Even Hermione was sick of these stupid team building activates. They'd started bad, with the human knot and gotten worse. Dumbledor was convinced that the only way to concur the Dark Lord was to come with a united front. And of course this had to start with the Prefects.
Ron had almost given the badge back after he'd had a particularly embarrassing spell of sitting with Padma Patil with her reeling him out for his horrible conduct with her sister. The assignment had been to tell the person "Your Buddy" all of your problems with them. Hermione though he had gotten off easy, her "buddy" was Draco Malfoy. Though with that particular exercise he had simply said "Everything" to her, she had replied that he was arrogant.
The only reason Ron hadn't handed his badge in was that Hermione reminded him that if he didn't keep it Dean Thomas would get the honor. Ron still hated him for "Defiling My little sister!" as he had said. Even though Ginny had assured him that she was "Defiled" long ago.
But as Hermione sat staring at Draco Malfoy, and the parchment with their assignment on it. Neither moved, or tried to leave with out completing it, the results were that the pair was thrown back into the room and magically glued to the surface landed on. Hannah Abbot had found that out when her and Pansy got into a fight and she tried to leave.
Tell your partner your one regret in life.
Hermione sighed, she assumed Malfoy's would be something like "that Potter wasn't smothered at birth by his mud blood mother."
In turn Draco figured that Hermione's would be "That I didn't take every class offered, so I could excel more!"
Hermione chewed on her lip lightly "You go first" She said "I went first last time"
Draco shrugged, thinking hard, his deepest regret. That would probably be "That I destroyed my blanket when I got my acceptance letter." He remembered the day clearly, thinking that since he was to grow up he couldn't have the baby blanket given to him by an uncle or cousin when he was born. He'd cut it up and burned it. Ever since then he had tried to replace it, nothing worked.
Hermione was caught off guard by the honest confession, She knew the room wouldn't let them leave without telling the truth and was surprised to see this side of Draco, a boy who she realized she didn't know.
As Hermione digested this revelation the rest of the prefects had drifted out, leaving the two of them to themselves.
"I guess mine would be that no one has ever felt my hair" Hermione said thoughtfully. "It really is quite soft," she defended "Its just Harry or Ron think I don't like it, and Viktor was well, not able to, either."
She sighed lightly. Looking up at Malfoy expecting him to laugh at her.
Just as he had expected her to laugh at him.
Wordlessly he reached over, almost touching the still bushy hair, until he realized what he was doing. The light in his eyes changed slightly as he touched the side of her head. It was soft. He realized as she touched his. This contact was more then either had had from the other since Hermione's slap in third year. Neither said anything. They wordlessly pulled away and separately walked out.
Dumbledor watched the room from a cauldron, "Well that seems to have worked" He smiled, taking note.