Author's Note: You'll have noticed I changed the date on the last chapter back to 1996 thanks to some reminders from reviewers that I was a couple of years ahead of myself! Hmm obviously I didn't do my maths right, and I should have just googled it. Anyway, I'm glad that I have all my lovely reviewers to keep me honest and on my toes :P Enjoy the new chapter and all the developments it brings. As always, JKR is a diamond in the rough.

...

Hermione snuggled deeper under the covers, closing her eyes and releasing a deep sigh of relief. Her fingers and toes were still a little bit frozen from standing up in the icy wind on the tower watching the fireworks, so she wriggled them back and forth under the heavy blankets. Her mind was whirring with the implications of Snape catching them chatting up on the Astronomy Tower. She really hoped that it wouldn't get Malfoy into too much trouble. She knew that on some level both Snape and Malfoy needed to appear to each other as loyal followers of the Dark Lord. She yawned and nestled deeper into her pillow.

Hopefully he just scolded the blond for being out too late and for having stumbled into her. And hopefully he hadn't seen Malfoy touching her like that. That could certainly be misconstrued. Couldn't it? She was certainly still trying to make sense of it. Hermione wasn't sure she could properly identify the feeling that had passed through her when he had touched her cheek gently. Or when he had chivalrously placed his coat over her shoulder to keep her warm. It had seemed so charming. Something she had never expected from the infamously self-centred prince of Slytherin. If it had been anyone else she would have considered it a romantic gesture. But that couldn't possibly be true. She was a mudblood. He would hardly like her when he was still clinging onto the fragments of his old prejudices about her dirty blood, no matter how much he appeared to have changed recently. Being friends with her was one thing, but him possibly having feelings for her was totally different. And besides, even if he could accept her blood status, they were still worlds apart. So there was simply no way he had meant to come onto her or whatever it was he had done when he stroked back her hair so gently. It must have been a mistake.

'But is it possible that I like him?' She thought with a little shiver that tickled its way down her spine. Surely not. Her heart practically stopped beating altogether as she grit her teeth in a panic, her mind thrown into a state of chaos. It had felt so exciting and terrifying all at once when he had caressed her skin like that. Was her own visceral reaction trying to reveal something to her as well? Hermione lifted herself up onto her elbows a bit shakily and reached for the coat hanging off the dresser. She had accidentally left with it still on when Snape had interrupted them. Lifting the coat towards her nose, she took in a deep breath.

It smelled like him. Like parchment and mint with a hint of something musky; probably his` expensive cologne.

She shut her eyes and let the smell wash over her.

It was certainly a nice scent, you'd have to be insane not to appreciate it. But it also caused an odd clenching, hot feeling in the pit of her stomach. Did she want him? Was it possible that she was actually attracted to Draco Malfoy? There was obviously no denying that he was good looking. Half the girls in Hogwarts had a crush on him. He was slim but built with an athletic body, and was quite tall. And those steely grey-blue eyes that she had once thought were cold, well now she could probably get lost in them. When his defences were down they were actually incredibly expressive. And they were just a little bit blue. His favourite colour. She smiled fondly. Sometimes when he was annoyed he looked far too haughty and pretentious to be really attractive, because she simply couldn't see past the spoilt brat exterior. But the few times he had run his fingers tiredly over his scalp and messed up his hair, or his passion had come out of its shell during one of their many arguments, he had looked downright sexy. Hermione shut her eyes tightly and swore under her breath.

Shit!

Okay, so maybe she was attracted to him. But that was fine; she was a young woman with normal interests and desires. As long as it didn't deepen into something else it would be fine. She could deal with having a friend she found objectively attractive.

A friend. She giggled at the memory of their bizarre conversation. A part of her wanted to see the dumbfounded looks on Harry and Ron's faces if she declared that Draco Malfoy was her friend. But then again, that could cause a lot of trouble. And Ron at least would probably never forgive her.

Hermione shook her head. She needed to sleep, she was starting to go mad thinking about it, and it was past two in the morning. She would have to wait and see what happened when she saw him next. And pray that he didn't pick up on any silly feelings of attraction on her face and end their friendship. Thinking back to what had happened earlier with Snape a little nervously, she just hoped that Malfoy wasn't already regretting their new friendship anyway.

….

The next time she saw him, Hermione couldn't help noticing that her heart did do a silly little flutter at the sight of the blond Slytherin. There was no denying the reaction. She definitely had butterflies.

Get a grip! Her mind screamed at itself as she clenched her hands into fists and tried to look nonchalant. She shook her head quickly to dismiss any feelings that may override her common sense. She was the brightest witch of her age, she reminded herself. She refused to turn into a Lavender Brown impersonator and act like a complete fool. Just because she had accepted that she was attracted to him didn't mean that anything had to change. As she watched him stroll towards her from her spot near the lake, she took a deep breath and crushed the butterflies with one mental stroke, wrapping her cloak tighter round herself as a guard against any unwanted desires.

After walking into a nearly empty hall at lunch, Hermione had grabbed a sandwich from the table and decided to take advantage of the surprisingly clear weather outside to eat it down on the grassy, or now snowy, knoll near the edge of the lake. The fluffy, perfectly fallen snow around her was cold but the sky was blue and she had found a quaint little rocky platform to perch herself on.

She had even levitated some scraps of bread into the water, where the splashing of grindylows showed it was appreciated. The water was still a bit slushy in this spot where the lake hadn't completed frozen over. Hermione had been watching it in a thoughtful daze for about half an hour before he found her, in between short bouts of reading when she was able to focus.

Malfoy had clearly spotted her down there and decided to take a stroll in her direction. He was probably curious as to why she was sitting idly out there by herself on a snowy day, even if it was clear skies all around. He finally reached her, his hands shoved in his pockets as he shuffled awkwardly nearby. Well, as awkward as he could look; Malfoy seemed to have an innate sense of unruffled elegance, and it was only because she had begun to read him better recently that she could tell he was nervous.

"I didn't get to tell you Happy New Years last night!" she said with a smile, pushing aside any other anxieties she had about him. He was her new friend, after all, and she was smart enough to at least try to compartmentalise her confused feelings.

"I wouldn't go so far as to call it happy," he sneered, though it lacked its usual bite. Her smile only widened as she leaned back against the tree behind her.

"Well aren't you in a good mood!"

Malfoy snorted and dropped down gracefully next to her, leaning back on his hands, legs stretched out casually in front of him.

"Let's just say I'm not looking forward to the coming year," he drawled.

"What's your resolution?"

"Excuse me?"

Hermione chuckled, always forgetting that the wizarding world just didn't understand sometimes.

"It's a muggle tradition. At new years you have to make a resolution about something you're going to do, or change. Some people resolve to exercise more, be healthier or read more books…"

"What's yours?"

She smiled fondly as she looked over the lake.

"Well I suppose I could lose some more weight around the thighs…" she quipped with a sarcastic laugh.

"Don't be ridiculous," he scoffed, and she blushed a little at the implication that he found her curves just fine as they were,

"…but I'll probably resolve to work harder to complete a pre-med training course in healing. That seems like a good goal to work towards given… everything."

Malfoy nodded, visibly impressed with her determination.

"Ok, your turn!" she said in a sing-song voice that made him send her a mocking glare. He stared at the lake thinking hard about it for so long that Hermione wondered if he'd forgotten about her, until he spoke up softly.

"To survive."

They avoided each other's eyes for quite a while, both a little embarrassed at his frankness. Then Hermione brightened up, trying to liven the mood.

"Well let's put this into perspective then… I'm resolved to learn healing, and you're resolved to survive. It's quite convenient when you think about it."

He finally lifted his head and smirked.

"I'm not going to be your guinea pig, Granger," he teased.

Even so, his hand, which he'd raised to slick through his hair, paused for a moment on the necklace she'd given him. Her resolution was already helping him. She laughed at his taunt.

"I really want to make a comment about using ferrets instead of guinea pigs, but we're friends now so I would never do that!" she said with mock innocence.

Malfoy glared at her.

"Stupid Moody," he muttered angrily.

Her mischievous grin spread even wider.

"Well actually, it turned out he was on your side in the end!"

Malfoy frowned, his eyes narrowing at her.

"Of course he was. Fucking crazy," he said bemused.

She nodded.

"That seems to be a common theme with your lot."

He gave a strange, choked laugh.

"You have no idea."

They looked at each other in shared amusement for a moment, then burst into laughter, Hermione's light giggling sound bounced off the lake, While Malfoy gave a wry chuckle and he shook his head. As his normally severe face broke out into the unexpected smile, Hermione felt that strange flutter again. He might just be her friend, but he was devastatingly handsome when he smiled.

"So…um…have you finished all your homework for the holidays?" she stammered.

"Seriously?" he asked with a raised brow, before shaking his head, "Alright, yes little bookworm, I have done everything. There's not much else to do in this place when it's abandoned. Even with you distracting me in the library every day."

"Would you like to help me brew blood replenishing potion tonight?" she blurted, not considering the consequences, "Madam Pomfrey is almost out, and it makes up part of my credit points for preliminary healing…"

Draco looked at her thoughtfully for a moment, before he gave her a lop-sided, casual smile.

"Sure why not? It's either that or bore to death."

She glared at him.

"Well you don't have to be so enthusiastic," she bit out.

Draco chuckled.

"Fine! It would be the absolute highlight of my week! I am honoured just to be asked."

She laughed too and looked at him curiously.

"Hmm…I think I might prefer you being maudlin. That was just…weird."

They were both giggling as they rose and made their way back to the empty castle.

Hermione snuck into the hospital wing quietly and made her way to the back room where Madam Pomfrey often brewed healing balms and potions. She didn't want to draw too much attention to herself. Poppy was fine, but any other teachers would no doubt keep a very close eye on her and ask suspicious questions if she were seen consorting with Malfoy. She shucked off her robes and jumper and rolled her sleeves up above her elbows. Then she made sure the few loose strands from her braid were pinned up and out of her face.

When she had prepared herself and brought water to the boil in her cauldron, she heard the door creak open and a blonde head peaked in.

"Granger," he said with a smirk, "Fancy seeing you here."

"Such a coincidence," she replied, smiling.

He came over and perched no the stool next to her, looking over the meticulously organised table she had set up.

"Alright, then, what can I do to get this thing over with?"

She ignored the barb, and just shook her head, pushing over a tray of ingredients and a sheet of instructions as she began stirring in the dragon bile. Malfoy started working efficiently next to her. They synchronised their actions perfectly as they were brewing, just like in arithmancy. Usually she was partnered in potions with Harry, so it was a nice change. She loved Harry, but he could be such a scatterbrain.

"So what made you decide you wanted to be a healer?" Malfoy asked after a short break in which they were just chopping roots. Hermione sighed and added a counter clockwise stir for good measure.

"Well I considered a few options. The Office for Magical Law Enforcement was tempting. I like the idea of seeking justice without having to throw your wand around. And regulation of magical creatures intrigued me as well, because there is such a supremacist attitude towards a lot of minorities that I'm interested in. But…at the end of the day, they are very much government jobs. I don't want to be a paper pusher. I want to work with people, you know, actually helping them and interacting with them in a meaningful way."

Malfoy was still cutting up his ginger roots even though his eyes were practically locked on her. She couldn't quite pinpoint what he was feeling as he stared, he just looked a bit bemused.

"It sounds perfect for you," he finally admitted, "A lot of intelligence and powerful magic, years of study, and a certain level of Gryffindor self-righteousness. "

She giggled as he passed her the first round of chopped ingredients.

"What about you?" she asked curiously, "What's your plan after school? I mean…outside your other…duties."

She blushed a dark red and hoped he wouldn't snap at her for mentioning – albeit in a roundabout way – his connection to the death eaters and Voldemort.

He seemed to shrug off the reference and sighed.

"Well, I'll be expected to take over the family business. Malfoy Enterprises is a national corporation and typically the male head of our family runs the board."

Hermione looked at him closely. He was speaking in a trained, almost monotone way, and she frowned.

"Okay," she said slowly, "but what do you want to do?"

His eyes flicked up to hers and he almost lost his grip on his knife.

"What makes you think I wouldn't want to be one of the richest business men in the magical community?"

Hermione snorted,

"You mean despite your obvious enthusiasm?" she retorted sarcastically.

Draco paused what he was doing and stared at her angrily.

"So?" she pushed gently, shooting him a reassuring smile.

He let out a deep breath and his shoulders slumped a little as he went back to chopping a little too aggressively.

"I wouldn't mind being a curse-breaker," he murmured, "My cousin Tiberius worked in Nepal and he's told me such wonderful stories of the work there. I'd love to work in Ireland in the dragon breeding mines or something. It uses potions as well as a knowledge of dark curses and defences, and even arithmancy and runes."

Hermione stared at him for a long moment, until he raised his eyes to her.

"What?" he asked nervously.

She gave him a weak, lop-sided smile.

"Nothing. It's just… that really suits you."

Draco flushed a bit and smiled before he leaned over the cauldron and began to drop in spleens one at a time between each second stir she made. The potion slowly turned a light pink.

"It doesn't matter, anyway," he said in a low, sour voice, "It's not like I have a choice."

Hermione snorted and bumped his shoulder. She felt warm at the little contact between them.

"You always have a choice," she said with a smug smile, mimicking her own words from earlier. He laughed and gently bumped her back, as added one counter clockwise stir through the potion, turning it a darker red.

"Bloody Gryffindors," he grumbled, but she just smiled.

….

Draco tried desperately to keep his eyes on the pages of his book, but the haze of tears blurred his vision so badly he kept having to return to the start of the paragraph. He furiously wiped them away, grinding his teeth together as he cursed his own weakness.

His mind kept tormenting him by going back to the letter sitting on his dresser in the dormitory. The letter from his father. Lucius was begging him to finish his task more quickly, pleading with him to hurry up and honour the Dark Lord with this responsibility. Draco didn't have to read very far between the lines to see that his parents were suffering as a result of his slow progress. His father was a broken man, and had been for a very long time, but the way the shaky handwriting was scribbled haphazardly over the page made Draco truly afraid for the man's sanity. And Merlin only knew what was happening to his mother…

With a muffled, pained sob, he tried to shake his head and distract himself with reading. He had grabbed every book on vanishing charms and apparition wards that he could find in the library and was holed up in their alcove trying so hard to concentrate. He needed to devour every single one of these books and figure out something to do. He had never felt more helpless in his life. The students would be returning soon, and he hadn't achieved as much as he would like in their absence. Of course, he could always blame his distraction on spending so much time with Granger, but that just seemed wrong too. He liked being around her, more than he was really willing to admit. He loved the way she made him feel, like he was actually worth something, and not just a pawn or a spoilt brat.

As if he had summoned her with his yearning thoughts alone, he heard the soft scuffling of feet nearby and raised his head to stare at her. A part of him was horrified. Granger was peering around the corner of the nearby shelves, watching him with undisguised concern. She had obviously been there long enough to see him weeping, and he felt himself flush with embarrassment. But at the same time, he also appreciated the obvious worry and compassion on her face. She cared about him. She was visibly upset that he was upset.

He tried to give her a shaky, self-deprecating smile to appease her, but it cracked under the weight of her anxious stare. Draco felt his heart skip a few beats before thundering in his chest as she stepped closer and approached him. She was acting like he was a wild animal, and she didn't want to spook him lest he run away from her.

It was so fucked up.

He was fighting alongside the people who wanted to kill her. They wanted to wipe this girl and anyone like her from the face of the earth. And she was so much better than him. As he looked into her soulful brown eyes, blinking up at him with a tinge of mesmerising gold in their depths, he clenched his fists in fury and despair. He didn't deserve her compassion. If he did finally end up murdering Dumbledore, she would despise him. And he would feel every inch of her hatred and more like a dagger to his gut. He tried to picture her face contorting into an expression of disgust and fury, but he couldn't imagine it.

When Draco felt a soft hand placed flat on his back in a soothing gesture, another rictus of misery gripped him. He shook his head numbly and felt more pathetic, useless tears drip down his cheeks. Why couldn't he stop them? He was so ridiculously attracted to this girl, but here he was blubbering like an infant. It wasn't exactly the charming or debonair image he was trying to cultivate.

When his body shuddered again, she leaned forwards to rest her cheek on his shoulder as her hand stroked his back gently.

There was no point in refusing her comfort now. He had gone too far into dangerous territory, and he most definitely already looked weak in her eyes. So he accepted it. Draco let his body relax as he nestled his head near her neck. He could hear her murmuring something calming, but he didn't really register any of the words in his brain. It didn't matter anyway. There was nothing she could say to wipe the guilt and worry from his mind, about his parents, about Dumbledore, about her.

So he just returned her embrace firmly, seeking the warmth of her body as a way of soothing his aching muscles, tensed from fear and exhaustion. This close, the smell of her shampoo was nearly overwhelming, and his body shivered again for very different reasons. Granger just stroked his back gently and moved their bodies so that they were rocking slightly, like one would do to a baby to get it to stop being restless. He let out a sound between a sob and a laugh, but just squeezed her tighter. There was a certain reassurance in the motions.

"Draco?"

He felt himself jolt a bit in her arms at the sound of his name, and he clasped her back with an iron grip. He hadn't realised that something so simple as his first name would sound so magnificent coming from her lips. He just hummed in response, his voice too croaky to speak.

"I'm so sorry. I wish there was more I could do to help you."

Draco shook his head numbly against that smooth bit of skin that connected her neck and shoulder.

"You've already done more than you realise," he said in a hoarse voice, and he felt her sigh with relief. Her breath tickled his hair and stirred some emotions buried deep inside him. Draco just grit his teeth and turned his head to the side, accepting her embrace quite happily now and wondering how long he could draw comfort from her before it became too awkward or they would be at risk of being found by someone.

….

When the other students started returning, Hermione mourned the loss of the peaceful sanctuary that Hogwarts had become over the Christmas break. She was looking forward to seeing her friends, but would miss the chance to study without being harassed, or not having to help them with their homework. And of course she would miss being able to spend so much time freely with Malfoy. It had been wonderful actually connecting with someone on an intellectual level, and he really got her. She didn't have to sit there and listen to subjects that only he enjoyed, and she didn't have to edit her speech to keep him engaged. With Harry and Ron, as much as she dearly loved them, she was constantly censoring what she said so that they would understand and be interested. Her and Malfoy just clicked. And she had been surprised to discover that he had a truly wicked sense of humour. All his sneering and posturing and sarcasm were actually quite funny when they were used properly and not just to insult people.

Her heart raced a bit faster when she remembered the encounter between them in the library just two days ago. He had been distraught, and she had been so completely uncertain about how to act. But when he had raised his eyes to look at her, and had looked so desolate, she had jumped into action without even thinking. And even though he had clearly been struggling with his emotional distress, it had been sort of nice to hold him close.

Eventually they had parted when the sound of Madam Pince bustling around near them had ripped them from their peaceful little bubble. Malfoy had murmured an apology and had bolted from the alcove like he was being chased. But when they saw each other at dinner later, he had given her a sheepish smile and tucked into his food with gusto. She was relieved. She had been half-expecting him to freak out again and not speak to her for a while. Maybe she really was melting that cold exterior.

Hermione shook her head and watched the people arriving from the train with polite interest. When Harry entered the Great Hall with a cute little smile, clearly happy to see her, she ran to him and threw her arms around him with a laugh. He returned her hug enthusiastically.

"It's good to see you, Mione! Did you manage to survive the holidays?"

"Oh it wasn't too bad," she said, pulling back with a smile.

"Sorry I didn't really write much," he said shyly, a flush on his face as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"That's ok…you were distracted," she said knowingly, and Harry just smirked, looking a bit embarrassed as his eyes darted over to Ginny. The fiery redhead gave them both a cheeky wave and moved off towards the common room, sending a couple of longing looks back towards him as she went.

Hermione laughed again. She really had missed Harry. He was like her little brother, and as much as he often infuriated her, she loved him dearly. With a small shove of his shoulder to snap him out of his Ginny-staring-trance, she took his hand and they walked together out to the grounds to wander around the lake and catch up.

"Where's Ron?" she asked, trying not to sound too obvious, even though she was curious to see what new drama her friend had in store for her now. Harry sighed.

"Won-won was grabbed by Lavender the moment he came through the gates. She obviously arrived earlier."

Hermione rolled her eyes. Harry looked at her with his eyes narrowed.

"You don't seem to care that much…"

She just shrugged and continued walking, kicking some pebbles casually.

"Mione, I thought you and Ron were…sort of…keen on each other-"

She laughed at the red, mortified look on Harry's face and knew he was extremely uncomfortable talking about it.

"I dunno. I thought for a little while that maybe I had feelings for him, but…it's become so complicated."

"Hmm…tell me about it. I'm such an idiot for not realising sooner what was right under my big ugly nose."

Hermione knew he was referring to Ginny, who was still dating Dean Thomas, much to Harry's disappointment. The girl had loved him for so long without him really noticing her, and now he was paying the price.

"Oh, Harry," she said with a warm smile, taking his hand, "Your nose is perfectly small and adorable."

Harry let out a deep breath of air and threw his arm around her shoulder.

"Thank Merlin! I was so worried about it."

She giggled at their strange conversation.

"Did you expect Ron and me to get together?"

Harry frowned and thought about it for a while, scratching his head distractedly.

"Well, I've been really worried that the two of you would get together, then you'd have a big messy fight about something stupid and break up, and I'd be caught in the middle."

Hermione laughed and gave Harry a patronising pat on the back.

"Don't worry, Chosen One. You're stuck with both of us no matter what."

"Well thank goodness one of you is so smart. I honestly think Ron will just self-destruct if he has to endure too much girl-drama."

Hermione sighed, thinking of her own muddled feelings for Draco.

"Let's just hope that he doesn't end up marrying Lav-Lav. That's one wedding I don't really want to be part of."

Harry nodded with a smirk.

"Oh don't worry about that. I don't think he can stand much more of her – apparently the endless snogging is just not worth it."

They shared a look, then both burst into laughter, the sound ringing over the lake and grounds.

….

"What's your patronus, Granger?"

Draco was getting bored in Arithmancy, as they'd finished their work a few minutes early. He leaned a tad closer to whisper to her. They were supposed to be friends, right? So he could ask her personal questions and show an interest in her life without looking like some romantic fool. She looked over at him and frowned.

"…Why?" she asked slowly.

"Friends share deep secrets, remember?" he responded with a roguish smile. She narrowed her eyes at him for another moment, before her lips cracked into a smirk at his wide-eyed curiosity.

"Lutra," she whispered back.

"What the bloody hell is that? Some kind of insect?"

Granger giggled quietly, not wanting to draw attention to them. Vector was busy moving around the desks, and everyone seemed to be deeply involved in their work, murmuring together in pairs and hurrying to finish.

"It's Latin. For otter."

"An otter?"

She raised an elegant eyebrow.

"Why? What did you expect?"

"I dunno, maybe a lioness or something. Aren't otters extremely tame for wild creatures?"

He saw Granger give a little flush of pleasure at him guessing she would have a lioness. He wasn't sure if she thought he was trying to insult her Gryffindor sensibilities, but she looked strangely flattered.

"Yes, Malfoy," she answered in a condescending tone, "they're extremely gentle animals, and they only have one mate and spend their whole lives building safe homes for their families."

"How quaint."

She turned to smirk at him.

"They can also be extremely aggressive and dangerous when their territory is threatened."

Draco gave her a long, considering look while she waited for his response.

"It suits you," he finally said.

Granger just smiled and nodded.

"What about yours?"

His heart skipped a little. He had never tried his patronus, he wasn't even sure he had a happy enough memory to do it, or if the dark mark would even let him.

"No idea," he said, clenching his fist.

Granger's eyes followed the movement, eyeing his left forearm and guessing the direction of his thoughts. He could tell she knew what he had been thinking.

"Well if I were to choose one for you…"

"Here we go. Let me guess…Snake?"

She frowned and shook her head,

"Actually I was thinking along the lines of a dragon, because of your name. Among other things…"

Draco smiled at that. That sounded pretty good, actually.

"Or a cockroach," she continued, with a teasing smile. Draco gave her a withering glare, but her smile just widened.

"Miss Granger? Mister Malfoy?"

Their heads spun around and they realised with a little embarrassment that the rest of the class had started packing up to leave while they were chatting.

"Oh sorry," Granger stuttered quickly, "We're just finished."

They quickly packed up and left the room, trying to avoid the knowing look that Vector was shooting their way. And for once with no one else around they actually walked side by side towards the Great Hall for lunch. There wasn't really any way to avoid it, short of one of them purposefully slowing down. So they just walked together until something or someone interrupted them. The silence was comfortable, though, and Draco was oddly happy for a moment. It seemed like such a normal thing to do, just walk with someone to lunch. Their conversations were normally so secluded and secretive.

And he particularly liked the gentle sway of her hips the couple of times he dropped behind her to go through doors or staircases.

As they neared the hall and heard the roaring sound of hundreds of excited voices, Granger turned her body slightly towards him, tucking her hair behind her ears and smiling.

"Well…bye," she said softly.

"Bye," he whispered, feeling a bizarre constricting sensation in his chest as she turned and walked hurriedly away and into the hall, arms weighed down with books. He couldn't quite identify why it had him unsettled, but it also wasn't exactly a bad feeling. As he entered the hall a few paced behind her, he felt the skin on the back of his neck prickle uncomfortably. He raised his eyes to the head table, and saw Snape sitting there, his dark expression glittering with suspicion and fury. He could instantly read the look on his godfather's face, and shivered slightly. The older man was right of course; this was getting more and more dangerous by the day.

….

Another chapter down! Thank you to all my lovely reviewers who say something every chapter. You always get me thinking about what to write next! I appreciate the input. Until next time!