Chapter 10

Note: Everything belongs to the amazing JKR.

That day when Malfoy got back, looking quite sick, I was drinking some fruit juice at the table.

"What were you doing?" I asked.

"Nothing," he said, heading toward his room, the liar.

"Malfoy," I called after him. I wanted to tell him what I had seen him do.

"What?" Malfoy replied, turning back to me. I was about to tell him when I felt abashed. How could I tell him I'd followed him and saw what he was doing?

"Nothing," I said quickly.

I saw Malfoy raise an eyebrow as if to say he wasn't convinced. Then he just turned and left.

I had been thinking about the spell he'd used earlier, 'Eximomalus,' huh? I couldn't wait to get back to Hogwarts to search up what that was. I had never heard of it. And the rest of it, the purple and blue rays that circled him, what was that?

It was a dull day, but the day after wasn't at all. I woke up to the sound of my quills clattering to the floor, "Good morning!" Malfoy called happily from my desk.

"Malfoy, what the hell?" I said, "I'm not even dressed!" I was only wearing a cropped tank top and my panties. I thanked my stars that the blanket was covering me, for the most part.

"Jeez, Hermione, it's not like I was even looking at you that much. I just came to borrow some ink and didn't want to wake you," Malfoy said, levitating my quills and fixing one that had broken.

"Go away!" I yelled at him, "Wait until I'm awake next time!"

Malfoy laughed, taking a bottle of ink and closing the door, "Well wake up earlier then."

I checked my clock, it was only half past seven, "Malfoy, I hate you!" I hissed.

"So I've heard," he yelled back at me, I didn't even know he was listening.

I got up and dressed. When I came out, Malfoy was at the table, finishing his toast.

"So you've dressed," Malfoy commented, "What a shame."

"You pervert!" I shrieked. I went to the kitchen and took out my breakfast.

"Only teasing," Malfoy consoled from the table, "But not joking."

I rolled my eyes and set my plate on the table harder than usual, "You tease people too much sometimes, Malfoy."

"You're entertaining, Hermione. Especially when you're embarrassed."

"You're a jerk," I said, eating bits of my toast.

Malfoy sat there thoughtfully for a while, "Won't you miss this place?"

I scoffed, "Isn't this terrible for you, a Malfoy? You don't have all the luxuries you're used to."

"I have the luxury of spending time with you."

I completely ignored his comment and drained the glass of milk and got up. It was not a good idea to let Malfoy have the satisfaction of knowing how much he got to me, "Well, it's the last full day we have together, isn't it?"

Malfoy nodded his head slightly.

"So do you want to do something outside?"

"Okay," Malfoy said, "But what?"

"I don't know, it'll be spontaneous," I said.

"So is this going to be our first date?" Malfoy asked.

"No!" I said, forcefully.

"Okay, but mind if we go after lunch? Then I can pack."

"Alright," I said, "I need to pack, too."

I went to my room and Malfoy went to his. I did the packing spell and my clothes went into my trunk. Checking off the items I had packed, by the time I was done, I was kind of hungry. I went to the kitchen and saw Malfoy bring out the two trays of lunch.

"Thanks," I said, when he put them on the table.

Malfoy nodded, "Shall we go?" Malfoy asked after we were done with lunch.

"Sure," I said, "Let me get my cloak. Accio."

Malfoy summoned his coat. We walked outside, and I took in the sight of the majestic waterfall, it was going to be the last time I saw it. Though then, I remembered my last little incident involving it and then thought that maybe I wouldn't really miss it after all.

"Okay, now what are we supposed to do?" Malfoy asked, sitting on top of a large boulder near the waterfall, when he saw my look, he added, "I thought you were going to make it spontaneous."

"Well, I guess I'd normally have ideas," I said, walking down a random path through the trees, "But that's when we go to populated places like Hogsmeade, this place is just so obscure."

Malfoy smirked, "It's only normal to be flustered when going out with someone like me."

I glared crossly at him, "Isn't someone full of themselves?"

We reached a fork in the path and I followed Malfoy down the rightmost path.

"So, what kind of spells have you been learning?" I asked him in a, hopefully, casual voice.

He shrugged, "Why the sudden interest?"

I decided to drop it, I'd just find out when I got to Hogwarts, then. I followed him down a path and we reached a small river. The sun was high in the cloudless sky and it made the river sparkle.

"Want to go swimming?" Malfoy asked casually.

"No," I said bluntly, I had decided that I was never going to swim again.

"I could help you undress."

I felt like giving him a good, hard punch. Unfortunately, the rational side of me won and I settled for kicking a small pebble at him instead; it missed. So instead I said, "I hate you." He smirked, typical. I walked a tad faster to catch up to him, "Malfoy, you ought to be more thoughtful, though."

He laughed, "Try to imagine me like Saint Potter."

The walked a bit boring as time went on and I wished I'd thought of something better to do, "Are you seriously enjoying this?" I wondered aloud.

Malfoy stopped and looked back at me, "Of course, Hermione. I get to spend time with you and this is better than the flashy dates other girls have taken me on."

"This is not a date, you Blast-Ended Skrewt!" I said forcefully. I was frowning, but I was still glad he wasn't bored.

He laughed, "Blast-Ended Skrewt? I haven't heard that before."

How could my insults not even bother him? It frustrated me, he either ignored them or laughed them off. I questioned him about this.

"It doesn't bother me because I know you actually love me Hermione," he said, plainly.

"But I don't," I said, crossing my arms and instantly feeling like a five-year-old.

Malfoy shrugged, "You know, I'll miss our pointless competitions when we go back to Hogwarts."

"I'll still try and beat you," I assured him.

"You'll try but you won't succeed," he drawled, "See that hill over there?" Near a grassy spot beside the river, there was a good sized hill covered in a bit of tangled foliage, "I'll race you to the top."

"No magic?" I asked.

"No magic," he said, grinning, "See you there."

I took off right behind him, again feeling like a kid. I lost sight through the bushes at the foot of the hill. Panting, I twisted around a tree and continued up. I had to beat Malfoy, so far it was almost equal because though I hated to admit it, Malfoy was quite talented.

When I reached the top, where there was only grass and a sparse bit of white flowers, I flopped down on the ground.

"Nice to see you made it," Malfoy said, standing over me.

I groaned, "Was I close?"

He laughed, "Sure."

"Well I'm better intellectually," I said, trying to regain my pride. Malfoy sat next to me but a moment later, his jaw clenched, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said, giving me an obviously false smile.

"Really, what is it?" I asked again, it looked like he was in pain.

"Nothing don't worry Hermione," he said, though his hands were now clenched into fists.

I sighed, how was I supposed to help if I didn't even know what was wrong. How many secrets was he keeping from me?

"Malfoy," I put my hand on his tense fists and looked up at his face, "What happened?"

He sighed, and I saw him relax after a while, "Nothing," he said, making eye contact with me again.

"Slytherins," I said, rolling eyes, "Can't you not be secretive for once?"

"Not all Slytherins," Malfoy said, "Or do you actually make generalizations like that?"

I blushed because a part of me did make generalizations like that, "But what about you?"

"There are just things I don't want to worry you about."

"Worry?" I said, "Why would I be worried."

"No reason," Malfoy said calmly, though I knew he's let the 'worry' bit slip.

I decided not to press it, "These flowers," I said, noticing them again, "When I was little, I'd make daisy chains with them."

"Daisy chains?" Malfoy asked.

"It's a muggle thing," I told him, plucking a couple and stringing them together. To be honest, I was surprised I actually remembered how to make them after about twelve years. When I finished the circle of flowers, I put it on his blonde head.

Malfoy looked taken aback, "What the heck, Granger?"

I laughed at his expression, "You're a princess," I explained.

He rolled his eyes, trying to hide his smile. It hit me again that I was being friendly with Malfoy. For the most part, I had enjoyed being with him but a small voice at the back of my head kept reminding me about what he's done last year. How was he even welcomed back at Hogwarts? Then again, he did seem to have changed.

Those thought shook out of my head when I saw that Malfoy was placing a cruder version of my daisy chain on my head, "You're my princess," he explained.

I felt my blush again. I had been better about hiding how his words affected me, but really! "Merlin, Malfoy!" I said exasperated, then I added, "That was cliché, don't you think?" What was up with him and making me feel uncomfortable?

He shrugged, "I didn't think so."

I smiled despite myself, how could I be friends with such an annoying idiot?

"What are you going to do after Hogwarts?" I asked him.

He ran his fingers through his blonde hair, making it messy, "I honestly haven't got a clue. You?"

"Well, originally, I'd want to work at the ministry, you know, do something to help house elves. Afterwards, when the ministry was just dictated by Fudge, I stopped wanting to work there. I don't know, I suppose now that Scrimgeour is Minister, I'd look into that."

"I wouldn't want to work at the ministry," Malfoy said, "They're corrupt, that's how my father, well, you know." He trailed off.

"But there are a lot of brilliant witches and wizards there. Not all of them are corrupt."

Our conversation went on for a while and by the time the sun was setting, we were talking about Sirius' teaching methods.

"He doesn't give out enough work, though," I said, "How are we supposed to learn?"

"I like him," Malfoy said, "And I'm glad I got to know him. Last year I would have said horrible things about him thanks to Aunt Bella."

"Oh," I said, lamely. I didn't really know what to say because this was the first time Malfoy and I had gone through an actual conversation without arguing. I tried to stifle a yawn, I was half tired, and half bored of the topic we were talking about.

I didn't remember when but at one point, I must have fallen asleep because when I woke up the next morning, the sun had almost risen completely. Though it was slightly chilly, I felt quite warm. The second thing I noticed was that Malfoy was asleep right next to me, an arm around me.

I sat bolt upright, surprised, "Malfoy!"

"What?" he asked, groggily, his hair now almost as bad as Harry's.

"It's morning," I said, trying to just forget how I'd awoken, "What time is it?"

Malfoy sat up and checked his watch, an expensive jewel-encrusted one, "It's a quarter before seven."

"Oh, well, we'd better get back," I said, standing up, "Professor Slughorn said the portkey would activate at eight."

"Come on, then," Malfoy said, standing up.

We hurried back without much talk and when we finally reached the tent, an hour later, we were exhausted. Well, I was. Malfoy looked perfectly fine; I stood up and tried not to breathe as heavily so I looked as though I was fine as well.

Malfoy smirked and I almost cursed him, though if I had I would have been put in detention. Since the trunks would be sent back to our dormitories, I grabbed the coin portkey.

I held it out so Malfoy could pinch it, too.

"See you there," I whispered when there were a couple seconds left.

"See you," Malfoy said back.

I smiled at him and there was a fleeting feeling of camaraderie before the portkey gave a horrible pull and we were outside the Hogwarts grounds again.