Draco shut and locked the door of the prefect's bathroom behind him, thanking Merlin no one else was there. He turned on the many faucets and slipped off the dress clothes he was still wearing from the night before. As the water filled the tub, he got in and closed his eyes.

What the hell just happened, he thought, mind racing. Did I really just almost kiss Hermione Granger? Who am I? Then, his eyes shot open. Was she going to kiss me back?! She certainly acted guilty when Potter barged in. His thoughts returned to what she had said earlier. 'I feel more comfortable with you lately than those I fought beside.' Does that mean we're actually friends? He started to think about how impossible that was, after all they had been through, everything he had done, but it made his head hurt. Instead, he asked himself a question before he had the sense to take his thoughts in a different direction. Are we more than friends? Suddenly, Draco was picturing what would've happened if they hadn't been interrupted. He was thinking about her lips on his, his fingers snaking through her curls, and finally being rid of that tantalizing piece of fabric over her bare chest. Eyes opening again, Draco groaned, partially out of lust and partially out of frustration. He waded over to the faucets and turned on the cold water, attempting to rid himself of the growing problem that was making it hard to think straight. Trying to think of anything else, he wondered again about the logistics of his situation. If he really did like Hermione Granger – and his lower half seemed to think that he really, really did – what could come of that? He was obviously emotionally invested in whatever they were, seeing as she had been the only person to treat him like an actual human since long before the war. He thought about his parents, what they would say if they knew he was interested in a Muggleborn witch. He sighed – he hadn't spoken to his dad since he had left for school, and even before that he had avoided seeing both of his parents as much as possible. He had no idea how to begin repairing his relationship with his mother, and certainly had no desire to do so with his father. Draco knew he was to blame for his decision to become a Death Eater, but he was so incredibly angry with the both of his parents for raising him to be so hateful, so judgmental, so cowardly. He had spent most of the summer in his room, corresponding with Dumbledore so as to salvage the remains of his future. Shaking his head at the memory, he pushed the thought of his parents' opinions out of his head. As he settled in for the rest of his bath, he decided he was going to do what felt right to him, and his almost-kiss with Hermione felt more right than anything had in a long time.

Back in the Heads' Dormitory, Ginny lit into Hermione. "What the bloody hell was that, Hermione?!" Ginny questioned, sounding much like her older brother. Realizing the harshness of her tone, she continued, "Actually, never mind, you don't have to justify anything to us because we've treated you horribly. Listen, we're here to apologize, Hermione."

Hermione blinked at them, confused by Ginny's roller coaster of a statement. "Apologize?" she asked.

"When Ron cheated on you, we tried to convince ourselves that the idea of you two together just didn't make sense, and that what happened wasn't a big deal. We wanted to let your break up fade into the background like it didn't mean anything so everyone could continue being friends. We didn't want to lose either of you after everything else we've all lost, I guess, but we only ended up hurting you in the process."

Harry spoke up then. "Ron is my best friend, but after last night we had to intervene. We talked to him this morning, and he barely remembers anything, but when we told him what he said, he couldn't believe it. With a bit of, um, convincing from Ginny he went to Madame Pomfrey to enroll in the Post War Counseling Program to get some help dealing with everything and hopefully quit being such a pompous ass to the people he has left. We told him we were coming here, but I think he's too embarrassed to face you for a while. That, or he's scared your roommate will give him another shiner," Harry couldn't help but grin at this. "Hermione, I'm really embarrassed that after everything I saw between you two during our sixth year, and during the time without Ron last year, that I honestly thought you could just forget him so easily. I've been so caught up in things being normal for once, and finally being able to be with Ginny, that I forgot to be a friend to you when you needed it most."

Hermione didn't know what to say. It had hurt deeply when she felt so alone after her break up with Ron, but she certainly couldn't blame either of them for wanting things to remain normal. Instead of speaking, Hermione extended her arms and pulled her friends into a group hug, which Harry and Ginny relaxed into, happy to accept their friend's forgiveness. When they all pulled away from each other, Ginny spoke.

"I honestly don't know how this is going to work with Ron, but that's something we're going to leave up to him to figure out. As for you, please start coming around more. I know you had a good time with Dean the other night, and you have more friends up in Gryffindor tower than you think. We all miss you Hermione."

Then, Ginny's eyes lit up. "Harry, actually, would you go check on Ron? He should be back by now. I'd like to talk to Hermione alone for a bit."

Harry raised his eyebrows at her. He knew she was up to something, but he decided not to question her. He said goodbye to Hermione, descended the stairs, and left out of the tapestry hole. As soon as she heard the swish of cloth, Ginny rounded on Hermione again.

"Now that that's settled, what happened with Malfoy last night – and apparently this morning?!" She asked Hermione, taking a seat on her bed.

Hermione blushed. "Well thanks to you two I haven't had the chance to think about any of it. As I'm sure Ron has told you, Malfoy and I are being civil to each other, but there's a lot more that Ron and Harry don't know about," Hermione started, the words flowing quickly as she realized how badly she had wanted someone to talk to about her strange experiences with Draco Malfoy. She told Ginny all about their encounter at Tomes and Scrolls, the trick tapestry she had gotten stuck behind, the blanket he had conjured her, and finally, all about the night before and this morning, making sure to include the part about the House Elf. When Hermione finished, she was out of breath and Ginny's mouth was hanging open. After a minute, she responded.

"Were you two actually about to kiss?!"

"I have no idea," said Hermione anxiously. "That's what it looked like to you, right?" She asked, having a hard time wrapping her head around the idea of Draco Malfoy kissing her.

"Yeah, but I figured it really wasn't what it looked like because it's not every day your best friend locks lips with her nemesis of how many years?" Ginny said laughingly. Over her giggles, neither of them heard the tapestry downstairs swing open again.

"Well, its definitely weird, but Ron was on the right side during the war and look how well he treated you. Do you – Merlin this is strange to say – do you like Malfoy?" Ginny asked.

Hermione bit her lip, trying not to smile. "Ginny, if I think too hard about this I'm going to have an existential crisis, and I've got a Transfiguration test this week, so I really don't have time for that. All I'm going to say is that I haven't ever felt as comfortable with a guy, well," she rolled her eyes, "other than Harry, as I felt with Draco last night." Ginny made a funny face when Hermione used Malfoy's first name. Laughing, Hermione continued, "And, I really wouldn't have minded knowing what was going to happen before you guys came bursting in!" She said, falling back onto her bed exasperatedly. Downstairs, an eavesdropping Slytherin smirked.

Taking a piece of toast from the untouched breakfast tray, Ginny responded to her friend. "It seems to me like you'll get another opportunity. Since, you know, you live together, completely unsupervised, and share a bathroom on top of that," She said, biting into Hermione's breakfast.

Hermione blushed, choosing not to reply to her friend's suggestive comment. Using her wand, she levitated the entire tray onto the bed, and prepared herself some toast with marmalade. She scarfed it down ravenously, remembering how hungry she had been.

"Well, you said you've got a test this week, and I have three different papers I haven't started yet, so how about you bring your homework to Gryffindor tower for once and we can work together?" Ginny said hopefully.

"Yeah, that sounds good, just let me shower first. I'll only be a few minutes," Hermione said, moving towards the bathroom. Upon hearing this, Draco quickly crept to his room as to avoid being caught. After silently closing his door, a smile graced his face. He had a plan.