Exams crept up fast and before Hermione knew it, the last Charms exam had been written and the students were clambering over each other to get out of the classroom. Hermione shared a look with Professor Flitwick before smiling grandly and helping him collect the remaining papers, which students had forgotten to hand in.

"What are your plans for the summer?" Flitwick asked Hermione as she handed him a handful of scrolls. "Are you travelling with Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley?"

Hermione shook her head. "No. They offered, but I declined. I'd rather stay close to home this summer." Hermione had taken to referring to Hogwarts as her home, considering she no longer felt welcome at her own house. "I think I'll just kick back this holiday and practice some Charm spells so I'm in top shape for September." She smiled weakly as Professor Flitwick began chattering about his upcoming trip to Scotland during the summer holiday.

When the last official day of lessons had ended and the last student had boarded the Hogwarts Express to head home for two months, Hermione collapsed in her bed, exhausted from all the work that day. Needless to say, she was a little annoyed when Professor McGonagall knocked at her door.

"Hermione? You have a visitor." Her voice was steely, making Hermione think that it wouldn't be Ron or Harry. Who else would be visiting her, especially at this hour? She climbed out of bed wearily and opened the door. Following Professor McGonagall down the staircase, she was greeted by the sight of Draco Malfoy standing in front of her.

"Draco!" she exclaimed loudly before looking around and lowering her voice. She nodded to Professor McGonagall, indicating that she was all right, and the professor left the room immediately, but not before giving a stern glance to Draco. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to visit," Draco replied nonchalantly. "Is that a crime?"

Hermione shook her head, being strongly reminded of Harry for a second. "No, but I haven't heard anything from you all school year; why now?"

Draco shrugged, taking a seat on the sofa in front of the fire. "I just felt like it," he said looking up at her and Hermione saw a glint of the old affection in his eyes. "How has it been, being back here and all?"

Hermione looked around the circular room. "It's okay," she finally answered, although slowly. "Brings back a lot of memories, but it has been good."

"Good to know," Draco said, following her gaze around the room. "I was surprised when McGonagall said you were still here; I thought you would have gone home with the students." There was a hopeful note in his voice, like he understood what the response would be.

Hermione shook her head fiercely. "Are you crazy? After what my parents did to me? There's no way I will be going back there anytime soon."

"Aw, come on," Draco said, taking on the pout of a five-year old boy. "You can't say living with me was a complete horror."

She dropped to the sofa beside him. "It's not just that," she moaned. "It's a lot of other things, too, that have added up over the years."

"Like them lying about you being a pureblood?"

"Well, that and some other stuff that's not important right now. The fact of the matter is," she continued, determined to steer the conversation away from dangerous waters, "I have no desire to go back there right now."

"So what are you going to do all summer?" There was a condescending tone in Draco's voice as he said this and Hermione didn't pick up on it right away.

"I don't know," she replied honestly.

"Well, I suppose you could come live back at Malfoy Manor with us for the summer," he said casually, waving his hand in the air as if it were just an idea floating around in his mind.

Hermione stared at him. "So you did move out of the mansion?"

Draco nodded in response. "Yeah. Father blamed me for making such a mess of things and giving you the choice whether to leave or not. He decided I wasn't 'worthy' enough to keep the mansion on my own, so he forced me out and I had no place to go but back home."

For a short moment, Hermione felt incredibly sorry for Draco. The remorse soon passed and she found herself willing to agree to the idea. But before she spoke, her mind had a moment to comprehend what that meant. "I really appreciate the gesture," she said, just as airily as him, "but I don't think I could live with your father for the next two months without wanting to drive a stake through his heart."

Draco looked offended before breaking into a smile. "He's not a vampire," he said. "An evil guy, yeah, but not a vampire." His smile faded slowly. "Although sometimes I feel like he's sucking the life out of me." He shook his head quickly and Hermione got the distinct impression that the last comment was not meant to be spoke aloud. "Anyway," he continued, "Dad won't be around much this summer. He, too, is travelling for business."

Hermione didn't know which comment to address first: the fact that Draco had called his father 'Dad' (she had only ever heard him refer to his dad as 'Father' when speaking to other people about him) or the fact that Draco had put emphasis on "too" when discussing his father's business trips.

"What do you mean, 'too,'" she questioned, deciding on the latter part of her argument. "Who else do you know that's travelling for business?"

Draco gave her a withering look. "I assumed you already knew," he said in a mock voice. "Potter and Weasley are going to Australia this summer."

"I did already know that," she shot back, feeling suppressed rage rise in her chest. "But how did you know that?"

"Dad still has Ministry contacts," he replied, examining a fingernail. "And someone overheard Weasley's dad say it. Apparently he was bragging about it or something." He gave a tremendous sigh and rolled his eyes. Hermione just glared at him, her eyes drawing daggers in his chest.

"Well now I'm definitely not going to stay the summer with you," she told him, standing up to go back upstairs. "Thanks for the visit, but I'll be seeing you around." She turned to the staircase and heard Draco jump to his feet behind her.

"Wait!" he cried, rushing to take her arm. "Please consider," he begged her when she faced him.

She eyed him warily. "Why are you so adamant about this?"

Draco shrugged, and it seemed he was avoiding her eyes. "Dad's travelling a lot. I don't want to be lonely all summer."

"What about your mother?"

Now she was positive that he was avoiding her gaze. His eyes began to shift around the room uncomfortably. "Let's just say that Mother is in her own world lately," he told her quickly. "So please, consider it. That's all I'm asking."

She sighed. It would certainly beat sleeping in the street. "I have to be out by the thirtieth," she told him. "I'll let you know before then. But I'm only doing this because I don't want to be sleeping on the street all summer!" she added when she saw Draco's gloating look.

Perplexity filled his face. "Dumbledore wouldn't let you sleep on the street," he said. "You were his best girl back in our schooldays, remember?"

"I'm warning you, Malfoy."

"Okay, alright." He raised his hands in the air. "I surrender. But mark my words: if I don't hear from you by the twenty-fifth of June, I will be back here, banging on your door."

"Yeah, yeah," she muttered, turning to climb the staircase.

"I'll talk to you before then, Hermione."

She waved her hand over her shoulder without turning around. The prospect of spending the summer with Draco Malfoy sent her heart into orbit, although it was not something she would proudly admit. Being his wife for several weeks had changed them both, she thought to herself as she entered her bedroom again. She no longer felt the same thrill when she thought about Ron as she used to. Was it possible that she had fallen out of love with Ron? Was it possible that she never was truly in love with Ron?