A couple weeks had gone by and the leaves had fallen from the trees, the breeze now blew with a chill and the sun wasn't quite enough to keep warm. The mornings left the ground covered in a frost that Hermione was now trying to clear from the ground near their tent.

"Mione, what's for breakfast?" Rom grumbled, rubbing a hand across his stomach. Hermione stomped her foot and glared at Ron before continuing what she started.

"Make yourself something," Hermione hissed, she clearly still hadn't forgiven the boys completely, Ron in particular. The boy returned to the tent and rolled his eyes at Harry who was coming to relieve Hermione for watch duty.

"Why don't you go warm up?" Harry suggested, and Hermione nodded her head. Ron was sat at the table listening to his radio and Hermione passed him and went to her bunk, glancing at Draco before she lay down.

"I uh... hate to bother you. Would you be able to help me find these ingredients?" Draco asked softly, showing a piece of parchment to Hermione, who narrowed her eyes.

"Dreamless sleep?" Hermione asked, raising an eyebrow and cocking her head to the side. The Slytherin thought she wouldn't put two and two together, this was very dim of him. Malfoy sighed and nodded his head, and Hermione honestly wasn't shocked. She heard him tossing and turning at night.

"I'll take care of it," Hermione told him as she handed the parchment back, her fingers brushing up against his warm ones.

"You're cold," Draco mumbled, grabbing his blanket and handing it to the girl, "I put a heating charm on it. Borrow it as long as you'd like," Draco offered, and Hermione hesitantly took the token of gratitude.

"I'll be in the kitchen," Malfoy mumbled as Hermione curled over on her side and pulled the blanket over herself. The blanket was one of the softest she'd ever felt and a soft aquatic scent filled her senses, tropical but calming. It was almost too easy for the girl to fall asleep this way.

Draco made his way to the kitchen and began to make toast, it wasn't much but it was breakfast. He decided to cut up an orange and make some coffee as well, serving the food onto two plates and into two cups before bringing them back to the room and setting one next to Hermione. He gave her a little shake and she woke immediately, glancing between the food and Draco.

"What's this?" Hermione asked, her short sleep seemed to help her as the dark circles had begun to disappear. Draco shrugged and began eating.

"I figured you're tired of doing all the cooking, we all know Weasel wouldn't step up and do it and Potter would probably burn the place down," Draco mumbled. But the real reason he did it was because he wanted a friend. Someone he could just be nice to who wouldn't judge him for everything. However Hermione did judge him and they'd never been nice to each other before.

After a while, Potter came bursting into the bunks and ripped a gold locket off his neck. Hermione sat up looking concerned and climbed down from her bunk.

"Hermione, I figured it out!" Harry nearly shouted at the girl as they stepped away from Draco. Their voices quieted down before Harry continued, "Some goblins walked past, they were talking about how the sword of Gryffindor has been stolen from them," Harry whispered, and Draco took the second of pause to cast a spell that allowed him to hear a bit better.

"Okay and?" Hermione asked as Harry nearly shoved the locket in the girl's face and grinned wildly.

"All I have to do is find the real sword and we can destroy this," Harry explained, and Draco wasn't sure why they would want to destroy the locket but he was going to figure out.

That night, it was Ron's turn to keep watch and he also seemed very irritated for some reason as Hermione hunched over a cauldron that she wouldn't explain the contents.

"I don't have to tell you anything, Ronald. You don't own me," Hermione hissed, and the boy's face went red with anger as his figure towered over the curly-haired witch.

"You've been distant from me lately. You're not still bent over us not letting you come to the Ministry with us, are you?" Ron grumbled, hands in fists. This really seemed to upset the witch who stood up and pushed Ron away from her.

"You didn't 'not let' me do anything for starters," Hermione shouted, "You're not the boss of me Ronald, you're not anything to me. I allowed you to go with Harry and decided to stay back because I knew you were too dumb not to start a fight with Draco," Hermione nearly screamed and that truly pissed Ron off.

"I'm not dumb," was all Ron managed to say as he stepped closer to Hermione and pushed the girl back. Hermione fell to the floor and her eyes watered as she pulled her wand, but sooner than she could Draco had appeared from the bunks and had sent a jinx to knock Ron back onto the floor as he walked over to Hermione to help the witch up.

Draco could tell Hermione didn't need him. He knew she could have handled this but he wanted to. "Are you okay?" Draco asked her and she shook her head and pointed her wand at Ron.

"You insolent little prat," Hermione hissed, eyes narrowing before Draco put a hand on her shoulder. He used legilimency not to see her thoughts but to place one in her mind.

Don't do anything you will regret.

Hermione's eyebrows furrowed and Ron took the moment to stand and yank the locket off his neck and whip it at the witch before Harry came running in.

"What's going on?" Harry asked, rubbing his eyes and looking at the situation unfold.

"You guys don't need me. I'm leaving," Ron growled before disapparating. Hermione let out a cry and put her hand over the spot on her ribs where the locket had hit her. Draco pulled her close and she had no time to protest before she started sobbing. Harry started at the two for a moment before deciding it best to pick the locket up and take Hermione's turn for watch duty. Maybe then he could piece together what happened in his brain.

"Come here, let's move to the couch," Draco whispered, and Hermione sniffles and nodded, releasing the man from her grip as she relocated. Why was Hermione allowing the Slytherin to comfort her? She couldn't give herself an answer but it made her feel like her emotions weren't as rash as she'd thought if Draco was siding with her.

"Give me a minute okay, I promise I'll be quick," Draco put a hand on her shoulder for a second and suddenly every ounce of hate he's ever had for the girl flooded away. He had always been jealous of Hermione, perfect grades and perfect friends. However things were not always as they seemed. Draco left the room to gather a couple mugs of hot chocolate, a few blankets and pillows, and a book he'd been reading.

"Alright, here we are," Draco have a tiny smile and Hermione didn't want to let herself think about how this was the boy who'd tortured her for her entire Hogwarts career. But right now he was helping. Ron had tortured her the past few weeks and Draco had done nothing but help her. Sometimes your friends change right? That was all a part of growing up.

Draco set a few pillows down and lay across the couch, and Hermione gave him a funny look before he grinned and pulled the girl on top of him as if they'd been friends forever. Draco draped a fleece blanket across them and settled Hermione in so they could both look at his book.

"What are we doing?" Hermione asked quietly, she could feel the beat of Draco's heart against her shoulder blade and it made her breathing a bit uneasy.

"We're reading, I thought a witch as smart as you could have guessed that much," Draco whispered, reaching down to wipe Hermione's cheeks before opening the first page of the book. "Think of this as my chance to start over, if you'd be so kind as to grant me one," Draco suggested, and Hermione gave a hesitant nod before her eyes began darting across the pages before her.

The pair kept each other warm under their blanket and Hermione was the first to fall asleep, Draco watching her for a bit after before he finally set his book down and settled in. Her golden curls sprawled across his chest, her chestnut eyes that were now closed and guarded by voluminous lashes, and her pink, pouty lips parted ever so slightly as she breathed lightly; she was beautiful.

Draco couldn't remember when he fell asleep however when Hermione got up in the middle of the night he woke. She stared at him silently for a second and he sat up with her.

"I have to go stir your potion," she whispered and left. Draco sighed and decided to get some fresh air so he stepped out of the tent, the cool air brushing across his cheeks.

Draco met eyes with Potter who looked incredibly drowsy. He sat down next to him and let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding.

"I can keep guard if you want. You can trust me," Draco assures Harry who shrugged his shoulders.

"It's not that I don't trust you because after tonight I do. I just wanted some alone time to think," Harry told the man next to him. Draco nodded his head in understanding.

"I uh... I don't know what happened really. She just was so upset and it hurt me as well. I wanted to help her and I think she could sense that," Draco explained trying to justify his actions as something a friend would do.

"You did a good job, I'm glad we have someone that can understand her," Harry grinned and patted Malfoy's shoulder with a bit of joy. Malfoy shrugged and closed his eyes as he leaned his head back.

"This uh... this is important. We have to destroy this," Harry told Draco, wrapping the locket around the Slytherin's neck. Draco could feel a certain energy buzzing from the object as it lay across his chest, a very bad energy.

"Slytherin's locket?" Draco asked, looking down at the necklace and furrowing his eyebrows.

"It's a... maybe we'll save this conversation for later Draco. I'm very tired," Potter mumbled, rubbing the back of his neck. Draco nodded and dismissed the boy while he sat in his chair to guard their fortress.