It was, perhaps, the most uncomfortable conversation of Draco's life. Granger wanted to talk about his father; he hadn't wanted to mention him after that slip outside the castle. Yet she'd forced her way into his room again, breaking his rule again, and forcing Draco to talk about something he really didn't want to think about until the day it happened. She'd been curious, mostly, and she'd told him to do what felt right. That was all until her sentences had stopped coming so frequently. It took Draco about ten minutes to realize that she'd fallen asleep on the floor of his bedroom; he'd simply thought that she'd been trying to figure out what to say next.

Draco had stared at her in horror for a long time. She was sleeping. On his floor. And he couldn't exactly wake her up to force her out, because what was he supposed to say? Get out of my room, I don't want you here? I'm not comfortable with this so just leave? As if he really wanted Granger to know just how uncomfortable she was making him by being in his room. He didn't want to go out and sleep in the common room either; his chair wasn't the best place to sleep in. He always ended up with a stiff neck and an aching back, not that he would tell Granger that either. She would insist that he stay in his room every night and she would probably try and stay in her own so that he wouldn't come out. That wasn't an option though; some of the most relaxing times in his day were the ones where he was debating something with Granger.

After deciding he didn't have much of a choice, Draco pulled the blanket off his bed and carefully placed it over her. He didn't want to wake her with the action, as for once she looked like she was sleeping peacefully. He wondered then, how she could have nightmares, but there was no way he was going to find out. Draco didn't plan on asking Granger any more about her sleeping habits. He climbed back into his own bed frowning, before laying down and attempting to fall asleep. It was rather difficult; he was used to only the occasional creaking sounds but now there was the steady sound of Granger's breathing. She was sleeping in his room; how could she possibly be comfortable with this? How could anyone, really?

Sleep did eventually come though, much to Draco's surprise, and he discovered it wasn't too bad with Granger there. He was aware though, as she was in the corner of his dream watching the events unfold. It was unusal; Granger had never entered his dreams before and all the sudden she was there, simply because she was in the room with him. It was a rather odd dream for Granger to be in; a Christmas from when he was six years old. That one had been awful, though Draco preferred not to think about why.

The quiet sound of whimpering woke Draco almost instantly; he obviously hadn't been sleeping very deeply. He looked around, confused, before seeing Granger curled up on the floor. Draco fumbled for his wand on his nightstand before casting a quick silencing spell on the room. He hadn't thought about what would happen when she woke up earlier and there was no doubt in his mind that Boot and Abbott would hear her scream and then come running. They already hated him enough-Though Abbott definitely seemed to hate him a little less. Had she actually stood up to Boot about being rude? Maybe he'd been imagining things; he'd have to ask-

Granger's loud shriek had him covering his ears to try and block out her noise. How on earth could she scream so loudly and not be hoarse every morning? And how did her scream not just shatter the silencing spell? Draco fell off his bed as he scrambled to get to her; she had to stop screaming otherwise the noise would never stop echoing in his head. "Granger, shut up!" he yelled, shaking her shoulders and praying that she would just open her damn eyes. "Granger-"

After a moment of shaking her shoulders, her eyes opened and Draco could see nothing but fear in them. It was horrifying to see how she was affected by her nightmares; he'd only ever seen her after she'd calmed down. "Malfoy-"

"Just calm down, Granger, please," he said, staring at her with wide eyes that matched her own. "Just calm down, I-" he hesitated before moving his hand to grip her own. "-I'm here or whatever, okay?"

She stared at him, nodding before sitting up and closing her eyes. She shook her head slightly and sighed before letting out a shaky, "I'm sorry,"

"You're what?"

"Sorry. I-I fell asleep in here and I shouldn't have done that-" She was steadily turning red which made Draco roll his eyes. Yes he'd been upset about it but he hadn't thought that Granger would care all too much. "And then I woke you up with my screaming; I-"

"Granger it wasn't your screaming. You were whimpering earlier,"

"You heard that?"

"I wasn't sleeping well,"

"Why?"

"I-Well that's not important," he decided, frowning. "Granger what were you dreaming about this time?"

"That's not important,"

Draco frowned; he obviously wasn't going to get anywhere this time. She looked horribly embarrassed which didn't really suit her, and he couldn't really figure out why. Sure there was the nightmare and the screaming and the whimpering, but he thought they were past that by now. "Why do you still look like that?"

"Malfoy you're-" She stopped and glanced down. "-you're holding my hand,"

He looked down too and quickly jumped away from her, releasing her hand and staring at his own in anger. It had felt so normal to him; why would it have felt so normal? Not that he could tell her that; Granger would make a bigger deal out of it than she should. "I didn't mean to," he said, which was the closest form of an apology that she would get. It had probably disgusted her, that would be his best guess.

"Then why were you holding it?" He opened his mouth to respond and promptly closed it again. "I won't make fun of you, if that's what you're thinking,"

"Well I-You were screaming Granger and I just wanted it to stop; I didn't want to keep hearing-"

"I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable with it,"

"-Hearing it," he continued, staring at his floor angrily. "Because it's been stuck in my head for a long time and I don't need a reminder,"

"But you've never-"

"I have,"

"Oh," she said simply. Draco knew that she was remembering what had happened when she'd been at his house by the expression on her face as he glanced at her. "You remember that?"

"Remember it? Of course I remember it,"

"I meant that you... Malfoy why would my scream by stuck in your head?" she asked carefully.

He stared at her then, regretting his words instantly. Of course he'd have to go and mention that; why would he ever let the words come out? No one knew that he felt guilty about that and he just had to go and tell Granger? Of all people, Granger. "Don't make me explain," he said, aware that his tone was pleading and absolutely hating himself for it.

There was a pause in which Draco looked out the window, but he knew Granger was looking at him. "All right. We don't have to talk about it,"

"Seriously?"

"What?"

"You push on everything but this?"

"Well I don't really feel like fighting with you again, Malfoy. It's almost Christmas. Let's just keep the peace," He nodded slowly and got to his feet. Granger stood too, taking a step to the door and frowning at him. "I think I'm going to go to the common room,"

"I'll meet you out there in a moment,"

There was a hint of a smile on her lips, Draco saw, so he quickly shifted his gaze to the top of her head. "Okay," she said simply, slipping out of his room.

Considering where they'd been in the early hours of the morning, Draco was surprised that only a few hours later Granger had asked if they could walk down to the train together. He almost hadn't wanted to, as that meant walking with her in front of other people, but eventually he did agree. The walk was mostly silent, except for the few odd comments from Granger and his response to them. Draco didn't mind; he liked silence more than he liked most other things. And silence would give him time to think about what he was going to say to his parents about his father's trial without being killed by it.

Granger had wanted to write over the holiday but Draco knew that would cause a problem. If his parents saw him receiving letters then they would ask who they were from, which Draco didn't really care to explain. They would both be furious if they found out he was associating with someone who wasn't a pureblood or at least a half-blood. After a bit of debate there, he'd broken down and told her that she could only write in the early hours of the morning. His parents would be asleep then, he realized, and if he hid the letters he wouldn't have to worry about them being found. He could always burn them as well, but he didn't really want to do that.

They separated once they got to the train and Draco went to an empty compartment; he knew that Granger would be sitting with her other friends. She wouldn't think to sit with him, he knew, that was too much for the both of them to handle. At least it was too much for him to deal with; Granger would probably be fine sitting with him if he offered. He wasn't actually sure, though that was a question he pondered for much of the train ride. Which was infuriating; he was supposed to be thinking about how to tell his parents he didn't want to vouch for his father and he was getting nowhere on that front.

There were many excited parents at the platform when Draco climbed off the train, trunk scraping along behind him. There was no welcoming party for him though, in fact many people turned to glare at him as he passed. Draco glared right back, wishing that he could just disappear into the shadows. Those people would be glaring even more, he knew, if he'd been talking to Granger while still in their sight. He closed his eyes and apparated.

It was with a crack that he appeared in his bedroom at the Manor, scowling as he looked around to see the rather plain room. It was decorated with a lot of green and silver; it had been like that for as long as he could remember. He'd really wanted to be in Slytherin. Other than the colors, it was about as plain as his room at Hogwarts, only with a larger bed and a sitting area. His parents had most likely heard him come, though Draco couldn't imagine them coming in to say hello. Most of when his family saw each other was at meals, where they could focus on eating instead of talking. And once the eating was done Draco was out of the dining room and either in his own room or the library before his parents could even say his name. Really, they were a very close family.

A few days passed where the majority of Draco's entertainment came from the letter's he'd receive at one in the morning from Granger. She was in Australia, currently, and having no luck with her parents which Draco knew was upsetting her more than anything else. She was finding some way to be positive though, telling him that at least her parents would probably be having a good Christmas, and at least she would get to spend hers with Potter. Draco was only glad that she would have a decent holiday. She even wrote, on Christmas eve, that she hoped he would have a good Christmas as well and that she would be happy to see him when they returned to Hogwarts. Granger had even attached a small package, a tie he knew he would never wear, with the explanation that it was festive and she'd just wanted him to have one.

That was the only letter that Draco regretted not burning or hiding. No, he'd nearly smiled at what she'd written and left it laying on the floor by the chair in his room. That had been his mistake, leaving it laying around. How could he have known, though, that his parents would decide to try and find him there after lunch on Christmas day? How could he have known that his father would pick it up and read it and know exactly who it came from? He couldn't have known, at least not until his father stormed into the library to find him reading a book. His mother obviously wanted no part in whatever was about to happen, though Draco knew it couldn't be any good from the expression on his father's face.

"Why?" he'd asked simply, to which Draco had scowled. At the question he still didn't know that his father had been in his room.

"Why what?"

"Why are you getting letters from that filthy mudblood?"

His face had paled then. "Father I-"

"I do not care what you have to say about this. It is unacceptable. No son of mine would be found writing to a mudblood or having one write to him,"

"Don't call her that," he said quietly, knowing it was a fight he didn't want to pick. However if Granger found out he'd just let his father say those things she would be furious and Draco didn't really want to make her angry.

"Don't call her what, Draco?" his father sneered. "A mudblood? A filthy, disgusting, abomination of a-"

"I said don't call her that!" he said, standing up and dropping his book on the floor.

His father's eyes narrowed and he took a step toward Draco, the letter clutched tightly in his hand. "You will never write to that filth again, do you understand? If you do I-"

"You'll what?" Draco challenged, acting braver than he felt. He never really stood up to his father; his father would always be able to beat him in an argument. But Draco would try, at least for her. "Force me into things I don't want to be a part of?"

"Draco-"

"No, honestly, Father, what could you do that you haven't actually done?"

The first blow surprised Draco more than anything had that year. His father was not a good man, he wasn't even a decent one, but he'd never once hit Draco before. At least not so it hurt. "You will never speak to that girl again," he growled, tossing the letter to the side and taking a step back from him. Draco had a hand pressed up against his cheek and his eyes were wide with disbelief.

"No," he said quietly, his frown deepening.

"Good, Draco. Very good. Do not-"

"I mean no," he said again, a little louder that time.

"No what?"

"No I-I won't stop talking to her," he said, disbelief clear in his own voice. Granger certainly couldn't be important enough for him to risk the wrath of his father, could she? "At least she gives a damn about things that are happening, unlike-" His father stepped forward and slapped him, his anger becoming even more evident. "-You," he continued. "She needs-" The words would be the last he ever said to his father.