Disclaimer: I don't own anything in the Harry Potter Universe. It all belongs to the Queen, J.K.

Beta Love: Dreamingofstars85. Seriously guys, she's the best.

Your Face… It's Smiling

CHAPTER FOUR

When Friday came around, Hogwarts occupants were starting to become restless. Students weren't necessarily wanting to start classes again, but being stuck in the castle all week, with little more to do than mope around, was not exactly entertaining. With the underlying hum of fear and sadness still echoing from Dumbledore's death, most of the young witches and wizards were ready for the routine to begin again, hoping to take their minds off of the outside world.

Hermione was no exception to this line of thought, though she had hardly been wasting her time idly, as Ron and Harry seemed more than happy to do. She had met with Malfoy every night that week, and though she felt she was improving, slightly, she was still utterly awful.

It pained her to admit that she truly was lacking in this particular skill set, and it was absolutely disturbing to realize that she agreed with Malfoy on anything, but especially her incompetence.

Which is why she had spent hours each night, after leaving his company, practicing and reading. She was running off of a maximum of 4 hours of sleep each night, and her patience, as well as her sanity, were wearing thin.

When she awoke to the sun beaming through her dormitory window, Hermione sat up with a start.

"Oh my gods, what time is it?!" she asked aloud, though none of the room's other occupants were within its walls.

Jumping out of bed and hurrying to the washroom, she took a glance at herself in the mirror, and was a bit startled by her reflection. She had circles under her eyes, and could tell she had lost some weight. Trying to recall her last full meal, and not succeeding, she mentally berated herself for letting things get a little out of control.

Stepping into the shower, she vowed to try and take a little better care of herself. She wasn't trying for a repeat of her third year breakdown. That had gotten completely out of control. No. She needed to stay on top of her stress, and keep herself healthy and in check.

When she walked down the stairs into the common room, she was not surprised to see Harry and Ron taking up their usual post on the couch, playing a game of Exploding Snap. She was however, surprised to see a tray of breakfast foods off to the side. Knowing breakfast had ended several hours ago, she smiled warmly at her friends.

"Morning sleepy head," Harry called to her teasingly.

"I overslept a little." She replied sheepishly. It was so unlike her to do that, and she was a little embarrassed to be honest.

"A little? 'Mione, it's nearing eleven!" Ron chided, though she knew he too was teasing her.

"You needed the rest. You've been wearing yourself a little thin lately, Hermione." Harry pointed out. "We slipped some breakfast for you, and I put a stasis charm on it to keep everything warm." He gestured to the tray, and Hermione walked over and sat at the table it was placed on.

"Thank you, really," She said through a lump in her throat. It wasn't often that those two thought of these kinds of things, and Hermione found it a bit relieving, being taken care of in this way. She was usually the caretaker of the trio.

She quietly picked at her breakfast, breaking off a piece of the toast, and spreading some jam on it. She also finished the little bowl of fruit, and then took the cup of tea over to the couch, and sat between her boys.

"I'm sorry I've been so busy this week. I'm not sure how I managed to have more on my plate during a term break than I usually do during the rest of the year." She chuckled a bit, but her apology was sincere. She found herself feeling a bit distressed, knowing that this was probably one of the last times they would have to spend together, in a semi care-free capacity. Pushing that thought aside, Hermione straightened up, and took a deep breath.

"We need to continue planning, and researching. We have an idea where one..." pausing, she cleared her throat, conscious of her audience, "Ehem, item, may be located, but we need to sort out the rest. I was thinking we could spend some time in the library today, exploring possibilities. Three sets of eyes are better than one." She added that last bit when both boys groaned at her mention of the library.

"Honestly, you two. You don't think these ideas just pop into my head willy nilly, do you? I actually have to spend time researching and planning! It's high time you joined in on that process a little more," she scolded, rising from the couch.

When neither boy made to follow, she placed a hand on her hip, and said in her most convincing voice, "You can either get up and follow me on your own free will, or I will hex you from here to the library. Your choice. Either way, you will end up in the library with me."

Harry and Ron exchanged a look between them, then both boys jumped up and raced to the portrait hole, each determined to be the first one out of the room. Chuckling, Hermione turned to vanish the breakfast tray back to the kitchen, and then followed them out.

xXxXxXx

Several hours later, Ron looked to be near hysterics over the fear of skipping dinner, as they had already studied straight through lunch. Taking pity on her friend, Hermione closed her book, and levitated it back to its position on the shelves.

"Alright, I think we've done enough for now. I honestly don't know how we are going to do this…" She trailed off, looking towards Harry.

"We will figure it out, Hermione. I promise." Harry assured her.

"Lets go figure out dinner, 'Mione. That's something we can do now that will actually be productive and beneficial." Ron added, not seeing the look of contempt Hermione shot him.

He was out the door before she could even inform his that studying was never truly a waste of time, and he would probably benefit a great deal if he attempted it more often.

Harry shrugged his shoulders, giving Hermione a look that said 'what do you expect', and tugged on her hand, leading her out of the library, toward the dining hall.

The students and staff were back to their normal level of chatter during meals, which was to say, they were loud. Hermione and Neville were discussing a Herbology project they would surely pick up again in class on Monday, while Harry, Ron, and Ginny talked about Quidditch. Surprise, surprise. The friends spent nearly an hour just enjoying the company of their fellow classmates, before things began to wind down, and Hermione stated that she was headed back to the library to 'finish up' a few things before helping the Headmistress grade papers that evening.

While Harry and Ron assumed she was headed back to pick apart more information on Horcruxes, she actually ended up borrowing the remaining book that Malfoy had suggested, which she had yet to read. As soon as she was in the corridor, safely away from Madame Pinces' prying eyes, she charmed the book jacket, and then headed back to Gryffindor Tower to read a little before meeting Malfoy.

xXxXxXx

During the short walk towards the Room of Requirement, Hermione briefly thought of the last few times she had met with Malfoy. He certainly wasn't being nice to her, but she had noticed his attitude had changed, just the slightest. He no longer made rude remarks to her, unless it was about her inability to properly occlude her mind. Which meant he was still an arse more often than not.

But she couldn't deny that they had fallen into an almost companionable indifference. Neither was set out to make the other miserable, and both seemed to be tolerating the other's presence more and more with each lesson. She still had some minor doubts about his allegiance, because honestly, what did he get out of this arrangement that he had with the Order? Shaking her head, and the thoughts from it, she paced and waited for the door to appear.

Walking inside she spotted Malfoy sitting at the couch, as usual. Other than the day she had arrived early, he beat her here for every lesson. After that day, every time she opened the door and entered the room, it had been a recreation of the dungeon common room again, but with one subtle change. The fireplace gave off heat.

Malfoy had also been leaving his robes on the chair near the door, presumably because they were too warm with the added heat from the fire. The first day he had done this, clearly for her benefit, Hermione made to say something, thanking him for being considerate, but he had stopped her before she could get through a proper thanks. After that, she didn't mention it again, but every time she walked into the warmth of the room, she smiled a little, knowing he had done it for her.

Seeing even a small, teeny tiny peek of a kind gesture from Malfoy was truly something she couldn't reconcile with her previous preconception and image of the boy. It was just plain weird. Obviously he felt weird about letting that side of him show as well. So they chose to ignore it, outwardly at least.

They began the lesson that night with yet another embarrassing intrusion of her mind. But when Malfoy went looking for that scene of her most…memorable… kiss with Viktor, something changed, and she suddenly snapped her eyes open and angrily shouted at him,

"Stop it, Malfoy!"

"I've seen that disgusting memory at least five times now," he drawled, looking amused at her reaction.

"That doesn't make your invasion of my privacy any less rude, Malfoy!" She stood up and walked toward the other side of the room. He let her huff for about a minute.

"Hey, Granger," he slyly called. "Did you notice that I only saw the first disgusting kiss of that memory, and nothing else? You effectively blocked the rest from my invasion."

She stopped and spun around, dropping her jaw. Actually, she hadn't noticed that at all.

"Are you sure?"

"Trust me. I would know if I just had to suffer through that miserable experience of yours again," he drawled.

Forgetting any anger she just harbored, Hermione began jumping and screaming, clapping her hands together in excitement.

"Merlin's beard, Granger, will you shut up!? What is wrong with you? You are acting like a child! Actually I take that back, even children are more civilized than that." He said this while he covered his ears, his face contorted in absolute abhorrence at her behavior.

"Malfoy! I did it!" She finally stopped screaming, and quickly bounced towards him.

Holding up in arms in the universal gesture of 'Stop, don't come near me' Malfoy balked at her advance. "Granger, whatever it is you have going through your mind right now, stop." He warned.

She paused, feeling unsettled, realizing she had been about to hug him in her excitement. She tried to shake the feeling that had washed over her, and cleared her throat, making her way back to the couch instead. She sat down and insisted he try again.

xXxXxXx

After three more sessions where she was able to keep barriers around at least one memory he tried to intrude on, Hermione was absolutely spent. She had forgotten that mental exertion could manifest itself with such physical symptoms. When she had learned to produce her Patronus, it had felt the same.

Slumping on the couch, she sipped the water Malfoy had given her, another weird gesture of kindness she couldn't get used to coming from him.

"You're actually starting to not suck, Granger." It was the closest thing to a compliment that Hermione had ever gotten from him, and she beamed.

"Malfoy! Are you being nice to me?!" She smirked, throwing her feet up onto the other side of the couch.

"Have you gone bloody mad? I said you didn't suck, not that you were good!" he snapped. Apparently Malfoy didn't like to be caught doing good deeds. She would have to remember that, and make note of each not awful thing he did. Save them for later to taunt him with, if needed.

"Alright, alright, I don't suck. At least we are getting somewhere right?" She mumbled.

They let the silence sit for a while, comfortable enough with each other's company now that they could enjoy the quiet. After a few minutes, Hermione sat up a little, tucking her legs underneath her, so that she was only on her side of the couch again. A moment later, Malfoy sat down opposite her.

"Malfoy, can I ask you a question?" she whispered. It was kind of unprecedented for them to discuss anything other than the lesson, or Occlumency in general, and she wasn't sure how he would respond.

"Granger, what you can or cannot do is not up to me. I don't know your abilities. However, if you're asking if I would answer a question that you asked, then I'd say, maybe. It depends entirely on the question." Of course Malfoy would have a snarky response. Of course he would.

"Why are you in the Order?" It had been bugging Hermione since she first found out that Malfoy was a spy. What was in it for him? She patiently waited for his response, not even sure if he would give her one. She actually expected him to tell her to sod off.

When he sighed deeply, and actually took a moment to think about his response, she was beyond surprised.

"It's not actually that hard to figure out, Granger. What kind of deranged person actually enjoys any of this shite that the Dark Lord does? He fucking tortures people. Because of their parentage. I mean, how fucked up is that? You can't help who your parents are, anymore than you can help what color your skin is. It's a fucking messed up ideology, and I cannot get behind it. Even pretending to be a part of it…" His voice was just a broken whisper now, "It kills me." He shook his head, unable to put into words the misery he felt at being a part of something so evil, so awful. Even if he was only a part of it to destroy it from the inside out.

"What about your parents, Malfoy? Don't they… believe in all this?" she asked, gently.

"My father is a fucking tosser. A puppet. He does as he is told, blindly following whatever he thinks will be best for him," he sneered. His obvious disgust for his own father made Hermione incredibly sad. How awful it must feel to be so distant and different from one's own parents.

"My mum though, she doesn't believe in any of this. She just goes along with whatever my father says, because she thinks it will keep me safe." His utter conviction in that statement left Hermione with nothing to do except believe it herself.

"Malfoy, I'm sorry," Hermione offered, knowing he would reject the sentiment.

"Yeah, we've all got something, Granger." He lamented, becoming so lost in thought that Hermione didn't dare rouse him from his own mind. Staring at his features, she truly did feel sorry for him.

It was another ten minutes of silence between the two before Hermione decided to speak again. They had only planned their lessons until this one, and had to decide how to proceed once classes resumed, and what to do when the term ended.

"So…" She broke the silence between them, letting the word linger in the air for a moment, giving him the chance to surface from his thoughts. "What's the plan, Malfoy. Do we continue lessons, or…"

"Granger, for Salazar's sake, I said you didn't suck. You aren't good by any means, and you still bloody need to work on this shite." He bellowed, and then he actually grinned at her. Malfoy. Grinned. At her. Hermione Granger. What in Merlin's name was the world coming to?

"Malfoy. Your face…it's smiling." She teased, trying and failing to stifle the giggle that surfaced.

"Yeah, Granger, it does that, you know." He was downright grinning now, and it was just weird. She couldn't wrap her mind around it, and began laughing uncontrollably, holding her stomach as she nearly fell off the couch.

"Okay, enough Granger. You are being ridiculous." He was frowning now, no longer amused.

She didn't quiet.

"Seriously, Granger, stop that. You're going to hurt yourself. And I won't feel bad just leaving you here, you know. One less person to know about my secret if you died." But she couldn't stop. It must have been a mixture between her utter lack of sleep the last week, and her body's extreme need to feel something other than grief, and stress. Whatever the cause, it felt good. For the first time in over a week, Hermione felt good, and it was because of Malfoy. What in Godric's name was wrong with her?

"Ohh my gods! You can smile! I never thought I'd see the day!" As the giggles finally subsided, Hermione clutched her side willing the stitch to go away. Once she was fully recovered, she added, "Alright, we will continue lessons next week. Same time, every day?"

"Yes. And if you ever do that again, I will not hesitate to use a Full-Body Bind on you, until you cease." His voice sounded sincere, but his face showed the slightest smirk, and Hermione almost lost it again. Almost.

"Oh fine, fine. Don't be such a spoil sport. It really was funny Malfoy."

"Sod off, Granger. I'm a bit bothered that we only have a week left to get you to be a fully competent Occlumens." He contemplated something for a moment before adding, "Meet me tomorrow. I'm sure any unfortunate plans you may have had with Potty and Weaslebee can be easily rescheduled."

"Malfoy! It's the weekend!" She whined.

"Oh, and the weekend has stopped you from studying before, has it? Seriously Granger. You still can't keep me out of your mind, and until you can, we need to practice." He ordered.

Rolling her eyes and standing up, Hermione shook her head at him, and made her way to the door.

"Fine, Malfoy, fine. Tomorrow it is then. What time will you be gracing me with your presence?" Her reply was a little curt, but she knew he was right. She had a lot more to learn before she was going to be able to actually successfully use Occlumency against a Legilimens.

"I don't want to spend the entire bloody day with you so let's just get it over with early."

"Okay. Eight o'clock?" She asked, unsure of what exactly early was to Malfoy.

"That's fine," he answered.

Nodding her confirmation, Hermione opened the door, slipped out into the corridor, and headed back towards Gryffindor Tower.

As she lay in her bed later that night, she would think of how strange it was that she had an actual conversation with Draco Malfoy, that wasn't necessarily forced, and it wasn't cruel either. It was just, normal. Almost.

xXxXxXx