Hello lovelies, I have another chapter ready for you! It has been brought to you by my insomnia and fingers crossed there are not too many grammatical errors to indicate that this is the product of the mad ramblings of a woman in need of a quite a bit of sleep and a hefty glass of wine. This is becoming a little bit longer than anticipated but I did not want to rush their relationship too much. Even though a steamy locker room scene was very tempting… perhaps for the future! Enjoy and happy reading! *blows dramatic kiss*

The Jersey

This is a stupid idea Hermione, what on earth are you doing?

Her curiosity and self-preservation were at war with one another as she made the muddy trek to the locker rooms.

Her mind was buzzing with all the reasons that going to meet Malfoy was a terrible idea. Everything from simply being isolated and potentially in danger to giving him the satisfaction of doing what he had told her.

If she was honest, she was not afraid of him despite their history. Following the war, they had not become friends by any stretch, but they had an unspoken respect for one another. Almost dying in fire and then surviving the battle can change you apparently. Even with the teasing and the bet it was done in a more playful manner as opposed to the malicious school bullying in the past.

If Hermione was being completely honest, their banter at times held a flirtatious edge. But no, the prince of Slytherin could never be interested in her… right? With a sharp flash to their conversation during the game she recalled him calling her beautiful. What on earth had that been about? Had he taken one too many bludgers to the head? Was he playing mind games?

Now Hermione's nervousness was due to an entirely different kind of unease. Did he fancy her? Could she think of him as anything more than the pretentious daddy's boy that she had the misfortune to have classes with growing up? Yes. Yes, she could.

The speed at which she came to this conclusion was startling upon itself. It wasn't as if she hadn't noticed him before. He was strikingly handsome if you were into the angular angelic look. He was even more handsome in the rare times that a smile graced his lips softening his sharp features. Plus, he was tall and built in a lithe kind of way.

It was no secret that he had grown up since their first interactions at Hogwarts. Then again, she supposed she had changed as well. She was no longer dominated by her hair and teeth but rather had become more womanly and graceful as she aged. Her hair now fell well past her shoulders weighing her curls in more smooth tendrils and had embraced her more striking features like her large whiskey eyes and smattering of freckled decorating her heart shaped face. They had both grown up into attractive adults but also sported quite a few scars from the war which in Hermione's mind simply made them more human.

Looks were not the highest priority to Hermione, however. It didn't matter how appealing someone looked if they were as dense as one of Hagrid's rock cakes. Malfoy was only second to her in terms of marks and even though his wit could be cutting there was no question that he could keep up with her. Plus considering how often she had seen him propped against one of the large stain glassed windows at the end of the library aisles she knew he had an appetite for knowledge.

The first time that she had spotted him in the library that year she had been more taken aback at his presence. He was comfortably leaning against the window whilst sitting on the floor reading with no awareness of anyone spotting him. The multicolor light cast upon and the casual position he was in made him look ethereal but somehow also more content and at ease. The following times that she had spotted him she made note of the texts that he was so immersed in. Once he returned them to the shelf, she immediately withdrew them to investigate. None of the books were remotely linked to classwork and were all very advanced. A handful hadn't even been in English. She ended up checking out more than one of them for her own perusal in fact. She was both intrigued and impressed by his leisurely reading choices. Oh Merlin, did she fancy him? When on earth had that happened? No, no she did not fancy him. Perhaps she was mildly intrigued but that was the extent of it. Period.

Hermione's thoughts came to abrupt stop along with her feet. She reached the entrance to the locker rooms but there was no sign of the blonde who had highjacked her thoughts on her trek over.

Before she could think about what to do next, she heard Malfoy call to her from inside.

"Come in Granger! I am as decent as I can be!"

Rolling her eyes, Hermione shoved the doors open and was greeted by an empty locker room with the except of one rather soaked Malfoy.

She quickly cast a drying charm on herself and without a second thought sent one in Malfoy's direction surprising him.

He mumbled a thanks whilst leaning and digging into a large green duffel bag boldly emblazon with DM across the top in silver embroidery. He leaned up holding a thick white thermal top out to Hermione.

"What's this? Trying to make a habit of me wearing your clothes?" she replied with a smirk.

"I figured a fresh non-house affiliated shirt would be welcome." He chuckled.

Handing it over he turned around before she even had to request it. Scanning around him to ensure that he didn't strategically turn toward mirrors or something equally tricky, she was appeased.

Quickly stripping off the jersey and replacing it with the oversized cozy thermal was satisfying enough to pull a contented sigh from her lips.

"I turned around so that you could change shirts, but I feel like I am missing a show." Malfoy joked with a smug tone.

Scoffing and throwing the wrinkled jersey she had just taken off at his head, he grunted in surprise and turned around.

"Thank you, Malfoy, for the dry shirt not for tricking me into sporting your jersey." She stated with sarcasm.

He laughed and his deep laugher bounced around the empty locker room.

Shrugging, he stated, "I knew green would suit you."

Shaking her head at the confidence of his words, she simply raised an eyebrow at him.

"Well? What is this key knowledge that you have to share?"

Malfoy looked at her for a moment and seemed hesitant. Finally, he pulled a folded piece of parchment from within his bag and handed it to her.

It was a duplicated page from their potions text outlining the potion from class but with many handwritten additions in both the ingredients and directions. The ink also seemed to show additions from multiple different times indicating multiple experimentations.

She looked up to see Malfoy watching her to see her reaction. He was statue still except for his hand. He seemed to have a slight tremor causing it to twitch ever so slightly.

Hermione's eyes widen in realization turning back to the potion parchment in her hands. The potion that they had made in class had been an incredibly potent healing potion, but his adjustments were all reflective of ingredients that would target and heal nerve and joint damage.

"You are trying to alter this potion to help with the short term and long term side effects of being cruicioed aren't you." Hermione said barely over a whisper. Malfoy glared down at his feet.

"I am but I cannot seem to stabilize it in the last stage. Since I have made this potion almost a dozen times and the first steps are identical to what we had to produce in class I knew the odds were good that mine would be more technically perfect than yours." Malfoy said in a frustrated but rushed tone.

Hermione's eyes drifted back to the potion list and sat down on the wooden bench. She had some ideas about ways to perfect the potion, but her mind was cluttered with more questions.

"Why ask me?" she said in a questioning tone cocking her head to side while looking up at him.

At first, she did not think he had heard her since he did not move. He sighed and then came to sit beside her on the bench looking wary and many years older than he was.

"Are you not the brightest witch of her age?" Malfoy joked but the humor did not reach his eyes.

Hermione reached over and grasped his trembling hand. He looked surprised and frustrated that he had not noticed the shaking until then. She could still feel the slight tremor and the iciness of his long fingers. Sighing he looked down at their joined hands.

"I have joint pain all of the time. According to muggle medicine I am showing symptoms of arthritis. I also have issues with my hands. There seems to be some nerve damage that results in shaking occasionally. My fingers are also always cold. I am not even twenty and I just want to wake up and not feel the reminder of the war with every move I make." He hung his head and propped his elbows on his knees.

They stayed silent for a few moments. Looking up through blonde eyelashes he held her gaze.

"I also know you suffer from the same issues. You have been stretching more after rising to leave class and your hands have been shaking when you chop your ingredients in potions. I figure this is a potion that could benefit you as well."

She was touched. Not only had he wanted to create a potion for symptoms that he experienced and researched with reference to muggle medicine, but he had noticed her struggling and wanted to involve her. He was right. She occasionally would have a slight shakiness to her hands, and she had a harder time being comfortable especially in the unforgiving classroom chairs.

She assumed it was an aftereffect from the many struggles from the war and being on the run. She had not connected it to nerve issues reminiscent from that torturous night at Malfoy manner. She did not know what to say.

They both sat in comfortable silence until she began looking over the parchment once more.

"I have a few ideas, but I want to do some research first. Once I have done some digging, we can set up a time to review the next possible revisions and brew."

He looked up at her and smiled, nodding looking hopeful. He stood and began gathering his things.

"Thanks Granger, for your help and for not pitying me. I shudder to think of the acronym you would create for my case considering the infamy of SPEW."

"The Wellbeing Association Trust would be a perfect name in my opinion." She responded with a wicked smile.

Again, his laughter bounced around the locker room and she couldn't help but join in. Grabbing her bag and rising she turned toward the door at the same time Malfoy did. Nearly running into one another, he grabbed her upper arms as she stumbled.

"I mean I know I have swept witches of their feet before, but this is ridiculous Granger," he chuckled. Rolling her eyes and swatting him across the chest she ignored his comment.

"Well, I will let you know the time and place once I have some more information Malfoy." She said in a rush.

"It's a date." He slyly responded, leaned down quickly kissed her cheek and with a wink slide out of the locker room doors.

Shell shocked, Hermione raised her hand to her cheek and shook her head in disbelief. She had to give it to him, he had a way with dramatic exits.