Hermione wasn't quite sure why she had continued to look for and look at Draco as they sat down to dinner, but once again her eyes had traveled to the Slytherin table and the blond haired boy across the Great Hall. As her eyes had reached him, he looked up and their eyes met. Hermione felt frozen in time, lost within the silver of Draco's eyes.

For what seemed like forever, the two just sat and stared at each other, almost as if they were looking deep into each other's souls. It had only been a few seconds in reality, but it was long enough for Hermione to recognize the way her stomach tightened when he looked at her.

Ron pulled her attention away from Draco quickly, giving her a peck on the cheek with his mouth full of mashed potatoes.

"Ron, that is absolutely disgusting," Hermione complained as she wiped her cheek with her sleeve. "If you plan on doing that, please make sure you swallow your food first."

"Sorry," Ron replied, a hint of animosity in his voice. "I'll be sure to not do that again."

"Ron, that's not…" Too late. Ron had gotten up and moved further down the table to join his other Gryffindor friends, Seamus and Dean.

Hermione sat in silence, staring at her plate, not touching any of her food. Ron seemed to become more and more angry as of late, and their relationship began falling apart. Before the school year had begun, Ron had been nothing short of clingy, never giving Hermione room to breathe. Now that they were a few weeks into their last year at Hogwarts, Ron had become distant and angry constantly. Outside of their classes, they hadn't spent much time as she would have liked together, what with her almost always in the library and Ron either with his friends or playing Quidditch.

Hermione knew she still loved Ron, very much, but she could feel that love shifting into something different still, as she felt over the summer. She knew that, at some point, she would have to confront Ron about what was happening between the two of them, but she didn't want it to come to that just yet. She knew how Ron got with confrontation, especially with her, and she did not want to cause even more problems between the two of them. For now, Hermione planned to just let things run their course, hoping that things would get better.

Looking up towards the Slytherin table again, she found that Draco was nowhere in sight. He must have gotten up to leave when she wasn't paying attention. Hermione wasn't sure why she had even cared that Draco was no longer in the Great Hall having dinner, but for some reason she was slightly disappointed.

Finding herself full, Hermione said good night to Harry and Ginny, and got up from the table. She made her way over to where Ron was sitting, kissed him on the cheek, said good night to him as well, and left the Great Hall.


Hermione wasn't really feeling all that tired, so she decided to not actually go to bed, but instead read in front of the fire in the Gryffindor Common Room. It wasn't long after she had started reading that the common room began to fill with her fellow Gryffindors, her friends included. Harry, Ron, and Ginny began playing a game of Exploding Snap, to the applause of their classmates and friends and to the great dismay of Hermione.

She had just started reading one of the best chapters, in her opinion, of her favorite book when she was unfortunately interrupted. To her surprise, it wasn't by one of her friends or fellow Gryffindor classmates, but by the Headmistress, Minerva McGonagall, herself. Hermione put her bookmark into the seam of the pages she was on to save her place, then gave McGonagall all of her attention.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, Ms. Granger, but may I ask for your presence in my office?"

"Yes, of course."

"I imagine you already know where my office is?" McGonagall asked.

"Yes. Harry took Ron and myself there after..."

"Say no more. The password is, 'Licorice Snap'." Turning on her heel, McGonagall added one more thing before heading to the portrait hole. "I will meet you inside shortly."

Confused as to the reasoning behind being called to the Headmistress's office, Hermione sat for a few seconds, deep in thought. She ran every scenario she could think of, but couldn't think of a reasonable, or truthful, reason of why. Deciding sitting there and thinking about it was doing her no good, Hermione got up, ran her book to her dormitory, and returned to the Common Room. Saying a quick goodbye to her friends with a simple explanation of where she was headed, she gave Ron a peck on the cheek, and left Gryffindor Tower.

Hermione saw quite a few schoolmates along the way, but she didn't say anything except "Hello" as she passed them. Her mind was still on the reason as to why McGonagall wanted her to meet her in her office, and also as to why they didn't go there together. Why did she say she would meet me there? She thought as she headed towards the third floor. What's going on?

Finally reaching the third floor corridor and the gargoyle statue blocking the entrance to the office, Hermione said the password and slowly walked up the winding staircase. Out of habit, she knocked on the office door before remembering no one would be there when she arrived. Hermione opened the door, and since the ending of the war, entered the office for the first time.


Hermione was sitting in silence, looking up at Dumbledore's portrait when she heard the office door open and two sets of footsteps enter. She didn't turn around as she would know who would be joining her in just a few short seconds. McGonagall reached her side of the desk swiftly, but the other person still had yet to join them. It wasn't until McGonagall said, "Come, Draco. Sit," that Hermione realized who the other set of footsteps belonged to.

When Draco sat down, Hermione finally turned to acknowledge his presence, with a simple wave and small smile. The three sat in silence for a while, McGonagall staring at the two while the two young students sat staring back. Finally, McGonagall broke the silence.

"So. I'm sure you two wonder why you are here? I'm sorry to pull you two away on such short notice, but this was the only time I was free."

Hermione and Draco nodded a reply, understanding just how time-stricken she must be. Their Headmistress continued.

"I've asked the both of you here this evening to ask for your help. As I'm sure you are well aware, I am being pulled this way and that. To be frank, I'm quite simply at my wits end."

Headmistress McGonagall paused then, looking quite old and exhausted to both Hermione and Draco, though they continued to just sit in silence, waiting for her to continue.

"The help that I ask of you is something I believe you both are completely capable of. I have recently been asked by St. Mungo's for my assistance in helping with creating potions for them as they are extremely understaffed and over burdened by patients from the war. As you both know, I'm not one for potions myself, so I, in turn, asked Professor Slughorn for his help. Unfortunately, he declined."

McGonagall paused yet again, lifting her glasses and rubbing her weary eyes.

"That's where you two come in," she continued. "After declining to help, Professor Slughorn shared with me just how well the two of you work together and how much you both excel in your Potions lessons. I only ask you this: Will the two of you be willing to work together in creating potions for St. Mungo's?"

Hermione and Draco looked at each other, confusion marking Draco's eyes, where Hermione's were lit with excitement. Turning back to their Headmistress, she continued yet again.

"If you both agree, you will no longer be required to join your fellow classmates in your Potions lessons. I will give the two of you full marks for that class in exchange for your help, as well as write off your Potions NEWT as passed."

Without a second thought, Hermione spoke up.

"Yes, yes of course! I would be glad to help!"

"Thank you, Hermione." McGonagall and Hermione both then turned to Draco, anxious for his reply.

"Well, since Hermione already agreed, I suppose I have no choice on the matter."

At that moment, a warmth spread through Headmistress McGonagall's face, lighting it with a smile. The weary and tired look about her eyes vanished, replaced with gratefulness and cheer. Hermione also lit up with a smile as she continued to look at Draco, who turned away quickly, a slight blush appearing on his cheeks.

"I, and I'm sure St. Mungo's patients as well, thank you very much. I would appreciate it if you would kept this between the three of us. I will write to them immediately and let them know we can help them with their needs. In the meantime, while we wait for their reply, and, I imagine their list of needed potions, all you need to do is continue your usual schedule. Once I receive that reply, I will again call on you both."


Author's note: Chapter 9 has arrived! In this chapter we learn just why Draco and Hermione had been summoned to McGonagall's office. If I stole a plot bunny, I sincerely didn't mean to! I've been working on this story for around 2 years now, so I honestly didn't intend to, so please don't hate me!

Since this is a holiday week, I wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to those who don't celebrate Christmas! I hope this week is wonderful for you all!

As usual, reviews are always awesome and welcome!