Disclaimers can be found in chapter one.

Author's Note: Nothing much to say other than thank you, Jag, for being my beta. :]

~~~

Hermione spent most of the day in her room curling up with a book. There really hadn't been much else to do at Hogwarts other than work with other students. it was even harder to find people her own age to be around considering she was no longer even a 7th year. It was pretty much just her and Crookshanks.

The following morning also had been uneventful, not that she would complain.  Here she was at breakfast sitting right across from Draco Malfoy. McGonagall had decided that it might good for the two of them to sit together at the Professors table seeing as they were the only Assistant Professors there.

The Owls came swooping in with the mail and she was surprised when one of them came swooping towards her. Well, until it became obvious that said owl had no balance and could barely manage the package.

She shook her head as she aided Errol with a small spell. How the bird had managed to live this long she would never know.

She gently untangled his talons from the package before opening it. She heard Draco snort, obviously he recognized the owl as well.

She smiled. Cookies. She got more packages from Mrs. Weasley than her own parents. There was a short letter that amounted to the Weasleys wondering how she was getting on and hoping to here from her soon. There was an even shorter postscript in which Ron says Hello.

She colored slightly. Mrs. Weasley would simply not let go of the two of them being perfect for each other. She wondered why the issue wasn't getting pushed on Charlie and Bill.

She looked up at Draco who was still glaring at her distastefully. A month of the silent treatment. Did Draco think she would actually care? Still, she didn't really want every breakfast to be this tense...

"You want a cookie, Draco?"

He blinked before frowning nastily at her. "No, Granger, I don't want one of your bloody cookies."

Granger. She rolled her eyes. "You could try being civil, Draco, seeing as we're stuck sitting next to each other for who knows how long. Besides, they're probably very good."

She picked one up and took a bite. "See? And now you know that they're not poisoned because I ate one."

Draco gave a suspicious glance as she smiled brightly at him. He certainly was gloomier than usual. It was probably because his father was visiting.

She took a cookie from the box and put it on his plate. "Come on, it's just a cookie. You don't even have to be nice to me because I gave it to you."

She chuckled as he prodded it with a fork.

"You're certainly cheerful today, Granger."

"This is the most exciting conversation I've had in a month. You have to admit, Malfoy, that there really isn't anything else to do here. we could at least learn to tolerate one another."

"I'll eat the cookie, but I'm not about to start hanging out with you, Granger."

"Hermione."

"I'm not about to start hanging out with you, Hermione."

"That's fine." It was a step in a positive direction.

She occupied herself with eating the remainder of her breakfast. She didn't think Draco would eat the cookie if she kept trying to be amiable. She really had to find means of entertaining herself.

"Thank you," Draco managed in a strained voice as breakfast ended and he began to get from his seat.

Wow, Draco had almost behaved as though she was his equal.  "...You're welcome."

She frowned thoughtfully as she watched him push his chair in.

"Say, Draco?"

He paused and regarded her questioningly.

"I know you wouldn't like to hang out, but how about we play a highly competitive game of Wizard's Chess sometime?"

Draco grinned and it wasn't a very friendly smile, but Hermione didn't think Draco knew how to be friendly so she let it go.

"I suppose, Granger. So long as you're not going to start stalking me or something."

Her ears turned red as he smirked in a surprisingly less-than-menacing way and walked away. That what she got for being lonely and charitable.

~~~

After putting her package in her quarters and seeing to it that Errol would be able to recuperate before returning home, she hurried off to her tutorials. An exhausting two hours were spent helping first years with their spells.

Some of it truly tried every last bit of her patience, but they couldn't help being ill prepared for it. Most of them were from Muggle families and were still "adjusting." She sometimes took for granted the ease with which she had mastered spells.

In the end, she took the two most helpless students to the library and presented them with simple books on the subject and told them to read up on it that night. She sighed as she watched them leave hoping that she had done enough. There wasn't else she could do, but they were getting better.

This was why she had wanted the Potions assignment. Any help she would have given in those tutorials would have ten times more use to little first years than Snape's bitter lectures.

She stopped as she nearly ran into the Potions professor himself. She really needed to start paying more attention to where she was going. Unlike Lucius though, Snape had been thoroughly prepared and had already glided out of her way, crossing his arms once she looked up at him.

"In a bit of a hurry, Miss Granger?"

"No, sir."

"You look tired. Having troubles with the first years already?"

She tried not to scowl despite feeling instantly sucked back into being merely an incompetent know-it-all student from one of his Potions classes. She knew better than to take it personally, but she still did.

Even after everything, all that they had all been through, Snape was still fairly unchanged by it all. He had saved Harry's life on more than two separate occasions during the last battle but his hatred for her friend was still clearly visible.

"No, though some of them are having troubles," she replied with a shrug.

He flashed a sliver of a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "To be expected."

She nodded.

"They'll get less…burdensome after awhile."

Hermione tried not to look surprised that they were still conversing. What was with everyone lately going out of their way to talk to her? "I hope so."

"I must admit that I am surprised that you chose to remain at Hogwarts for another year."

"I'll leave eventually, but I couldn't turn down an opportunity like the one I was offered."

Which was supposed to be working under you, but you know that.

"Even without your friends?"

She ignored the sarcasm in his tone. Snape was the sort of person who really couldn't help it. She just hoped that being intelligent didn't immediately make a person bitter. She would hate to end up like him.

"I'll still see them."

"I'm sure you will."

The man didn't sound very thrilled. Maybe the idea of Harry and Ron visiting Hogwarts was more than he could bear. Especially when he'd finally gotten rid of them. She was almost tempted to bait him with tales of them coming to visit, but that just seemed rather cruel.

"Well, good afternoon, Miss Granger."

She nodded and watched him glide away.

Had she said she had wanted company? If so, she was beginning to think she really hadn't meant it, considering the company getting thrown at her lately.

She sighed and rubbed her temples. Maybe after lunch she'd see if Professor Lupin was free. She could use some wholesome company for a change.

~~~

tbc