' belongings. Private belongings, I might add!" She heaved a deep breath as she glared at him.

Malfoy just stared at her with eyebrows raised. "Impressive speech, Granger but I don't have an inkling what you're raving about."

Hermione felt like pulling him up by his collar and landing a punch on that snotty, pale face.

"Malfoy, give me my diary back."

This time, he just ignored her as went on shuffling papers and marking some.

Hermione felt like shaking him by the shoulders and having the satisfaction of hearing his teeth chatter.

"Malfoy, you heard me. Give it back."

He looked up from his detention work with a face devoid of emotion. "I didn't take your diary. Get lost."

Hermione looked at him in disbelief. She didn't know Slytherins could lie so well. She grabbed a chair, pulled it towards her and proceeded to sit down.

"I'm not leaving until I get it back, Malfoy."

"Suit yourself."

Slowly, the hours ticked by and the fire in the fireplace burnt down. Malfoy went on scribbling things without a word to Hermione. She sat back in her chair and watched him closely, observing all the little details about him. She saw how his face would scrunch up when he was troubled, how he ran his hand through his silvery blond hair every now and then and how much of an effort he took to ignore her.

Suddenly, he got up. Without a word to her, he swept out of the tower and shut the door behind him.

Hermione could only stare. Stare with her fists clenched tight.

Well, whoever knew detentions could end this way.

A/N- Feedback deeply appreciated.