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Chapter Ten

How had she never known? "Thank you," she whispered. Malfoy peeked up at her through his hair, his eyes softer than she had ever seen them.

The spell of comfortable silence seemed to have been broken and a tense awkwardness descended. Hermione picked up her cup again and took a sip, but she hardly tasted it. Her thoughts hummed like an anxious hummingbird.

"I should probably go," she said. "I…I have to patrol the halls." Tea spilled into her saucer as she hurried to set down her cup.

His face was blank, his walls up, as he answered, "Okay. I'll see you in class, I guess."

Hermione walked out of the Room and the door disappeared again when she stepped through. She leaned back against the wall. She'd gone to the Room looking for peace, but the only thing she'd found was more questions.

She put those thoughts aside as she drew her wand and went out on patrol.

When she got to the Gryffindor common room later that night, Hermione was more than ready to fall into bed. Her patrols had been a welcome distraction from her whirring thoughts. She'd had to reprimand a group of first-years who had managed to set fire to a tapestry dueling and rescue a pair of fifth-years locked in a broom closet by Peeves.

"Hey, Hermione," Ginny's voice interrupted her thoughts. Ginny was sitting on the arm of the chair, perched next to Harry. "Do you think you can help me with my essay?"

"Can it wait until tomorrow?" Hermione was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open. "It's been a long day."

"Sure." Ginny looked over her friend and smiled. "Good night."

Hermione dragged herself up the stairs to the girl's dorm and collapsed into bed. She was just about to fall asleep when a weight sank down next to her.

Hermione reached for her wand and flipped over, aiming it in the face of…Ginny.

"Are you okay?" Ginny asked, not flinching in the slightest.

"I'm fine." Hermione stowed her wand underneath her pillow. "Just tired."

"You're crying."

Hermione touched her cheeks and was surprised to find them wet. She sighed. "Ron and I broke up."

"What happened?" Ginny shifted to sit cross-legged at Hermione's feet.

The whole story came spilling out, and when Hermione was done, Ginny pulled her into a hug.

"He'll come around," Ginny said. "I'll let you get some sleep." She slid off the bed and Hermione rolled over to fall asleep.

She thought about Ginny's words and wondered if she wanted Ron to come around.

When Hermione arrived at breakfast the next morning, there was a pink orchid in front of her plate again.

"See," Ginny said when she sat down, nodding at the flower. "I told you he'd come around."

Hermione didn't have the heart to correct her as she picked it up and tucked it behind her ear. She glanced across the room at Malfoy. He caught her eye and gave her a crooked smile. He looked more egotistical glancing at the flower than he'd appeared all term.

It made Hermione feel both guilty and excited.

She didn't see him again until she got to Potions in the afternoon. Malfoy sat in the back of the room, scorned by both Gryffindors and Slytherins. Her heart ached for him, reminded of her first days at Hogwarts, when she'd been nothing more than the class know-it-all.

She thought about joining him, but there was Harry sitting at the front of the room next to her cauldron.

Her Confusing Concoction was brewing when a tiny paper bird fluttered down and landed on her arm.

She tapped the bird with her wand and it unfolded. A pink petal fell out.

I found a book that might really help with your essay. Meet me in the library tonight.

Hermione transfigured the letter back into an origami bird and let it hop around on the desk. She tried to concentrate on her potion but she kept catching herself almost putting in the wrong ingredients or stirring it the wrong number of times.

Hermione changed her mind a hundred times about going to the library. It wasn't until she stood outside the door that she realized she'd always intended to go.

She pushed her way inside and slipped through the dark, searching for any sign of him in the dark, until she found the table that she and Draco had shared that night. It seemed like it had been centuries ago since then.

An old book with ruffled pages and a slightly torn cover with another orchid on top sat on the table. Hermione glanced around, but she appeared to be alone.

She moved the orchid to the side and flipped open the book. It was the type of book she wouldn't normally go anywhere near—all dark curses and hexes—but it was perfect for her essay.

"For what it's worth," a voice says, "I am sorry."

Hermione's head shot up. Draco stood on the other side of the table, leaning up against the corner of the bookshelves. The moonlight shone in through the window behind him, making his light hair almost glow in the darkness.

"For what?" Hermione asked, even though she had a feeling she already knew what the answer would be.

"For everything." His eyes caught hers and she caught a glimpse of the empty look of someone who has lost everything. It was a look she'd seen a lot since the War.

Hermione nodded as she closed the book again and picked up the orchid. "Where did you find the book?" she asked, for lack of anything better to say.

"It was something my dad had." He took a cautious step forward. "He won't be needing it anymore and I thought it would help."

She picked it up and clutched it to her chest, struck off balance by Malfoy's words. "Thank you. It's perfect."

Malfoy walked forward, step by cautious step, until he stood within reach of her. Then he picked up the orchid and tucked it behind her ear.

Hermione flinched away from his touch, so gentle but so wrong. She tried to cover her movement away from him, but from the flash of pain in his eyes and the way he backed away, she knew that he'd seen anyway.

She opened her mouth to say something—anything—but Ernie MacMillan stepped around the corner, his lit wand held aloft.

"Oh, Hermione," he said, lowering his wand to keep the light from blinding them. "It's you. I'm sorry."

"It's all right." She glanced behind her, but Malfoy had disappeared. "I was just working on my DADA essay. Have you had any problems tonight?"

Ernie shook his head. "Everything seems quiet."

"Good, good." She shifted the book under her arm. "Well, I'm going to go back to the common room. Good night."

"Good night."

Hermione waited for him to continue his rounds before she glanced around the shelves, but Malfoy had disappeared. She headed back upstairs to Gryffindor Tower with a confused heart. It wasn't until she knocked the flower to the floor while changing her shirt that she realized it was still stuck in her hair.