When she reached her destination she wasn't sure what exactly to do with herself. Malfoy was probably at the Manor where it was nice and warm, and she had absolutely no idea how to get him to meet her out in the garden.

"Was the party that bad?" A voice startled her. She turned, and there on the other side of a dry bush was Malfoy sitting on a bench. She looked down at the path and followed it around to where he was.

"You mean to tell me that we could have sat down the last time I was here, but instead we were laid out on the cold ground?"

"Well you weren't exactly in the best of minds to get up and walk about now where you? Besides, this bench is kind of cold too." He said as he patted the empty spot next to him for her to sit.

"How did you know I would come?" She asked not yet sitting down.

"I didn't." He replied honestly, once again patting the spot next to him. She went to sit down but not before noticing how tired he looked .

"Are you okay?" She asked causing him to face her.

"Yeah, of course I am." He said in a way that she wasn't sure she could believe. "Just, haven't slept well the last couple of days." He said with a wave of his hand as if he was dismissing it.

"Is everything alright?"

"Everything is fine, it's nothing really, it's just insomnia is all, it happens sometimes." He finished causing Hermione to nod. He wouldn't tell her how all he saw when he closed his eyes at night was lines of deep dark red. He couldn't stop his eyes from drifting down to look at the covered arm where he knew the scar was.

"I got your gift." She finished, not noticing that his eyes were looking at her arm.

"Course you did, how else would you know to come here?"

"So were you waiting for me?" She teased. Draco rolled his eyes.

"You better watch that ego of yours; it will make your hair bigger." He joked. "I thought maybe you would come, but I have been coming out here for the past few nights hoping that it would help me to sleep."

"Has it helped?" He shrugged his shoulders.

"Have you taken a potion?"

"Too much and it causes addiction, I would rather not." Hermione could tell that he was not his usually snarky self.

"Want to know how the party went?" Draco sat up a bit and she went into detail with everything that happened, starting from Ginny's "I'm not pissed enough to deal with the chit yet." upon Ron's first entering the house with his date.

"That She-Weasel isn't half bad." Draco commented. Hermione pretended she didn't hear. When she got to the part about the owl dropping off the package he couldn't help but interrupt. "And the She-weasel doesn't get all jealous to see her boyfriend wrapped around you?" Hermione was a little annoyed mostly with Draco's nickname for her best friend.

"Of course not, Harry is very much like a brother to me, he never had siblings, I never had siblings, so we became each other's family."

"I never had siblings, and you don't see me hugging anyone." Draco said matter-of-factly.

"That's just because you've no one to hug." Hermione said causing Draco to pout. She continued with her retelling of the evening, he said no more until the argument.

"He really told her that? What a complete idiot. He always says the wrong things that one doesn't he?" He said with a laugh. Hermione was not happy that he was talking badly about her friends, but she couldn't help but think that he had a point. Ron shouldn't have brought up his past relationship, especially with her in the other room, and he was talking about her as though what they had was not something he was proud of. Ron was a complete git. Hermione couldn't help but let a few tears escape as well as a sniff.

"Why are you upset?" Draco asked.

"Because Ron is a git." Hermione wailed.

"You know this already, I know this. We all know this." Draco said as if she really shouldn't be surprised.

"But the way he told her, it was like he never wanted to be with me, but he did it to make his mother happy. He sounded like we never made plans to get married, like what we had never mattered." She continued to sob.

"Haven't we gone through this before? You cry because Weaselbee mucked something up and hurt your feelings. Need I repeat that he doesn't deserve you and you can do better than that idiot?" Regardless she soon had her head against his chest as she cried, and he had his arms wrapped around her gently stroking her hair, though he would defend that he was just trying to keep it from eating him up.

"I'm sorry I am always a mess around you aren't I?" Hermione said after she finally calmed herself down.

"As long as I am not the reason for your being upset, I am fine with it." They sat in silence for a while.

"Oh, before I forget." Hermione said reaching into her pocket. She pulled out a very small package and then unshrunk it. She handed it to him. Draco looked at it for a second before looking at her.

"Is that my gift?"

"Yes, now take it." She said thrusting it at him. He looked slightly offended. "You have received a gift before haven't you?" She smiled.

"Of course I have. Now what is it?" He asked staring at it.

"Really, just open it, it's your gift." He pulled off the bow and ripped the paper off of it.

"It's a box." He said trying to pry the lid off.

"Yes, your gift is a box; you need to open it up." She said impatiently.

"I am." He said in a huff as he was finally able to get the lid off. "Hmm, very original Hermione," Draco said without knowing that her first name was what came out instead of Granger, "a book." He finished as he looked it over.

"I thought it would be best for your mind to read something other than fantasy." She said not mentioning anything about his slip.

"North and South." He read the title.

"Promise me you will give it a try."

"Only as long as you promise that you'll give mine a chance." Hermione scoffed.

"You never even read that book." She said bumping her shoulder into his.

"Sure I have," he lied, "it was so good I cried." Hermione grabbed the book from his hand and smacked him with it.

A/N: Sorry for such a late update, it has been pretty hectic at work, especially since I am switching schools and this was my "farewell" week.

This chapter has us back to the garden, which is starting to become one of my favorite places to visit.

Anyways another big announcement we have passed 100 Follows so let me just say "YAY!" * wiggle wiggle* - that's my happy dance!

You are the best ever! Thank you so much for enjoying my story I hope you follow me to the end which is about 9 chapters away. Meaning I need to get started on the next installment. Anyways thank you so much you have no idea how great it makes me feel ^.^

So thank you, thank you, thank you. And as always Happy Readings ^.^