Chapter 6 for AoW Challenge- i used run, snake, friend, forest, surprise, beautiful,and eyes.

disclaimer: i own nothing.

and yes, i realize that in order to have a Floo there'd have to be a fireplace outside...but use your imagination :)

Hermione walked into Transfiguration with Harry and Ron, chatting about their previous Defense Against the Dark Arts class with Snape.

"He's just impossible." Hermione said, sitting down in one of the two empty chairs at her desk. Ron let out a large sigh and slouched into the seat beside Harry.

"There is no way I am going to be able to pass his class. I don't know why I even bothered signing up for it- I know I'm no good at it." he folded his arms and rested his head on them. "the only reason I ever got through it before was because of you."

Hermione blushed slightly, and went about unpacking her books. Seventh year was more difficult than she anticipated, and it would take a lot of studying to get high marks. She'd already taken advantage of the silence of her own room. It was a bit lonely, but it was much easier to write an essay on the adverse effects of mixing an Aging Potion with a Polyjuice Potion.

The Head's Room was only nice when Malfoy wasn't there. She had only run into him on a few occasions, and they were awful enough to make her spend most of her time in the comfort of her room. She could do without the insults, the glares, and the disgruntled noises.

There was something different about him this year, and she couldn't put her finger on it.

Hermione glanced around the room to see if she could catch a glimpse of him, but had no luck. He'd been late to a couple of classes this week, and it made her suspicious. She'd searched the Head's Room for any clues, thinking he must be up to something rotten. Though he was a complete git, she knew he was smarter than to just leave evidence out in the open. Whatever he was doing, Hermione wanted to be sure it wasn't something to help Voldemort. The one thing Hermione could find good about their arrangement as Head Boy and Girl was that he would be right under her nose the entire year, which could give her more of a chance of catching him doing something. She would do anything to help Harry.

Her daydreaming was cut off by the voice of Professor McGonagall.

"Students, please take out your books and open it to the chapter on Human Transfiguration. An advanced art though it is, we need to dive right into this challenging material to prepare you for your N.E.W.T at the end of the term."

Hermione flipped open her book, looking at Harry and Ron and trying to give them her most motivational smile. She wasn't keen on having to pull them through 7th year- she wanted them to at least try since she had so many other responsibilities this year. While in midsentence about the possibility of losing limb, Malfoy snuck into the chair beside her, silently opening his bag and taking out his book. Hermione looked at him, surprised.

"Late again?" she said under her breath, taking every opportunity to shove it in Malfoy's face that she was a better student than he was.

"Piss off" he said coldly, pretending to start reading. Hermione looked behind her to where he usually sat. Pansy Parkinson was giving her a glare that could kill, and noticed some other Slytherin sitting where Draco usually sat. She turned back around and rolled her eyes. Yeah right, like she really wanted to be sitting next to Malfoy.

She twirled her quill between her fingers and tried to focus on the reading. Professor McGonagall had taken to meddling with something in her desk drawer, so Hermione snuck a glance at Harry and Ron. Ron's head had returned to his folded arms, while Harry was looking back at her with a confused look on his face. Hermione shrugged back to answer his unasked question. No, she didn't know why Malfoy was sitting beside her. It wouldn't be unlike him to threaten whoever was in his usual seat until they moved.

She turned back to her reading. Focusing just wasn't going to happen. Her eyes were drawn to Malfoy, making sure he wouldn't see her looking at him. His usual pale skin seemed sunken on his face, as if he hadn't slept or ate properly since he'd arrived at Hogwarts. His usual pristine upkeep was lacking. She noticed his robes were slightly wrinkled, his tie loosened around his neck. He looked preoccupied with other thoughts, not caring about the text in front of him. He turned his head and caught her looking at him- Hermione whipped her head back around. She knew he had seen her.

"Didn't your muggle parents ever teach you it's not nice to stare?" he whispered, lacking his usual venom she was accustomed to.

"Yes, uh yes" she replied, thrown off by his tone. Since when did Malfoy not take the opportunity to tear her down? He looked back at her with a blank expression, then sneered and turned the page in his book.

-

Draco Malfoy didn't waste any time once McGonagall had released them from class. He swung his leather bag over his shoulder, swept up his books, and bolted for the door. The last thing he wanted was to be interrogated by Granger about being late or not keeping up with Head Duties. Someone pulled at the sleeve of his cloak-

"Draco, why are you in such a hurry? Class was so lonely without you, I couldn't get that stupid prat O'Hare to move out of your seat." Pansy stroked his arm as he stood in front of her, refusing to make eye contact. "Poor thing, had to sit by that Mudblood-"

Draco snatched his arm away.

"Don't touch me." he said, hurrying down the hallway.

"But Draco-wait- I wanted to ask you something."

Draco turned around and looked at Pansy; she looked surprised that he had actually stopped, and approached him slowly.

"I didn't get to see you at all this summer, with me in the Alps with my parents, and you tucked away at the Mansion."

The rest of their Transfiguration class had filtered into the hallway. No one seemed to notice the two already in the hallway, standing very close together. Draco was beginning to get impatient.

"I just wanted to see you, you know…without Blaise, Crabbe & Goyle. Just-"she inched closer to his face, and Draco could smell an all too familiar scent- "us."

Draco closed his eyes and took it in. He could remember a time when he was looking forward to having a room to himself so he could be with Pansy without having others interrupting. But now things were different. The comfort of her touch wouldn't fix the more serious problems that came with his age.

His father had given him no choice but to follow in his footsteps. He'd always wanted to, of course, but that was as a kid. Now, he would watch his father put on his dark cloak and leave for the yard without saying goodbye. He'd see his mother appear in the foyer, clutching the door frame tight, her knuckles turning white. Now he was at the age where he was supposed to join up, work for the Dark Lord. He knew his father didn't trust him with this responsibility, which angered him. He'd received a letter only the other day further confirming his thoughts-

Draco,

That business I had to attend to the day you left for school went well. With the way things are, I cannot disclose much in this letter, but know this. Your task remains the same, and I don't expect this poor work I've been receiving from you. If you can't handle this, you won't be ready for anything after you get out of school. You have a name to uphold, Draco. You come from a long line of highly revered wizards. Don't let your name soil our line.

Father

He'd risked detention and expulsion to get his father information on Harry Potter and his stupid friends. Reading the letter showed how unimportant his father truly thought he was.

"Draco, did you hear me? Let's go to your room…" Pansy stroked his arm affectionately. Draco sneered and walked away.

"I said don't touch me."

He pushed past a group of 2nd years and flew up the stairs. Panting, he finally arrived at the door he'd been waiting for. He muttered "puppies," cringed, and slammed to door hard enough that it knocked the portraits sideways.

-

Hermione juggled her heavy bag with the stack of books she'd just borrowed from the library, her Ancient Runes essay trailing on the floor. She swayed back and forth down the corridor on the way to dinner, close to tipping over when Ron came to her rescue.

"Careful, Hermione, you'll hurt yourself with all this stuff. How do you do it all?" he asked, taking the books out of her hands and allowing her to roll up her parchment.

"Well I had to get these books for Arithmancy- I really ought to start studying for N.E.W.Ts or I'll get behind. Not to mention we have our first Heads Meeting with the Prefects tonight and I haven't had a second to organize what we'll discuss and Malfoy has been a ghost all week, I wonder if he even remembers it's tonight."

She turned the corner into the Great Hall and was immediately filled with the smells of warm bread and soup. "Mmm, I haven't gotten a chance to eat since breakfast."

Ron placed her books down one of the Gryffindor tables, and took her heavy bag from her shoulder. "Hermione, really you've taken on too much I'm worried about you."

Hermione's lips formed into a smile, and sat down on the bench. "Worried about me, are you?"

Ron blushed a little and sat down across from her and shrugged his shoulders. "Well yea, it's been a week and I've hardly seen you." Harry appeared, and sat down next to Ron, leaving their conversation at an exchange of smiles.

Hermione ate her soup quickly, hoping to get extra time to finish her Herbology essay before planning the Head's Meeting. Ron and Harry were busy talking about Quidditch when Ginny sat down next to Hermione. Harry dropped his fork, making a clattering noise; he swore and picked it up off of the floor.

"Hello boys, Hermione. Can you believe it's only been a week? I'm up to my ears in homework. Harry, have you arranged a time for Quidditch tryouts? I can't wait, I haven't gotten a chance to play in so long, and I can't say that playing with Ron is as much fun as playing with you" she smiled, serving herself.

Hermione saw Harry choke a bit on his soup and her stomach tightened. She couldn't tell if it was a pang of happiness or perhaps jealousness. Sure, she wanted the best for Harry-she was just a little sad she couldn't do it for him.

Ginny joined in on the boys' conversation and Hermione felt left out…yet again. She surveyed the Hall for something more interesting. Everyone seemed to be huddled into their own little groups, complaining about the heavy work load, gossiping about who grew up over summer break. Suddenly, Hermione felt she was sitting all alone- was she the only one that was concerned about life after Hogwarts? Sure, she had top grades and had the recommendations and connections of plenty of professors. Everyone saw her becoming an Auror, and she had definitely considered it. She could use her intelligence to help fight the good fight. But part of her didn't know if the path of constantly being busy and on the run was what she wanted for the rest of her life. A part of her wanted to become a Healer, and another was content on working for the Ministry.

Her gaze landed on the Slytherin table and she let out a huff. She could pick out those whose futures were set for them, doing exactly what they'd wanted since they landed at Hogwarts. The sons and daughters of Death Eaters would follow in their parents' footsteps. Malfoy sat with a grim expression on his face, not paying attention to Pansy fawning over him, or Blaise, who appeared to be arguing with him. Hermione continued to watch as Malfoy shot up, shoved his dish away, and practically ran out of the Great Hall. Hermione stood up. Harry looked at her, confused.

"Something wrong?" he asked. Hermione gathered her things and climbed off of the bench.

"I've got to go. Lots of work to do." She answered quickly, determined to see where Malfoy was going.

She didn't know why she was so compelled to follow, but some part of her was interested. She hurried to keep up with him, and found him on a path towards the Head's Room. Good, she thought. I can pretend like I was coming the Head's Room to get homework done. She saw him open the door and close it behind him. Catching her breath, she walked to the door casually, and said the password. As she opened the door, she caught a glimpse of an irate Draco Malfoy, tossing powder into the fire and disappearing.

Her jaw dropped- a Floo, in their Head's Room? What if he was going to do work for the Dark Lord? Hermione dropped her things and paced in front of the fire. She had to find him, but where could he be?

She stopped in her tracks. Why had he been outside the night she saw him outside of the window? It was worth a shot, and Hermione raced to the front door of the castle into the cool night air.

-

After searching the grounds for what seemed like an hour with her wand barely illuminated in front of her, she was shaking from the cool autumn air and about to give up her search. She had reached the Black Lake, and hadn't seen him anywhere. He could be at the Malfoy Mansion, she thought, cursing her stupidity. Here she was, running around outside like a lunatic. She walked around the lake, arms crossed on her chest to warm herself up.

Not far away, she heard the snapping of twigs coming from the Forbidden Forest. She wasn't stupid enough to go looking for him in there- she wasn't even entirely sure why she was looking for him in the first place. Hermione became suddenly aware of how alone and vulnerable she was out at night. Sure, it was Hogwarts- the supposed safest place to be. But hadn't Voldemort infiltrated the grounds before?

She saw a figure moving by the edge of the forest, kicking rocks and breaking large branches. Hermione crept towards the noise, and saw that it was indeed Malfoy. She didn't want to scare him, and cause him to curse her. She kept her wand at arm's reach and walked up confidently to him.

"Malfoy what are you doing out here? Trying to get yourself into trouble?" She cringed a little at her choice of words.

He whipped his head around, and she saw a shade of Malfoy she had never seen before. A mix of anger, frustration, and yet something much more vulnerable…

His chest heaved, and he looked like he might hit her across the face for interrupting whatever he was doing. His hair was damp with sweat, and part of his bangs clung to his forehead. His hands were shaking, and she knew it wasn't from the cold weather. Hermione wasn't frightened of many things, but as she stood feet away from him alone on the Hogwarts' grounds, she was absolutely petrified.

Too scared to move, she managed to murmur "I'm sorry," but wasn't sure it was loud enough for anyone but her to hear.

Instead of harming her there all alone, he did something Hermione prayed would happen. He turned around and walked towards the lake. Hermione stayed glued to her spot, and watched him walk slowly towards the undisturbed lake. His robe was discarded on a nearby rock already, but he didn't seem to be fazed by the weather. The rippling black collared shirt and matching black pants seemed to give him ample warmth. Standing on a large rock on the shore, he stared out across the vast watery body, lost in his own thoughts. Hermione was suddenly not so afraid.

Then, as if it were completely normal, Draco stepped into the shallow water of the lake, continuing to stare out at nothing.

Hermione knew she would achieve nothing by repeating her question. Now she didn't really care so much about the load of homework she had to do, or that Draco Malfoy was setting a bad example as Head Boy. He looked entirely comfortable standing ankle deep and fully clothed in the lake.

He began to walk along the shoreline slowly, as if battling something in his head. Hermione dared to move, and sat on the rock which Draco had recently stepped off of. Draco Malfoy completely out of his element surprised Hermione- he seemed less like an evil contriving snake, and more like a human.

She sat on the rock and watched him walk as far as she could see, then back. Her heart began to beat faster- she didn't know whether he expected her to be gone when he got back or not. He didn't make eye contact as he sloshed towards the rock. He stood in front of her and stared over her shoulder. Hermione began to scoot backward, thinking she could make a quick exit if she needed to.

And then, he sat down on the rock beside her.

Hermione tried to keep herself from shaking- she didn't know if it was from the weather or from fear. He sat with his legs dangling into the cold water below, elbows on his knees and head in his hands. The moon lit the lake, making it sparkle a deep gray. She took in the serene view, forgetting the fact that she was sitting next to someone who had made her life anything but beautiful.

Hermione dared to turn her head, looking at a person who looked nothing like the menacing prat that was Draco Malfoy. A crumpled version sat next to her on the cold rock. A shiver ran up her spine, causing her to shake violently.

Draco turned his head towards his cloak a couple rocks away. He raised his chin at it, suggesting that she should go get it. Hermione nervously got up, and went to retrieve the cloak. In mild shock he'd even let her touch it, she climbed back on the rock and sat back beside him, handing him the cloak. He shook his head and motioned that it was for her.

Is this really happening?, she thought. Did he notice that she was cold, and actually care enough to give her something to cover up? She hesitated before wrapping herself in the warmth of his cloak. She didn't dare say a word. Their silence held an air of understanding. He didn't feel the need to say anything, meaning she didn't need to say anything. After a long time, Hermione glanced at her watch and saw that hours had passed, and their Head's Meeting was set to start in less than 20 minutes. Malfoy was turned away, clutching his legs and gazing out at the rolling hills.

Hermione felt as if she weren't with Draco Malfoy, but with someone she was comfortable with. She reached out to tap his shoulder, but withdrew her hand when she realized it was Draco, and not a close friend.

Then, against better judgment, she placed her hand delicately on his shoulder. He flinched slightly, then looked her in the eyes.

"We'd better get going" Hermione whispered, standing up and removing his cloak.

"I'll be up in a minute." he said quietly, turning back to the lake.

Hermione folded his cloak and placed it on the rock beside him. Once she was far enough away from Draco, she broke into a run and didn't stop until she was safely inside the Head's Room.