Hermione tried her hardest to concentrate at the morning lecture but she had missed a lot of sleep and understandably her heart really wasn't in it. Luckily, the lecture was for all the female invitees as it was about the role women played in business. Therefore, there were plenty of people able to take the students questions and Hermione felt she had just about got away with it.

She hurried to the library straight after it had finished, eager to try and sort this out. She ran through what had happened with Draco last night and felt reasonably happy about it. Draco had been his usual, sarcastic self but she felt they had managed to discuss it like adults and he had willingly arranged this meeting and that was about the most she could hope for.

The library was almost empty with just a couple of students at one of the shelves. Hermione found Draco at desk near the back, already surrounded by books. She put her bag down and took the seat next to him.

"Nothing!" he said, not bothering with greeting her. "There's nothing!"

"That's what I thought yesterday."

Draco turned to her and closed the large book he had been looking at. "I really thought there would be something but it's as if this has never happened before!"

Hermione nodded. "It has to be the stones."

Draco didn't look surprised by her suggestion and she knew he must have thought of this himself. "I know - that's one of the first things I thought of but there's next to nothing written here about the stones. They didn't fulfill their magical potential and it's as if no-one is really interested!"

Hermione glanced over his shoulder. "Have you tried the Forbidden Section?"

"No, but I can't see any books about the stones being in there. It's hardly dark magic, is it?"

"Salazar Slytherin was involved wasn't he?" Hermione gave a little grin as she said this and ignoring the outraged look on Draco's face she stood up and headed towards the Forbidden Section. As a visitor to the school they had all been given access to this section to aid them with their lectures. She scanned the dusty shelves not exactly sure where to start. Eventually, she found three books that might have some information in them and she returned to Draco who now had his head buried in a small black book. He ignored her so she sat down and scanned the index of the first book. Nothing jumped out at her so she began the lengthy process of looking through each page. There were bits and pieces about the Merlin Stones but nothing that Hermione didn't already know.

She was half way through the second book when she heard Draco sigh loudly and she turned to look at him. Surprisingly, she had almost forgotten he was here and they'd worked silently, sitting next to one another for some time. He was leaning back in his chair, his hands behind his head.

"My brain is about to explode!" he moaned and she did actually feel sorry for him. She wondered how long he'd been here before her. She closed her book and leaned back as well.

"Maybe we should leave it now and try again later?"

Draco shook his head. "It's the Masterclass tomorrow, remember?"

"It's going to take a miracle for us to solve this before then!" Hermione said.

Draco pulled a face. "I really hate to say it because it makes me sound like a wimpy Gryffindor but maybe it's time we sold someone? McGonagall?" He put his head to one side.

Hermione frowned. "Gryffindors are not wimpy!" she protested. "You're probably right but I really hoped we wouldn't have to tell anyone else."

"I don't get it - why not? I thought running to the Professors was standard procedure for you and Potter."

Hermione glared at him. "I thought we were meant to be working together on this? How does you insulting me and my friends help in anyway?"

"It doesn't but it makes me feel better," Draco seemed to be finding all this highly amusing but Hermione had had enough.

"I can't work with someone who amuses himself by insulting me!" She stood up, not exactly about to storm off but very nearly. Draco grabbed her arm and pulled her back into her seat.

"You're being ridiculous!" he said.

"You're being bloody annoying!"

"No need to swear."

"You make me swear!"

To Hermione's astonishment, Draco's face broke into a grin. "You make me laugh," he said. "I promise to stop insulting you if you tell me why you don't want to ask for anyone's help."

Hermione was still glaring at him but she tried to calm down. It really wouldn't help if she took offence every five minutes. She had to learn to ignore his sarcasm.

"I know we should tell someone but I don't want to."

Draco scratched his head. "Why not?"

"Because the moment we tell anyone this is going to take over everything, isn't it? Forget student lectures, returning students, successful interviews with the press - that will all be forgotten once they hear about this!" Hermione explained. "This first week has gone so well - it's such a success and this news would spoil it all and impact on everything here which would be such a shame!" Hermione sighed. "There's still days to go and then the ball at the end of the week which I know the newspapers are invited to but if they find out about this, then it won't be the ball they're printing stories about, will it?" She gave him a totally uncalled for glare. "Not that you probably care too hoots about that do you? Hogwarts was never your favourite place was it?"

Draco had remained silent during her rambling speech and she now stopped and stared at him. His eyes were glued to her face but she couldn't tell from his expression what he was thinking. She didn't know what she expected him to say next but it his next words astonished her.

"How am I ever going to change what you think of me?"

Hermione felt her throat constrict and she took a gulp of air. What did he mean by that? He had a pensive expression now and something about his eyes made her unable to look away from him. She cleared her throat and spoke quietly.

"You've already have changed what I think of you," she said. "I think it's your opinion of me that hasn't changed at all."

"My opinion of you has changed beyond all recognition," Draco answered her, seemingly comfortable with this strange conversation unlike Hermione who wanted to crawl under the desk.

"It doesn't sound like it from some of the comments you make."

" I didn't say I'd changed beyond all recognition! Insults and sarcasm are my trademark! You have to learn to sort out the things I mean and the things I don't."

Hermione recognized that this was a big compromise for someone like Draco Malfoy. He was actually admitting that he was insulting and he was also offering her an olive branch albeit in his own unique way. He was telling her he didn't mean some of the things he said to her.

Hermione was big enough to know when to back down so she relaxed a little in her chair and looked around the library. She deliberately changed the subject abruptly. "How is it we can still see Hogwarts? I thought Muggles couldn't see Hogwarts?"

Draco's face changed instantly. "Are you calling me a Muggle?"

Hermione's positive thoughts disappeared in an instant. "What? No! I mean we've lost our magic!"

"But we haven't, have we? We both still have our magic but it will only work when we're together," Draco gave her a grin. "Your face was funny when you thought I was upset about being called a Muggle."

"Hilarious, I'm sure," she answered, sulkily but nevertheless she was glad he had been teasing her.

"About as hilarious as you demonstrating your loss of magic by aiming an Expulso spell directly at my head!" Draco shot back.

Hermione turned to face him. "Will you stop moaning about that! I knew it wouldn't work."

"What if it had?"

Hermione couldn't help the wide grin that slipped onto her face. "Then I'd have been very happy to have my magic back."

Draco's lips curved up at the edges, just slightly at first and then more, until he broke into a grin. Hermione watched him with interest, having very rarely seen him like this. His little admission seemed to have cut through a barrier that had been between them and it surprised Hermione to find that Draco could take a little bit of teasing as well as being able to give it out.

"Okay, so we agree it must have been the Merlin Stones that have caused this?" she said, running through things logically.

"It has to be. We didn't do anything else that day."

"We both crashed into them so maybe that was enough to release some of their magic?" she glanced over at him to see his reaction to this.

"Are you going to throw a fit if I shoot your ideas down in flames?" Draco asked and Hermione raised her eyebrows, surprised at him even bothering to ask.

"No – of course not. They're just ideas."

"Well, firstly I can't believe that in the thousands of years that the Merlin Stones have been erected that someone else hasn't bumped into them?"

"Maybe not two people at the same time?" Hermione suggested.

"Which leads me to secondly…it wasn't only you and I who crashed into the stones, was it? Jordan hit them harder than we did and yet he seems to be perfectly fine."

Hermione let her shoulders slump. "Mmm…..pity but you're right. Hitting them seems to have made some sort of connection between us. Did we both hit the same stone?"

Draco twisted his lips. "I couldn't say for definite but I think so. We were standing right next to one another and their pretty big so it would make the most sense."

"And what about Lee? Did he hit the same stone?"

"Again, I'm not sure but probably not. He rolled off to the one side and we jumped to the other," Draco's face broke into another grin which took Hermione by surprise. "That's a good bit of deduction, Granger."

"Wow! Compliments instead of sarcasm!"

Draco ignored her and continued. "So, you think that the fact we hit the same stone at the same time might have triggered the magic?"

Hermione sighed. "I suppose so but I'm not convinced. I mean, what would be the point in bothering to erect eight huge stones with magic that only works when a total fluke happens? And the magic doesn't make sense either? Why would they put a spell on them that stops wizards using their magic?"

"Maybe it wasn't meant to work like that?" Draco sounded unconvinced as well.

"We're missing something!" Hermione said, her voice portraying her frustration.

"Yep – that'd be our magic!" Draco quipped and Hermione couldn't help but giggle. He grinned at her and for the second time the two of them shared a joke. Hermione suddenly felt awkward and she stood up, clearing her throat.

"We should go – the drop in session starts soon," she hesitated, trying to be careful how she phrased her next words. "Maybe we should meet back here again later…..I mean if you want to sort this before the broomstick masterclass…? Or did you just want to tell McGonagall?"

Draco shook his head. "No - we'll give it another try later but if we don't find anything, we'll have to tell her."

Hermione nodded.

An entire chapter filled with one conversation between them! It's so easy to write them talking like this as they just bounce off each other. Hope you liked it. x