AN: Have I told you guys lately how wonderful you all are? Because you guys are fantastic. Honestly, without your support I would have stopped writing around chapter 2, so thank you. Thank you for all of the alerts, and favorites, and especially the reviews! They mean the world to me. Also, I know I suck for taking this long to get you an update when I generally try to get these chapters to you more quickly.

So thank you all SO MUCH, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Don't forget to spread the word and review with your compliments, criticisms, and requests. I'm not guaranteeing any requests, but I'll see what I can do.

DO I need to keep adding 'POV' or can I just say the person? I'm starting to get lazy...

Disclaimer: Do I really have to say that Harry Potter isn't mine at the top of every chapter. I would think you got the point by now.

Hospital Wing, Pansy:

She had talked Blaise into letting her be the one to come up and visit Dean by claiming that she would be able to wheedle the story of out him better than he would- but in all honesty she was just worried sick about him.

They'd become somewhat decent friends over the past month, and Pansy found him intriguing. He was the most intelligent person she'd ever met, but he could hold his own in a debate with Pansy and he wasn't afraid of her. Maybe that was the thing that really drew her to him.

Even before the War, a bunch of people were afraid of her. Mind you, that was the way she had wanted it at the time, but then the War happened and that took her reputation a bit too far for her liking. Well, too far for her liking now, but if things had been different and her parents hadn't- no.

She wasn't going to think about it.

Pansy twirled Dean's wand between her fingers as she approached his bed in the Hospital Wing, fear coiled tightly in her stomach. She had confiscated his wand from Astoria while Draco was running around looking for Granger (what was that all about, anyway), but now she was second guessing her idea of coming here.

What if he didn't want to see her? What if he looked so awful that she couldn't bare it? What if he didn't even wake up?

But no, they truly did need to story of what had happened last night to make sure that no one went unpunished and so they wouldn't make the same mistake again. She was a changed person now, and she would protect Dean and Gran- Hermione with everything she had and that was the end of it.

When she reached his bedside her breath caught in her throat- she had never seen him so pale before… He was covered in bandages and still quite a bit bruised. The fact that he was still in this type of conditioned after spending a night in Madame Pomfrey's care told her more about what happened then he could have.

Anger settled like a cold sheet over her heart.

She sat down lightly on the corner of his bed and was busy searching for a spot that wasn't injured for her to lay her hand and try to wake him gently when a scratchy voice called her attention from his body to his face.

"P-pansy?"

His eyes were squinting, as if he was trying to figure out if he was seeing things or not.

"Hey there, sleepy," She said lightly, trying not to startle him. Lying there like this, he just seemed so vulnerable! And if she thought that the darkness clinging to his features that first night was attractive, it was nothing compared to the sunlight streaming in above him. And then, he gave the smallest smile.

Something stirred in her then, something small, but the fact that he was lying there beaten within an inch of his life and probably in more pain then she could imagine at the moment, and he had smiled. Because of her! Because she had come in to see him. She had done something to make him smile.

And then, without understanding where the thought had come from, she silently vowed that she would make him smile again.

And again.

And again.

Slytherin Common Room, Hermione:

When she had refused to tell McGonagall who had attacked Dean, she hadn't done it so that she could get revenge. The thought of revenge didn't even come to her until she had woken up this morning, and it did sound quite lovely. But they real reason she had done it was that she was afraid.

One thing she had learned in the war was that people who were consumed by hatred could be described as a hydra. When the attacks begin, it's just one head. Time after time she had learned that if you simply cut off one head, two more would immediately come right after.

Hermione knew that all of the Death Eaters hadn't been captured. She knew that it's wasn't only Death Eaters that were unhappy about Voldemort losing the War. She knew now that Hogwarts was not impenetrable. And she knew that if McGonagall handed over those who had attacked Dean to the Ministry that this would no longer be just a few vengeful teenagers against the muggleborns. She knew that it would be as good as declaring a War.

And Hermione was tired of War.

But as she walked out of her portrait and into the Common Room, anger filled her once more and she realized that by not telling, she had a rare opportunity. She could strike back, and the thought made Hermione smile… but what to do? What did a Slytherin hate?

She thought back to all of the times Malfoy and Harry got into it. Whenever Malfoy was hurt, he got angry- but he also milked it for all that it was worth. But when he was embarrassed… Immediately she remembered fourth year, when Malfoy became the amazing bouncing ferret. She knew for a fact that it still bothered him, because Malfoy was not the only one who watched. As soon as she realized that he was watching her all of the time, she began to watch him right back whenever he wouldn't notice. Hermione noticed many things about him, from the way his eyes seemed to speak to the small, almost unseen cringe that followed whenever someone shouted out the name 'ferret'.

That was it. If you wanted to scar a Slytherin, you made a fool out of them.

She wondered how Malfoy would feel if he discovered that it was her knowledge of him that was teaching her the idiosyncrasies of being a Slytherin. Somehow she doubted that he would be too happy about it.

Hermione scanned the room looking for Parkin-Pansy. But she was nowhere to be found. Instead, she was met by a very glum and jumpy looking Zabini. Her question must have been written on her face because he answered it for her.

"She went to the Hospital Wing to give Tho-Dean his wand back. If you down mind, I'll be accompanying you down to breakfast today," he said with an unsure smile, holding his arm out and everything.

Well. Who would have known that Blaise Zabini could act like a gentleman? Deciding that going down the hall with Blaise was better than going by herself, she offered him a small smile of her own and put her hand lightly on his arm, earning herself a lopsided grin from him.

They made light, harmless conversation about classes until they got to the entrance to the Great Hall, neither of them wishing to discuss the events from last night. When in sight of the doors, Hermione noticed someone skipping down in their direction, humming an unfamiliar tune.

"Luna!"

Hermione was grinning, if a little apprehensive. Luna had become quite dear to her, but no matter how hard she tried, sometimes she just didn't know how to handle some interactions with her. Something told her that this would be one of those times. Luna was smiling by the time she reached Hermione and Blaise, holding what Hermione assumed to be the newest edition of The Quibbler in her hand.

"Hello Hermione," Luna said, while staring Blaise directly in the eye. Hermione had to force herself not to laugh at the expression on his face.

"Hello. Erm, this is Blaise Zabini," Hermione began, still unsure as to why Luna was looking at Blaise, and not her.

"Oh, I know. He made me trip down the stairs and spilt my bag open during my fourth year, and fifth year he helped me out of the trick stair by the portrait of Gregory the Smarmy. But he was alone then, so that was probably why he acted so differently," Luna's eyes were still boring straight into his, and Hermione swore that he paled several different shades under her gaze.

He opened his mouth as if to finally say something for himself, but Luna then turned her attention to Hermione and acted as if he wasn't there, leaving him gaping at her.

"My father sent me the newest edition this morning, but I feel like you would like it more, Hermione," Luna said with a sweet little smile.

"Of course Luna, thank you," Hermione answered and took the offered magazine without hesitation. It was best that way; otherwise Luna would simply stare and smile until you do what she suggested. "Will you be joining us for lunch again today?"

"Maybe," she shrugged. "I thought about going to the library to research the origin of the Warbling Blimcat, but since you've invited me I might wait to do that until after dinner."

Hermione nodded as if that statement made complete sense, but before the conversation could move any farther, Luna had turned back to Blaise.

"It's not your fault, you know," she smiled.

Blaise jumped a little bit, "W-what?"

"He was tricked," she said matter-of-factly before turning around to begin walking into the Great Hall. She turned back slightly to Hermione and waved. "I'll see you later Hermione. And read page 5, third article. That should solve the little problem you're having. Bye now!"

Hermione started a little bit, she had been too busy grinning at the look on Blaise's face, before looking down at the magazine in her hand. What problem was she having? Did Luna mean her nightmares? How would she even know about those… but then, how did Luna know about anything?

"Granger?" Blaise asked as they moved through the large doors and towards the Slytherin table for breakfast.

"Yes?"

"What is a Warbling Blimcat?"

"I haven't the slightest."

"Oh…"

Poor bloke looked more confused than he was a few moments ago. When they finally got to their seats they were met by a pair of very bright silver eyes. Malfoy had beaten them to breakfast, and he was looking directly at the hand she had on Zabini's arm. For some strange reason Hermione felt heat rise in her cheeks and she took her hand away as if Zabini's sleeve had caught fire. Blaise didn't seem to notice a thing, being too caught up in the oddity that is Luna Lovegood, but the movement brought Malfoy's eyes straight to hers. Hermione's breath caught at the intensity of the gaze, and she had no idea how long she stood there staring into his eyes. The silver… it was almost like liquid, and she could have sworn that at that moment he could see right into her soul. Her eyes were starting to water, but she didn't want to blink because she knew that it would ruin it, but her eyelids closed only for a moment, and she came back to her senses.

Hermione took a step back and turned into her seat, a crease in her brow, as she tried to rationalize what had just happened. She hated Malfoy, she only exchanged words with him when she had no other choice, but his eyes were like pools of mercury. That's just it, it had nothing to do with the owner of the eyes, and it was just the eyes themselves. They were gorgeous. Just because she liked them didn't mean she had to like the rest of the person. So she liked his eyes? Big deal.

She could feel him looking at her.

For some reason this made her breath come more quickly, so to distract herself from unwelcome thoughts, she pulled open The Quibbler and began to look for the article Luna mentioned. And when she found it, she realized that Luna wasn't talking about Hermione's nightmares. She was talking about how she had no idea what to do to embarrass the Slytherins.

Switch up of the Body and Spirit!

Birmingham twins Leila and Arnold learned on their 13th birthday that there must have but some mistake in their birth. They suffered an ailment common to many fraternal twins, which caused their spirits to go into the wrong body. Leaving the wrong twin as a boy and the wrong one as a girl! The realization of this mistake spurred their parents into action. They petitioned the Ministry in order to allow their young children to take the Sacerdos Potion, which would change the gender of their bodies to the opposite gender. The Ministry has previously dictated the use of this potion and refuses to allow those under 17 to take it, to ensure that the body and spirit do not match….

Hermione looked up from the article and over to the Ravenclaw table, where Luna was smiling at her. When Hermione's jaw dropped, Luna simply wiggled her fingers and turned around to continue conversing with her friends.

Was Luna really suggesting this? This was so unlike her! Yes, she was a brilliant witch who held her own during the War, but she had never known her to be vengeful or do anything to harm another person… But as Hermione thought, her eyes wandered to the empty seat usually filled by Dean, and she remembered that Luna and Dean had become really close during the time they were both locked up in Malfoy Manor. McGonagall must have told the other Houses what had happened, but even if she hadn't, Luna still would have known. Somehow she just… knew everything. Always. It was really quite creepy when you thought about it.

Hermione was ripped out of her thoughts when Pansy literally threw her bag onto the table in front of her. She looked up to see Pansy's black hair was mussed and her eyes were wild, a slight pink tinge rising on her pale skin.

"Hermione," she hissed, "You have better got something fucking brilliant planned to get those bloody twats back for what they did to him, because if you don't I swear I'll have to Avada them myself. And do be sure to include dear Zacharias Smith, because he is the one who led him into that damned death trap!"

Pansy sat down in a huff and, as quietly as she could, told Hermione, Blaise and Malfoy all about how Smith had agreed to walk with Dean to and from his meeting with Flitwick so that he needn't wake up Blaise. And of course Dean thought nothing of it, because Smith had never had a problem with him, and he was displaced too. Everything was normal until just outside the portrait, when Nicolai, Astoria, Clarissa, Zane, Mikhail, Dramera all showed up out of nowhere. Smith disarmed him, and then the others proceeded to hex Dean within an inch of his life, leaving him to bleed out on the floor. When the story was finished, three sets of eyes were on Hermione, waiting expectantly.

"Well, Granger, have you anything?" Malfoy asked- there was a slight edge to his voice.

Why was he so upset about Dean? Weren't she and Dean below him, or something? But those eyes of his didn't lie, and they were begging for an excuse to hurt someone. So were Pansy's and Blaise's, for that matter. Well, she couldn't disappoint.

"Yes, actually, I have," she smiled. Thanks to Luna. "You three carry on with any minor hijinks you deem appropriate, just make sure that nothing you do puts them in the Hospital Wing. Leave the rest to me," Hermione began gathering up her things, not minding the nearly nonexistent amount of breakfast she had consumed. She was still a little woozy from attacking the wards the night before. "Oh, and Malfoy? I'll need to handle our Head's duties tonight. I have a date with the Library."

She turned to leave, with Blaise getting up to escort her to Potions since Pansy hadn't yet had time to eat. She had expected Malfoy to put up a bit more of a fight, but instead she heard him grunt in agreement. Hermione and shrugged, deciding not to fight the strangeness if it was going her way.

Had she turned around, she would have seen that the reason he wasn't fighting her, was because he was too busy scowling at Hermione's plate of breakfast that she had barely touched- the smallest glimpse of concern etched deep within his eyes.