The rest of the day passed quickly, and then they were at dinnertime, and Draco was feeling incredibly uncomfortable.

A first-year was staring intensely at him. The kid was holding a piece of paper in his hand, and Draco wasn't exactly sure what was going on. After a full seven minutes and sixteen seconds, Draco leaned over the table toward him.

"What?"

The first-year looked shocked. He paused and then took a deep breath. "I found this owl and it had your name attached to the letter, and Dominque dared me to take the letter and deliver it to you personally and –"

Draco stuck his hand out for the letter. The first-year hurriedly relinquished it and then got up and raced away. Rolling his eyes, Draco tore it open.

My Dear Draco,

I'm sorry to hear about your current predicament with Miss Hermione Granger. Of course, I am completely assured that you will honor the Malfoy name and treat the situation with patience and respect. I am very proud of you, Draco.

As a matter of fact, yes we do have a Constantine in our family. She is your cousin, but she was sent away to Canada just a few years after you were born. I must tell you, though; Constantine is a rather taboo topic. It would be best not to stir the pot.

As always, Draco, I send my love. I look forward to seeing you in a few weeks during Christmas.

Sincerely,

Mother

Draco raised his eyebrow at his mother's subtle hint, telling him not to dig any deeper in the affairs of Constantine. Glancing around to make sure that no one had seen him; Draco stuffed the paper in his pocket. He was just about to rise and go to send another letter back to his mother when he remembered Granger.

He internally groaned. Now that his mother had warned him against asking about Constantine, he was more worried than ever. He wanted to send another letter, imploring her to answer his questions. He didn't feel safe leaving the letters in anyone else's hands, though. If Constantine was as taboo as his mother hinted, he didn't want anything leaking out.

"What's wrong, mate?" Blaise asked. "Did that first-year read through your letter?"

"Merlin, no. If he did, he wouldn't be sitting so comfortably now." Draco replied, narrowing his eyes at the boy. "No, not all. I'm just tired. That's all."

"That's too bad." Theo told him. "I guess that means you won't be coming to the common room with us."

"I wouldn't be coming regardless. Granger." Draco muttered.

Theo and Blaise both made twin noises of understanding.

Before the incident, Draco, Blaise, and Theo had always spent some time in the common room before retiring to bed. They did it at least twice a week, when the three of them didn't have too much homework or studying. They spent the time unloading to each other, de-stressing and just having fun in general. Draco had found that it did wonders for his blood pressure. His favorite activity was playing poker with some of the other boys.

"Malfoy?" Granger called. He glanced up, where she was sitting with Daphne and Pansy.

"What?" He grumbled.

"Can we go to the owlery before we go back to our room?" She asked. "I want to send a letter to Har – uh, I want to send a letter to my friend."

Draco rolled his eyes, but inside, he smiled. His problem was solved. "If you want to give Potter a message, you can yell it right across the Great Hall right now."

Granger huffed. "I'd rather not, thank you. Can we go?"

"Yeah, sure. Whatever." Draco shrugged.

Granger smiled and then turned back to Pansy and Daphne. After a moment, she stood up.

Draco did the same. He bid goodbye to Blaise and Theo, and then followed Granger out of the Great Hall.

They walked to the owlery in silence, and Draco found his owl. He quickly scrawled out a letter to his mother.

Mother –

Please forgive the quick writing. I do not have much time. It is imperative that I hear more about Constantine. Please, Mother, you shall have to trust me. If you can send me all that you know, I will appreciate it.

– Your Loving Son

He attached it to his owl and waited while Granger fumbled around with her own. After several minutes, she managed to attach her note onto the owl and take it to the window. He followed quietly and released his owl.

"Malfoy Manor. Narcissa Malfoy. Hurry." He whispered quietly.

"Where are you sending your letter?" Granger asked him sweetly. He glanced at her, and the foreign tone of her voice. It seemed like for a moment, she forgot who he was.

"It doesn't matter." Draco said icily. "It's not your business."

Granger looked taken aback for a moment, but she quickly covered it up.

"Of course." She said sarcastically. "I was only asking because I want to know all of your secrets, not because I was trying to be nice."

"Granger, would you just not talk tonight?" Draco pleaded. "You are so irritating. Your voice is really scratchy and I already have a headache."

Granger rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to take a vow of silence just because you have a headache. If it's that much of a problem, we can go down to Madame Pomfrey and get a potion to heal you."

"Look, I let you play with your little Gryffindor friends and I let you come to the owlery. I could have made things twenty times harder for you, but I didn't. I think I deserve some peace and quiet!" Draco snapped.

Granger opened her mouth as though to argue again, but then, surprisingly, she shook her head. She rolled her eyes, but stayed quiet. Draco breathed a sigh of relief.

They made their way down to their room and Draco grabbed the bathroom first. He threw on his pajamas and then stepped out.

To his surprise, Granger was already asleep, still in her school clothes. The lights were on and everything.

He paused, wondering if he should wake her up. Shrugging his shoulders, Draco turned out the light and climbed into the bed, ignoring the vaguely guilty feeling in the pit of his stomach.

It wasn't even that late. How could Granger be tired enough to conk out before changing her clothes? They would get all wrinkled up tomorrow.

Oh well. Granger wasn't his problem.