Hermione was a complete wreck the next morning; she hadn't achieved a single moment of sleep the entire night. Ron, of course, was completely rested and chipper when he left to change before class. Hermione didn't even try to wrestle with her hair, knowing it was impossible. She threw it into a messy bun and let it be; not caring whether it looked like crap or not.

She left the tower and was halfway down the hallway before she realized she had left her bag in her room. Grumbling, she walked back to get it and then continued on to breakfast. At this point, she didn't know how she was going to make it through the day. And it was only 8:00! Ginny was at the 8th year table, laughing with Ron and Harry, as she entered. Why? Why? Why? She is not an 8th year student, no matter how much she thinks she deserves it!

Hermione slumped into the seat next to Ron and poured herself a glass of pumpkin juice. She could almost imagine a dark cloud above her, bleeding into her mood. What she wouldn't give for a Cheering Charm. Maybe she could ask someone to cast it on her? Ron could do it; it wasn't like that was something he could screw up.

"Hey babe, man you snored so loud last night. I didn't think I was ever going to get to sleep," Ron laughed, nudging her with his elbow.

The innocent piece of toast she had been buttering was suddenly stabbed through by her knife. "Excuse me," she shrieked, pointing her knife in his face. "You were the one snoring all night long! I didn't sleep at all the entire night! Oh my God, Ron. You are such a stupid git!" Food forgotten, she stormed from the hall.

Ginny smirked. It had almost too easy for her to hex Hermione with a Sleepless Night Charm the day before. She was ready to start the next phase of her plan; the potions had already been acquired. If all went well, Ron would be done with Hermione by the end of the week.


Her long, horrible day just kept getting worse. Here Hermione was, trying to do her homework, and she couldn't even read her own notes. They could only be compared to chicken scratch. Her groan of frustration got even worse as Ginny strolled into the common room alone. Apparently, Harry had given her the bloody password. She put her head on the table and buried it with her arms, unaware that someone had joined her at the table until she heard glass being slid across it.

"Pepper Up Potion." Malfoy smiled at her. "We – well, I made it this morning in Potions and managed to snag a vial for you. Figured you'd need it at some point today."

She snatched the potion, ready to pour it down her throat. "Wait." Her brows furrowed. "Why are you being nice to me?" He rolled his eyes as suspicion flickered over her face. He wasn't sure but she thought she saw a flicker of hurt as well.

"Really, Granger, I thought we'd made somewhat of a truce this year." He looked quite offended. Standing to leave, he said, "You know, I thought we could work together… maybe put the past behind us. But it looks like you're just as prejudiced as you used to accuse me of being." His sneer made her wince.

"Wait," she said before she downed the potion. "I'm sorry. Look, it's just strange that's all. I mean, we hated each other for the past seven years. But… Well, we've both changed so much… I really like the idea of a truce; we already know we can work well together," she whispered.

"I never hated you."

She looked at him, as close to being in shock as one could get. "You- What?"

"I didn't really hate you. Potter and Weasel, yes. But you, not really. I knew that I was supposed to, what with the Pureblood crap Father shoved down my throat since before I could speak. But I never really hated you. In all honesty, I only really picked on you to get to your friends. You were never really my intended target." He grabbed her hand and she couldn't help but notice how soft and comforting it was. "It was completely immature and I apologize."

"I'm sorry I hit you in third year," she whispered so quietly that she wasn't sure if he heard it.

He chuckled. So obviously he had heard her. "I deserved that one. I was scared shitless of you after that. Did you know?"

"No, I didn't. Really, you were scared of me? Oh God. I don't even remember what I called you…"

"Ah, I believe it was 'Fowl, loathsome, evil little cockroach.' Or something along those lines." He laughed, a full-bellied laugh that was amazingly contagious. They laughed and joked for sometime after that, while finishing their homework together. They were in their own world, completely cut off from the rest of the common room. Hermione realized that this was the best she had felt all day.

Suddenly, Ron came over and grabbed her arm. She noticed that the walls Draco had taken down during their time together were quickly thrown back in place. He returned Ron's glare with even more iciness than normal. "Come on Hermione," Ron demanded. "We're going to the Three Broomsticks."

She didn't even have a chance to argue before he shoved her towards the fireplace, murder written in his eyes.


She'd heard Ron's rants before, but none of them had prepared her for the one he was giving now. She tried her best to tune him out, angry and embarrassed that he chose to berate her in public. She caught snippets of what he said. A "Death Eater" here, or an "enemy" there. She'd heard it all before; it was all the same. Maybe if he changed it up, she would listen, but really there's only so many times you can listen to something you don't want to hear.

"Are you even listening to me?" he roared. Hermione crossed her arms, clearly indicating that she wasn't. Furious that his girlfriend wasn't doing as he wanted, he turned towards Harry. "Harry, help me out here. Tell her!"

Harry put his hands up, clearly trying to stay out of the situation, but knowing he wouldn't be able. "Ron… you can't control who she talks to even if it is Malfoy. I mean, he was actually tolerable at tryouts today…" Neither of them had ever seen Ron's face reach the level of red that it did now. Harry sighed. "Come over here Ron. We'll talk and leave the girls to order drinks."

Hermione sighed in relief as Harry led Ron outside. She didn't know what he was going to say, but if anyone could get through to Ron, it was Harry. "So," she said to Ginny, willing to talk about anything except the present situation. "How do you think your Qudditch team will do this year? You're the captain, right?"

She couldn't be sure, but she thought a flicker of absolute loathing crossed her companion's face. Blinking quickly, she realized she must have imagined it because Ginny was smiling at her. "Oh, I think we'll be fine. Better than fine in fact. I highly doubt the early start McGonagall gave the 8th year team will do any good." She laughed. "I mean, can you imagine? None of them have even played together before. And half of them didn't even play before this year!"

Ginny shook her head. "Yeah, Harry is going to have his hands full this year."

"And Malfoy," Hermione added.

She had to dodge the spray of butterbeer that shot its way out of Ginny's mouth. "W- what!"

"You didn't hear? Harry made Malfoy his co-captain. He said the team would do better if they worked together."

Harry's girlfriend shook her head, trying her best to shake Hermione's news from her mind. "No. Harry would not do that. He- There's no way he would do that willingly. Are you sure Malfoy didn't hex him or something?"

Something inside Hermione snapped; she was furious. First at her boyfriend and now at his sister. "He didn't even have his wand on him, Ginerva! You and Ronald need to set aside your prejudices and grow up!"