Draco slowly walked down the empty halls. They were dark and tranquil. The stillness of it all was calming to him. He always found comfort in the dark passages of Hogwarts, and tonight he needed them to guide his thoughts. He was confused, as he always seemed to be these days, about the conversation, which could only be described as friendly, he just had with Hermione. He was surprised at his evident calm over it all when not three hours earlier he was in torment over it. He had to except that him and Hermione were no longer enemies, no matter how much he wished they were he couldn't deny that he no longer thought of her that way. He didn't know what to classify their relationship as. Were they friends? No he couldn't bring himself to think of her as a friend. He decided he would be willing to consider her a fellow classmate and acquaintance, an honor he bestowed on few. Most people were nothing to him, nonexistent. But Hermione was no longer one of those people; they had a sort of understanding of each other that prevented her from become nonexistent to him. It was strange to think of her this way but he remembered the look in her eyes every time he spoke of his life at home and whenever he was in pain; they reflected so perfectly his own feelings that he knew that she truly saw him. However, tonight was their last night in detention together, it was the last time they were to be thrown together. Now the question Draco asked himself was whether or not they would talk again, if he even wanted to or if he was content with leaving things the way they were now and not deepen whatever bond they now shared. He let out a frustrated growl and leaned his head against the cold stone of the wall. He thought that he didn't need her friendship and that it wasn't worth getting punished for if ever his father found out. But then he remembered all the times he saw Hermione depressed, how he had been a big part of that lately. She recently let slip that she wasn't satisfied with her life and he thought he was to blame for that because of what he said about her living a half life. Maybe he would talk to her again if only to make up for the torment he had caused her by pointing out the flaws of her life. Satisfied that this was the right thing to do he continued to walk and eventually made his way back to the Slytherin common room.

While Draco was drifting through the castle, Hermione was laying awake in bed thinking over everything. She and Draco were ok now, though she didn't know what that meant exactly. Like Draco she couldn't bring herself to think of him as a friend. But she was completely dragged in by him. He was the most complex person she had ever met and it was driving her mad to figure him out. She sighed and turned on her side to see out the window near her bed. Tonight had felt like the last night they would talk. There was a sort of finality to it and Hermione felt a sting of disappointment. She spent a great deal of the night trying to figure out if she should try to speak to him again or if should just leave well enough alone.

The next day she woke up around 10:30 a.m., this was proof of her late night since she never slept in that late. After she got dressed she went down stairs and crawled into a chair by the fireplace. She saw Ginny, Harry, and Ron walk out of the common room with their bags, probable on their way to Hogsmeade. They didn't see her though, and that was fine with her. She didn't feel like going to Hogsmeade or being social in general. But her luck was shattered by a call of her name. She turned around and saw that it was Zack.

"Hey," she smiled half heartedly.

"Hey, I was wondering," he grinned his charming smile at her, "if you would like to go to Hogsmeade with me?"

Hermione's eyes widened and she blushed. Was this a date or just a friendly outing? She couldn't tell. Up until now she only thought of him as a friend but the possibility of him asking her out on a date had changed that. Could he potentially be something more to her? This too she couldn't tell, as of this moment she still only felt friendship towards him. She thought she'd better play it safe until she knew what his intentions were, so she politely declined claiming she wanted to take advantage of the quite of the common room and read a book.

"Oh." He looked slightly downcast. "Do you want company? I could stay behind with you?"

Hermione blushed again, "No don't be silly, it's your first trip into town. Don't let me ruin it for you."

"If you're sure."

Hermione nodded and smiled warmly at him. He gave a slight nod and a tight smile before he walked off. When he was gone Hermione took a book out and started reading. She read for about an hour and a half when she decided to go down to the lake to enjoy the sun.

The grounds were deserted. Over half the school was gone and only a few walked the grounds, the rest were inside for lunch. She took a seat on a big rock by the lake and looked out across the grounds. This remind her of the times Zack and Draco had found her there, both meetings were eye openers. Zack…Hermione couldn't help but wonder if she could fall for him. He was smart, funny, handsome, and he seemed to like her, though she didn't know in what way. She tried to imagine herself with him but interrupted her own day dream by shaking her head vigorously. Not that there was anything wrong with the picture but she really couldn't see herself with anyone. She laid her head on her knees and baffled at how pathetic she really was. What sixteen, almost seventeen, year old girl didn't think about romance? Hermione wasn't sure if romance even existed or if it was just a trick we all fooled our selves into believing. Great, now she was becoming a cynic, she was really starting to dread the type of person she was turning into. Her self pitying mood was interrupted by the crunch of gravel. She looked up and got a sense of déjà vu as she saw Draco walking towards her.