"Hey, Granger do all of your clothes come from your grandmother's wardrobe, or is your taste really just that bad?"
Draco cringed as Pansy let out a shrill giggle at her own terrible joke and tried to focus on his Potions essay that was due to be handed in to Slughorn first thing the next morning. He was sure that this was not going to be his finest work, and wished that he could ask his preferred study partner for some advice, unfortunately as they drew closer and closer to winter more Slytherins were starting to abandon the dark dungeon Common Room for the bright library- so he was surrounded by his housemates and Hermione was back in her secluded corner without him.
She didn't seem bothered, by either her isolation or Pansy's ridiculous comments, which bothered him a little. Did she like that she was finally being left to study in peace? He knew she liked to work alone, but he had been getting so used to their comfortable silence and occasional furtive glances that he was finding working with anyone else maddening. Did she miss him?
He remembered the snippet of overheard conversation she had with the Weasley girl, the one that had confirmed his suspicions that some of the tension in Gryffindor house was an element of competition between Hermione and Lavender Brown for Ron's attention- which, in Draco's opinion, was completely ludicrous. He tried to push it from his mind, as the sensation of intense jealousy he felt at the thought of Hermione liking anyone else in that way was difficult to conceal and he didn't want his friends picking up on it, and instead tried not to snap at Goyle who was attempting to learn the theory behind the Switching Spell, something most of their year had perfected back in forth year. He knew he shouldn't judge his friend for having to resist his Transfiguration OWL, but when he was being so obviously stupid it was quite difficult.
Unfortunately for his concentration and essay, Pansy was not finished on the subject of her favourite victim. "I mean look at her hair, hasn't she heard of anti-frizz or does she think that the volume distracts from her ugly face?"
Blaise was lazily reading through his own work and muttered, "You know Pansy with the amount you go on about her, some people would think you might be jealous."
"Jealous? Of Hermione Granger, please! What exactly is there to be jealous of? If I looked like she did and was so unpopular and such a teacher's pet I'd jump off the astronomy tower."
There was a sour taste in Draco's mouth and he determinedly crossed out a spelling mistake so he wouldn't make a comment he was sure he'd regret, that in his opinion Blaise had hit the nail directly on the head, and from where he was sitting there was plenty Pansy could be jealous about when she was compared to Hermione. He felt her hand on his leg, just above the knee and he jumped, "Do you mind?"
"What do you think Draco?" she simpered, apparently unaware that this reaction to her was in distaste not pleasure, "Would you rather hook up with the Giant Squid, or Hermione Granger?"
He rolled his eyes and moved his leg so that her hand fell away, "Oh or how about Hagrid or Hermione… they both have hair issues, facial hair I mean… she does know girls aren't supposed to have moustaches right?"
Pansy's voice was so loud it was carrying across the entire library, and several people were turning in their chairs with annoyed frowns. A few Hufflepuffs at the next table were muttering angrily, and Draco knew several of them were friends with Hermione. The lady herself had gotten up from her table and had disappeared into the stacks, "The book on discreet hair removal charms isn't in that section," Pansy called out in a stage whisper, "It's over by the "How to be popular guide" and "How to come to terms with being a lowly Muggleborn"!"
"Okay Pansy give it a rest," Draco snapped and when she narrowed her eyes at him he added, "This is the library, if you wanna taunt her then do it where I'm not trying to make sure I don't fail Potions. Besides, Blaise is right, you just sound desperately jealous and like you're trying to hide it, it's not very attractive."
Her mouth fell open and several of his friends around the table scoffed. In one fluid movement he pushed away from the table and headed towards the shelves, "Where are you going?" she called after him.
"To find a book- traditionally it's what the library is for!" Her mouth opened and closed again and Draco left her at the mercy of the laughter of the Slytherins at their table.
In the stacks he nipped through a narrow gap between the shelves into the row he'd seen Hermione flee into. She was perched on one of the narrow tables with a book open in her lap and a quill behind her ear; she was working on Arithmancy, which was the reason for the crease between her brows as she concentrated. He almost felt bad for interrupting her, but before he could open his mouth she said, "If you're coming to apologise for Pansy just don't bother, I'm well used to it, and I'm busy."
He hesitated, he wanted to find a way of explaining how stuck he felt, between the person he was supposed to be surrounded by his Slytherin friends, and the person that he was around her, who didn't believe a word of the lies Pansy liked to spread and wanted to protect Hermione from them. Her anger was both justified but also off-putting, and he didn't know what he could say or do to make it better. She was chewing at her lip and upon closer inspection he could see that she wasn't really reading the book in her hands, only pretending to, presumably so she wouldn't have to look at him; he suspected she had darted into the shelves to hide the fact she wanted to cry and that only added to the knot of frustration in his stomach.
Instead of saying anything he reached out and gently closed the book. Hermione still didn't move or meet his gaze, so he stepped closer and touched his fingers to her cheekbone, running them down to underneath her chin which he carefully lifted. He could see the fierce determination in her eyes that she wasn't going to cry, but they were also shining.
"Don't you think it's ironic that a girl who looks like a horse crossed with a goblin has such delusions of grandeur she shouts ridiculous insults about other people's appearances, even though nobody agrees with her?"
"I think it's pathetic."
"I think that someone as intelligent as you should know better than to listen to her. She's got a lot of nerve to comment on anything about your appearance, she does it because she's jealous of you."
"I highly doubt that." Hermione turned her head so that his hand fell away and stood up off the desk.
Draco moved to block her exit, "She is, it's obvious to everyone, apparently except from her and you. Even Blaise was accusing her of it just now- she's not got much else going for her other than what she perceives to be the advantage of blood status. And while you are Muggleborn, and in the magical world that comes with a lot of ancient prejudices, you're also top of our year, street smart as well as book smart, and…" You're beautiful, he wanted to say, but the words got lost in his nerves, "And you have a lot more going for your than you realise," he finished lamely with a slight flush in his cheeks.
Hermione's dark eyes were troubled, it wasn't just Pansy's words that were playing on her mind, there was something a lot deeper bothering her, but before he could press to find out what he heard his name being called, "DRACO WE'RE GOING BACK TO THE COMMON ROOM. THIS PLACE IS FULL OF NERDS AND THE STUPID LIBRARIAN IS THROWING US OUT."
He swallowed his embarrassment and Hermione looked up at him and said quietly and with judgement, "Your friends are waiting for you."
"Yours aren't perfect," he felt the need to point out, "Though for the record, I am sorry for Pansy."
"You keep apologising to me," she said with a little heat, "For Pansy, for people calling me Mudblood, for your friends being cruel to me… but those are just words Draco, simply apologising for the prejudices of the world isn't going to change them. You won't break any traditions by hiding in stacks and whispering apologies."
He reached out and cupped her cheek with his hand, "I don't know what else to do."
She wrapped her fingers around his wrist and said firmly, "Well figure it out, because I've got enough to worry about as it is without making needless enemies of your friends if this friendship isn't going to ever move out of the stacks."
Then she was gone, back to her table and her books and her solitude, and Draco found himself heading back to the cool, dark Common Room with his friends- more confused than ever.

I think this is my first ever fanfic I've posted that I've hit ten chapters and zero reviews... appreciate the favourites and the follows, and if you're all enjoying it and the lack of comments is because no one has any complaints then fantastic! I'm aiming to up the pace now as I want to progress the story, got a few short, punchy chapters on the way before building up to a big one where things start to kick off.

I hope you're still with me! Enjoy!

-H