CH. 3

After breakfast they started on the task list that McGonigal had made for them.

Once out in the hall, Hermione pulled the task list out of her pocket and began reciting her thoughts out loud. "I was thinking we could start with the Library and then move on to the main hallway on the left side, and then finish off with cleaning the Slytherin common room," Hermione began.

"Amazing, you're actually this pretentious all the time, I thought it was only in classes." He remarked.

"Look Malfoy, if we have to work together, comments like that don't help. I don't like this anymore than you do."

"Well maybe I don't like how you have the whole list already planned out? What if I didn't want to do any of those today?" he said, frustrated.

"It bothers you that I take the lead, doesn't it? You're not used to strong females, admit it, you feel threatened by me," she couldn't help getting it out.

Malfoy looked around before he answered, not wanting to be overheard. "That's where you're wrong, I just don't like you Granger. You think you're so smart and you're a pretentious pratt who has no magical blo…" he stopped himself. He wasn't like that anymore, hating muggle borns. He knew that this year he would be a head of house for all his students, and several of them happened to be muggle born and half bloods.

"Oh, this again. Because I'm muggle born. Grow up Malfoy, I may be muggle born but I have more talent than you and your pure blood friends combined." It wasn't like her to brag about herself, but she did it more out anger than anything else. She realized she did sound pretentious just then. "And sorry if it does sound pretentious, but it's true. And I'm not going to apologize for being muggle born any more than you should apologize for being pure blood. What does it even matter?" She said in a huff.

They both stood in silence for a moment before Malfoy spoke.

"You're right," it was a large concession for him to make. He hoped by admitting it he didn't make her more pretentious.

"What?" Hermione said, shocked.

"Not about having more talent, but by asking what it matters. It doesn't." He reached over to the list she was holding, grabbed it out of her hand, and considered the tasks.

She expected that this was as close as she might ever get to an apology and believed he was genuine in his reply. It was a start, but it didn't make them friends. Not even close.

She waited for him to look over the tasks.

"I want to start with the Slytherin common room first, then you can pick next." He said as he handed the list back to her.

She knew she might have to compromise if they were going to work as a team. "Fine," she said in a huffy tone.

They walked off together to the common room to begin and worked the next several hours in silence.

When she was done Hermione stood where she was and waited as Draco finished. He was doing some non verbal spells she hadn't seen before. Having grown up as a muggle the only cleaning spells she saw were when she went to the Weasley's house. She wanted to ask him what spells he was using but thought the better of it. She didn't want to break the silence they had going or give him a chance to mock her.

"What's the matter Granger, never seen anyone clean before?" Draco was aware of being started at. His tone was only half as rude as usual.

"Not like that," Hermione admitted as she waited patiently for him to be done.

Draco didn't reply but was happy to hear he knew a spell that Hermione didn't.

When he was done she announced they would be headed to the library.

"I remember the list, I don't need a reminder," he replied.

"Just making sure you didn't 'forget' our agreement," she said in her know it all tone that irritated him.

When they got to the library, madame Pince was already cleaning so there wasn't much left to do.

"So I get to pick next," he said as he held up the list.

"Well, no, because this task was already done I get to pick again." She was trying to say this as friendly as possible and not start an argument.

"Nope, I pick one, you pick one, that was the deal." He took out a quill from the library to scratch some tasks off his list.

Hermione was resigned, it wasn't really worth fighting about. Once the tasks were done all they had to do from now on were patrols and meals together. She couldn't wait to go back to her quarters and be alone. Hermione sighed.

"Next up, the grounds in the front of the castle, weeding." He announced.

They walked out the front doors and started weeding on opposite sides of the entrance, at least they could be separated this way.

Hermione was pulling up the weeds and throwing them in a pile, when Draco came over to her.

"Aren't you done yet?" he asked.

She had only cleared out a small area and couldn't believe he would have been done either.

"Are you pulling them up by hand? But that's how a muggle would…" he stopped, remembering who he was talking to.

She glared at him as she stood up and brushed the dirt off of her clothes with her dirty hands. "Well how do you suggest I do it?" She went over to his side to see how he had done and it was completely clear. "How did you get done so fast?" Just a few minutes before there were several weeds in the area he picked.

"Seriously Granger, this is great! By all means, finish. I'm going to sit here and take a break, it's a beautiful day, isn't it." He said, taunting her.

She sat back down and continued where she left off, planning to write to Mrs. Weasley as soon as possible to ask her if she knew how to do weeding with magic. Even when she stayed at the burrow they pulled weeds but she didn't remember them using magic. "But the kids were not allowed to use magic outside of school at that time," she reminded herself.

After a few hours Hermione finished and she headed inside. After being taunted for hours while she pulled weeds by hand, she had had her fill of Draco for the rest of the year.

"Where are you going Granger, the great hall is this way," Draco pointed out.

"Look at me, I'm filthy, I have to go clean up first." She growled as she continued to walk to the room.

"It won't make much of a difference," he muttered under his breath as he passed her.

It happened before she even could stop herself. She pulled out her wand and pointed at his back. "Say that again to my face Malfoy!"

He turned around and laughed, he had been pushing her buttons all day. Granger wasn't joking, she had an impertinent fire in her eyes, one that told him he was in danger if he continued.

"You may have been a big man when you had me in your house being tortured, watching as your aunt threatened my life and told me how every drop of my blood was filthy and deserved to be spilt, but I'm not the same as I was before." Her chest was heaving and her wand hand was dangerously still.

He hadn't intended this comment to be about her blood, he was just merely being rude to her like usual. Her reaction caught him off guard. He didn't want to talk about his aunt and was ashamed of the way his family had served the dark lord and all the people who were hurt along the way. He didn't know what to say to her, but it hurt him that anyone would now think of him that way, even Granger. Hadn't he come to Hogwarts to get as far away from his past and that stigma as possible?

He didn't know if he should say anything but he slowly reached his hand up and put it on her arm to lower her wand. He looked back at her with sad eyes, speechless.

"Aren't you afraid I'll contaminate you?" Hermione snapped, clearly still enraged.

He debated his next words. "Hermione," he had never called her by her first name. His voice sounded pained as he continued, "I never wanted any of that to happen." He put his hand up on the wall next to him to steady himself. "That was…" he began when she interrupted him.

"But you were there, did you try to stop her? No!" She shouted at him. He had pushed her to the point of not holding anything back.

"When they brought you and Potter in I told them I couldn't be sure it was you, even though I was." He offered in his defense. He hadn't been a complete coward.

"Oh, that's really heroic of you Malfoy," she spat.

"You have no idea what it was like, having a family that served the Dark Lord," he felt like he just exposed himself.

"No, I wouldn't. I had to make my own parents forget me so they wouldn't be tortured for information, could you possibly imagine how that that must have felt? How could I be so daft as to ask that question to you Malfoy, the one person that doesn't care." She turned around and left the conversation and walked through the portrait hole and into her room.

He stood rooted to the spot, considering her perspective for a moment. As bad as things ever got for him, he never did have to make his parents forget him. They had even turned their allegiance to the other side just to get to see their son again. Had she forgotten that in the last battle he chose a different side, one that went against his family and cost him one of his best friends? After a moment he realized that he was shaking and sweating and rubbing his sleeve where his dark mark was. He took a few minutes to collect himself before entering the portrait hole behind her.

He sat on the couch and waited for her to come out of her room when the headmistress came into the common area.

"I'm afraid I missed you and professor Granger at lunch," it was an accusation more than anything.

"Yes, I'm sorry professor, we've been working today and she wanted to clean up before heading down. I was just waiting for her." He replied as her eyes softened.

"Very well, I'll see that your lunch is brought up to you here since we are finished in the great hall. How are things going so far?" She eyed him carefully for his answer.

He took a moment before replying, "We are trying" he said as he thought back to what Hermione had said.

"You look as white as a sheet Professor. Perhaps you ought to visit Poppy or take a rest for the remainder of the day." She offered.

"Thanks headmistress, I probably won't be joining you for dinner, but I'll let Gran…Professor Granger know that lunch will be out here when she's ready."

McGonigal nodded her head and saw herself out.

When he was ready, Draco approached Hermione's door and knocked lightly. "Granger, there's lunch out here for you." He said through the door. Afterwards he went to his room and closed the door.

Hermione came out of her room after a while and saw lunch on the table outside, just as Malfoy said it would be. After a day of taunting her and making allusions to muggles, she really had had it. She acknowledged to herself that she probably had lost her patience, and that Malfoy could have been, and often was, much worse than he had been today. Her eyes were red and puffy. She couldn't believe she had actually pulled her wand on him. She also couldn't believe that she spoke to him about the time she had been in his home and the horrors she experienced. She was right, he was the last person to care, and now she felt exposed and embarrassed. "It probably will give him something to laugh about later," she remarked to herself as her eyes narrowed.

He looked so shocked and her mentioning what had happened that he had even said her name, and sounded…sorrowful? She wasn't sure, she had never heard many emotions on his voice before. She finished her lunch and imagined that Malfoy must have got started on another area in the castle and went to look for him. If she was being honest, she had already got her fill of him for the day. When she didn't see him anywhere, she decided to just come back to her quarters to unpack her trunk.

She entered the portrait hole and heard a noise coming from Malfoy's room. It sounded like he might be moving furniture around. She hesitated and then decided to knock on the door.

She could hear the noise stop and when no one came to the door she knocked again. For the second time there was no answer. "I heard you, I know you're in there," she shouted towards the door.

He walked up to the door and spoke through it "I told the headmistress that I'll be missing dinner, enjoy your free time Granger." He spoke without any resentment in his voice. She was expecting more of a fight and had prepared herself for it.

"I will!" she said enthusiastically as she walked away from his door and into her own place across the hall. She had only been back in the castle for a few nights and already she was having to come face to face with Malfoy. At least tonight she could have a break.